Wedding Dress Construction Details

Hi everyone!  In my last post, I showed pictures of my finished wedding dress.  This time around, I'm showing the construction process.  The post is fairly picture-heavy - there were a lot of steps. In case you missed the last post, here is the dress.

This is a picture right before we got married.  We waited in the hall and took a deep breath before going outside to the back yard where everyone was waiting. I didn't want to walk out all by myself with him waiting, so we went together. 

I was really nervous about wearing a dress that looked homemade. I think the worst compliment you can get about any homemade item you have is from (probably) well-meaning strangers - "That is nice - did you make that?".  That one always makes me feel terrible.  It is the one that says - "Yes, it is clear to me that you have made this yourself."  Ugh.

This dress is in three parts.  Part one - the petticoat.

This is the largest petticoat ever.  I felt so round and fluffy.  It was an upcycled petticoat that I picked up at a thrift store.  It was a floor-length with three tiers but the waist is a nice elastic and I'll bet it was expensive when it was new.  All I did was take off the bottom two layers to make it tea length and re-sew the tulle. I used a serger for the bottom hem.  It was a lot faster than making it all myself.

Part Two - the satin under-dress.  The pattern is Simplicity 1194. I made it in ivory with a am showing it here with a champagne sash.

I made four changes to the pattern.

•  I added an inch to the bodice and made it longer.  My torso must be long because I find myself doing this to a lot of patterns.
• I took off the straps and made it strapless.
• I made it fully self-lined instead of using facings.  I don't usually like using facings and seem to find ways to avoid them.
• I added boning and some light-weight interfacing layer to the inside.

Inside of the dress

The dress has a lapped zipper (thanks to the Craftsy Mastering Zipper Techniques Class) and I added n silk covered button and loop.

Part Three - the lace layer. The lace layer is a mix of Vogue 8943 and Simplicity 8470.  For the skirt, I wanted to avoid pleats and gathers and love the look of a circle skirt.  But to be able to use the edge on the lace, I had to cut the skirt in panels.  I did use the Simplicity 8470, but then added a couple of inches on either side toward the hem of each panel for a fuller skirt.

It ended up being about a half circle skirt.  Luckily, through no special effort, the lines on the skirt panels lined up perfectly with the darts in the bodice. Below is the skirt before I sewed it on the bodice.  All of the panels are sewn, then finished up with a serger.

I made three changes to the bodice of Vogue 8943 - once is that I added an inch to it (shown in red below).  In the past, I have been known to ignore the "lengthen or shorten here" directions and just adding more to the bottom of the piece.  But on this, I even followed instructions. 

I also shortened the sleeves to 3/4 length and changed the back of the bodice to a V shape instead of ending at the neckline.

Inside of lace dress

The hardest part about the dress was figuring out what to do with the edges around the neck and the zipper.  I had never sewn lace before, so I wasn't sure.  The edges of the sleeves and the skirt hem were easy... use the edge of the lace. 

 

I ended up cutting the edge off of leftover lace and attached it all around the neckline - front and back right up until the zipper.  You don't end up seeing the stitches of the ivory thread to sew it on - it all gets lost in the lace.

The zipper is actually three layers.  I first sewed on some bias tape to stabilize the lace so I could sew a zipper on the back.  Then, on the outside, I covered the bias tape with the same edge of the lace as the neckline, but cut narrower.

I am sure there are other ways to get it done, but I was at a loss.  I spent a lot of time Googling and looking at lace wedding dress backs, but didn't find much.  I even made a trip to a bridal shop to look at their dresses.  In the end, this looked nice against the satin under-dress.

Here are the facts:

• $200.00 - Satin and lace fabric from SAS Fabrics in Phoenix.  ($30/yard for the lace which feels like a steal compared to prices I have seen online for lace)
• $30.00 - Fabric for three prototype dresses at $1/yard, also from SAS Fabrics
• $10.00 - Tulle for petticoat from JoAnns.
• $10.00 - Upcycled petticoat from a thrift store.
• $10.00 - Satin for sash (not yet blogged about)
• $10.00 - Tulle for veil (not yet blogged about)

TOTAL $270.00 - Petticoat, veil, dress, sash and extra fabric for prototype dresses.

It wasn't necessarily the cheapest option.  I am sure I could have found a dress on sale at some bridal shop for less money, but I am glad I made mine.
Thanks for reading!

Butterick 5813 - A Dress For the Office from 1956

1956 goes to the office.   I like this Butterick pattern because it is retro but not in that "look at me and nothing else" sort of way.  The result is a wearable dress. 

 Here is the pattern cover.  I made view B.

 As the pattern is written, the dress has a zipper, but I left it out.  The fabric I chose has a tiny bit of stretch and I made it with enough ease that I can easily put it on without the zipper.  Part of me would have liked to make it tighter and involve foundation garments, but I needed to make it practical.

Here is the only thing I didn't like about the pattern.  It is the front tie. 

 It looks terrible and I couldn't find a way to tie it nicely.  It looked like five kinds of bad no matter how many you tube videos I watched on how to tie a bow.  Clearly I am missing a skill I am aware I should have picked up in kindergarten.

 I ended up cutting the ends and making a fake bow.  Much better. 

The facts:
Fabric 1.50/yard x 3 yards = 4.50
Interfacing 1 yard = 3.00
Total = $ 7.50

I think I will sew this again with a thicker wool for winter and in a smaller size so I have less ease.  I'll back one notch or two looser than  Joan from Mad Men "I can't sit down" level of tight, but tighter than the "I have to sit in an office chair all day and I want to breathe" level that it is.

Black Retro Dress - Butterick 5603

Back to the retro dresses!  I was hoping this dress wouldn't be too much of a full skirt to get away with wearing at the office. I chose a black polyester that had a lot of give.  Not quite lycra, but probably close.  This time I cut the pattern to my size, trying to get away from my fear of cutting the pieces too small and ruining the fabric.

Here is the pattern cover.

I still ended up taking in the sides because I wanted it to be snug like the picture on the pattern and I figured because it is spandex, I had a little room to play with.

Unfortunately, I ended up taking in too much at the armhole.  It felt fine when I was sewing and fitting, but then when I wore it to work, the zipper rubbed too much at the armpit and was really uncomfortable by the end of the day.

The front should have a bow on it, but I didn't add one.

On this pattern, I found the edging around the front to be challenging.  The back V-neck was very difficult to understand how to attach.  I did youtube searches for how to make a v-neck but didn't find much.

Here are the results - It isn't great so far.  I'd love to find a tutorial that teaches a v-neck better than the pattern did.

Next step:  take apart the zipper and arm hole to make a little more room and re-do the v-neck in back.  The fit is great and I like the style of the pattern, so I would definitely make it again.

Vintage Red Dress V2960

After trying for so long with the zipper in the last pattern, I decided to make another dress without a zipper. This time Vintage Vogue 2960.  A re-issue pattern from 1954.  I love that in the photo on the  pattern, the women are wearing gloves.    

                                                           
I chose an orange-red cotton (even though in the photo it looks more red than it is) and an orange satiny lining.

The bodice of the pattern in nice.

Front not bad.

It gapes a little in back.

A little less fitted than I would like.

Once again, I ended up cutting too large of a size for fear that I would cut too small.  I spent a lot of time trying the bodice on, taking it off and re-doing the seams and darts to try and get it to fit.  As you can see from the photo above, the back never ended up fitting quite right.  It gapes open and the shoulders fall off when I am sitting or when moving around.  Which pretty much describes any actual wearing of the dress.  I'd make it smaller next time.

I made the buttons to match out of polymer clay.  I am getting better at not making the inside of the dress look like a war zone, but after all the cutting, re-hemming and refitting, I ended up taking too much material off to get the buttonholes centered on the material.  Luckily, there is a lot of facing to hold it together and not have the buttonholes rip.

Made my own buttons out of polymer clay

Fully lined with satiny material

The pattern called for bound button holes, but I made them with a machine.  I couldn't figure out the instructions to save my life. I think the machine did a great job, but I'd like to do the bound button-holes at some point.

One more change... this pattern called for a full circle skirt and I just didn't want the bulk, so I used the skirt from the Vogue 2961 I made last month and used it in place of the skirt on this one.  They both have buttons down the front, so it fit really well together and made me feel super clever for making a franken-pattern.

I am not sure this is wearable out side of the house, but I am glad for the practice.

Vintage Patterns!

I ordered some vintage patterns and they arrived today!
Maybe it is watching too much Mad Men, maybe it is just because these kinds of dresses are super-flattering for my figure, but I can't wait to sew them.

Vogue 2902

Vogue 2961

Vogue 2960

I have tried to find dresses like this in stores, but I can't.  I find one of two things instead.  Either the top half of the dress like these, but then the skirt is above the knee, which looks terrible on me.  OR I do find something like this at a store like Anthropologie, but the dress is about $250.00 and it isn't quite what I want because they have made it more modern.

Next up: All vintage all the time.  Look at the poof on Betty's skirt.  I love that.  It is completely impractical for wearing to the office, but I like it just the same.

These dresses are fantastic!