Bridal Project - Follow Along!
People often ask me about the process of creating custom bridal wear. Every project is different, but there are a handful of steps that must be followed with every gown. Lucky for me, I am currently working on a dress for my longtime friend Carole, and she is graciously allowing me to share our development of her gown with you.
This first installment is not exactly going to register high on the glamor meter. It's muslin time!
Carole and I met and discussed the style of dress she wanted. She is a modern girl and didn't want to go with a traditional long gown, and the first and most important feature that she wants is (drum roll please): POCKETS! She was very clear on this issue.
That's my kind of girl. She knows what she wants!
Carole also brought me several photos of dresses she liked, and once we narrowed down our choices, we were off to the races. So I put together a muslin using some basic bodice and skirt slopers I have in my library, and we had our first fitting.
The muslin, in case you are not familiar with the term, is a first version of the garment made in an inexpensive fabric (usually muslin -- surprise! -- which is where the name comes from). This is used to test the fit of the base pattern and make adjustments as needed. Once you have your muslin assembled and adjusted, you can take it apart to use as your final pattern.
Here a few snaps from our initial fitting:
First, the lovely bride. Say "hello" to the people, Carole!
The first place that needed to be adjusted was the shoulders. They need to fit her frame a little more snugly.
Then, the back of the bodice needed to be marked for shortening.
Here you can see a full view of the back, including the lazy zipper insertion. Since this is a garment made to be taken apart, it makes more sense to drop in a zipper without any finishing than to set it in beautifully. The final garment will have an invisible zipper.
Now the lovely bride waits while I prep the first test in her real fabric, a beautiful dupioni. Stay tuned to see things develop!
This first installment is not exactly going to register high on the glamor meter. It's muslin time!
Carole and I met and discussed the style of dress she wanted. She is a modern girl and didn't want to go with a traditional long gown, and the first and most important feature that she wants is (drum roll please): POCKETS! She was very clear on this issue.
That's my kind of girl. She knows what she wants!
Carole also brought me several photos of dresses she liked, and once we narrowed down our choices, we were off to the races. So I put together a muslin using some basic bodice and skirt slopers I have in my library, and we had our first fitting.
The muslin, in case you are not familiar with the term, is a first version of the garment made in an inexpensive fabric (usually muslin -- surprise! -- which is where the name comes from). This is used to test the fit of the base pattern and make adjustments as needed. Once you have your muslin assembled and adjusted, you can take it apart to use as your final pattern.
Here a few snaps from our initial fitting:
First, the lovely bride. Say "hello" to the people, Carole!
The first place that needed to be adjusted was the shoulders. They need to fit her frame a little more snugly.
Then, the back of the bodice needed to be marked for shortening.
Here you can see a full view of the back, including the lazy zipper insertion. Since this is a garment made to be taken apart, it makes more sense to drop in a zipper without any finishing than to set it in beautifully. The final garment will have an invisible zipper.
Now the lovely bride waits while I prep the first test in her real fabric, a beautiful dupioni. Stay tuned to see things develop!
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Apparel , Sewing , Staff Tips & Tricks6 Comments
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Cool! I'm so excited to follow along with this, as I'd LOVE to make a bridal gown someday. Looks like it's going to be beautiful!
I'm really excited to follow along with you, and I would love to hear more specifics about how you develop a pattern from scratch.
I am so excited that you are going to share this process! While neither of my daughters are getting married (YET), my soon to be 16 year old is having a costume party and wants to be Cinderella. She has decided on a pattern and fabric that could easily be used as a wedding dress, which will require some knowledge! I'm eagerly awaiting your tips!
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