Another Dress

This one is an off the shoulder cutie. It is a true teal colour, with the subtle diagonal striping. Sheer chiffon over shiny light blue.

Just the plain version...

With the tacked on draping...

Here is the first dress on the dress form.....

Now I am off to Fabricland to find a bit of trim as plan B for detailing. (instead of the sheer draping)

Close up views of a possible ribbon and braid and sequin trim. On only one or all of the dresses? So many choices.

Further Details...Mom's Dress

Here we see a flower applique detail on the back anchoring the new drape addition on the left side of the dress...

Close up of the front applique with the swarovski crystals. The drape starts on the right front and folds loosely to the left back.

There are also appliques on the shouders connecting the straps.... It fits me better than Missy Blue (the dress form). I really like this dress and it is one of the most original dresses I have ever made. Perfect for a beach wedding at sunset!

I just need to find the perfect sandals.... :)

More Dresses

Saturday was a sewing day! I made my dress in the afternoon...

It is a sheer abstract floral silver-green fabric over a shiny silver satin fabric. The satin glows through the sheer bits between the leaves. The design is very simple, and I will likely find a decorative detail for the empire waist (sash, beading, decorative belt???).

The second one is one of the girl's dresses. There are three dresses. None are the same in colour OR in cut, but they will all be of the same styling. Three sheer, flowing shades of the ocean, blue, green, teal. Each one has some interest in the dying. The first is a halter design with green dyed in diagonal stripes (very subtle, but you can see it).

The lining for all three is the same, a lovely soft ocean blue. This will shine through the sheer and make the dresses glow a bit. Hard to capture on camera.

Also hard to photograph without the model. More photos later.... Here is the draping option pinned in place to see if the girls like that. We could also do a jewelry element at the center or a whole beaded belt instead of the drape.

Pearls and Crystals

The real beauty of the custom made gown, is the details (well, after the unique, perfect custom fit... it is definately the details) Here is a really close up photo of the beginnings of the lace details. I have sewn on mini pearls inside the outline of the lace flower, and the center holds larger pearls and swarovski crystals.Clearly this is a long process of sewing, where each bead is stitched into place by hand. I really like this part, and just follow my instincts as to how much and where the beads are placed. The overall effect will be textural and a bit shiny, and from a distance you won't see the beads too much (white on white), but it adds a richness that is very wedding worthy.... :)

Almost Finished!

Darling daughter came to visit and I was able to do a full fitting. The ties were tightened and the dress fit perfectly! The variety of bodice options were pinned and analysed, and in the end the lace overlay with pearls sewn in place was the choice. We finished the empire waistline with a tidy satin ribbon, and reworked the gathers in the skirt to the design in the last photo. So far they are safety pinned in place, but I will stitch them in place with some pearl beads to hide the stitches. I was able to finish the seams and stitch down the facings, so everything is in place and there are no more pins in the dress! Next step is the pearl (and sequins if I can find some) added to the lace bodice, then stitch the gathers, then sew the bottom hem!

Pause.

I am not working on the wedding dress tonight. I will see my daughter tomorrow and we will do a fitting and get the go ahead for the next step, the final details...

As an interlude, I was browsing through OLD photos. (pre-digital camera days, before computers, but a bit after dinosaurs). My sweet hubby has been amusing himself in these long golf-drought days, by scanning all my photos from years ago (years and years) and I have found a few sewing examples that may amuse you while you wait for more wedding dress photos!
This is a bean bag chicken! It was back in the days when all the cool dudes had bean bag chairs and mellowed out to the Eagles and Supertramp. I made our blue beanbag chair into a big chicken and Tim thought it was great.

This photo is my sister's wedding in 1984. I made her dress (the first of many wedding dresses I made in the 80's) and the three bridesmaid gowns (that's me at the back). I was 5 months pregnant and made my dress the week before the wedding. It fit that day, and when I tried it on the week after, I could not do it up! Such a fitted design! You could see the puff sleeve and teal colours were the style of the day!
This is a rare photo of the soft sculpture critters that I made for sale at several retail gift shops around Ontario. It was part of my cottage industry job (that included wedding gowns) that allowed me to work from home and raise my two small children, until they were in school. All the things you see in the photo were designed, and sewn solely by me. I made thousands of these over 4 years, but rarely arranged and snapped a shot!
Of course, I made lots of Halloween costumes, but here are a few... the whole away team from star trek... 6 costumes custom fit to me and 5 friends.... along with wicked makeup!

Kids costumes... Batman, and a princess on her own horse!
And my best makeup masterpiece! Sweet daughter with psycho yellow eyes and white skull!

And by the way, I have enabled the comment link, so feel free to leave your thoughts, you need not have an account to leave a message! Love to get feedback!

New Bodice Designs.... Lace and Lacing....

I attached the lacing loops to the dress as so...
then secured a facing and flipped it inside, still pinned, I laced the lacing and tacked in an inset fabric (so as not to show the bare back through the lacing). This will be sewn to one side and hook and eye to the other side.

Still trying to work out the perfect bodice decoration. Here are two thoughts, both just pinned to try each one on.

The first is a version of the original, without the sweetheart shaping. Not sure if it is smooth and fitting enough (too bulky?) and not sure how to define the shape enough with this, but maybe tacking it down everywhere, hmmmm.

The second is a lace version, with perhaps some overlaid leaves (like the flower detail) and some sewn on beads (swarovski and pearls). This look is form fitting with texture, but not bulk. I have added some lace under the corset lacing on the back too. We will see which she likes at the fitting this weekend. Then attach while she is here and start the beading details.