Description
We got married in September 2012, and the months leading up to the big day were spent brainstorming what kind of dress I wanted and experimenting with scrap fabrics and different patterns.
I wanted something non-white and 50’s inspired for my wedding dress, and after some serious alterations I ended up with this dress.
I started with the basic pattern in Mary Adams’ “The Party Dress Book”, and ended up using the pattern pieces for the bodice as a skeleton for my dress – both the neckline and the rest (I drew the princess lines all the way through the skirt) are my work.
The dress consists of four layers in the bodice (outer dress, lining and a two-layered dress foundation with its own hook-and-eye closing and rigilene boning) and three layers in the skirt (outer dress, lining and a ruffled petticoat. The outer skirt was hemmed using 2" horsehair braid. The shoulder straps are made from a ribbon I’ve had in my drawer for years.
I want to thank Burdastyle-member katexxxxxx for advice on how to make the dress foundation, which she used in these dresses: http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/chocolate-coated-bridesmaids?all_images=1#project-shot-all
The coat is based on the Nora pattern. Following Ana’s direction (Ana’s military jacket), I lengthened the sleeves. I also shortened the skirt and added peaked cuffs to the sleeves. The ribbon I used consists of two ribbons: A 5 cm satin ribbon with a 3,5 cm organza ribbon with cut-out hearts. I used hook-and-eye tape as coat closure.
Last, I made a purse based on the Itty Bitty Bag pattern to match my dress. The flower is a pin I bought at a handmade-shop in Riga, Latvia. It’s made of linen yarn with amber pebbles in the middle of the flower. The flower in my hair is from the same shop.
This project has been great working with, and I never regretted my decision of sewing my own wedding dress!
The whole process is documented in my blog:
http://mylittlesewingspace.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/deciding-on-a-dress-pattern/
http://mylittlesewingspace.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/wedding-dress-project-part-2/
http://mylittlesewingspace.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/wedding-dress-part-3/
http://mylittlesewingspace.wordpress.com/2012/08/17/wedding-dress-part-4/
http://mylittlesewingspace.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/wedding-dress-diy-last-part-of-my-wedding-dress-project/
http://mylittlesewingspace.wordpress.com/2012/09/10/coat-and-purse-finishing-the-wedding-ensemble/
Photos by Andrea C. and Nathalie Ch.
Material Notes
Dupioni silk, silk organza, rigilene boning, horsehair braid and light interfacing for the dress.
Dupioni silk, acetate lining and heavy interfacing for the coat.
Dupioni silk and heavy interfacing for the purse.
Difficulty
Advanced
Related Techniques
Categories
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Add to Favorites 4 people added it
This project is based on
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Nora
Make it -
Ana's Military Jacket
Make it
Jan 3, 2014, 08.29 PMby alei
Well done the outfit is indeed unique and beautiful. Congratulations.
1 Reply
Jan 4, 2014, 08.36 AMby krice
Thank you!
Dec 29, 2012, 12.10 AMby Jodi Wade
Great! Very unique. Love the heart ribbon. Your husband’s outfit is very cool too.
1 Reply
Dec 29, 2012, 09.37 PMby krice
Thank you! Yeah, I think we were a match on our wedding day (and still are, albeit perhaps not wardrobe-wise) :)
Nov 26, 2012, 06.57 PMby auroras-y-sirenas
Wow, you look amazing on the third pic! The dress is really out of the ordinary! Congratulation on all the hard work!
1 Reply
Nov 26, 2012, 07.25 PMby krice
Thank you so much! I felt wonderful that day, and I loved all the work on this project, it was so great to work with such bright colours and figuring out what to change in the patterns I started with :)
Sep 11, 2012, 05.12 PMby bjr99
Beautiful dress! Love the color!! Cute couple!!! Congrats!!!!
1 Reply
Sep 11, 2012, 05.57 PMby krice
Thank you!
Sep 11, 2012, 04.13 PMby Mary Athey
congrats!! your dress was gorgeous.on you x
1 Reply
Sep 11, 2012, 05.04 PMby krice
Thank you so much!
Sep 11, 2012, 03.31 PMby sewknitting
Looks like your dress turned out great! It’s awesome to see some non-traditional wedding dresses on here. You guys are so cute! Congrats!
1 Reply
Sep 11, 2012, 03.50 PMby krice
Thank you, that is so kind! I love the less traditional dresses too :)
Sep 11, 2012, 03.28 PMby laurertheexplorer
Love yer dress! You did a great job! You two look great together : ) congrats!!
1 Reply
Sep 11, 2012, 03.50 PMby krice
Thank you so much!
Sep 11, 2012, 02.42 PMby Tanja van Loon
OMG that is so awesome! Your dress looks great, I especially like the coat! Love the colors as well. Both of you look stunning ^^
1 Reply
Sep 11, 2012, 03.01 PMby krice
Thank you so much, Tanja! I wanted the colours of my wedding dress/outfit to reflect the fall, as we decided to get married in September. And I’m so happy I’m not the only one loving the colours :D My hubby got a personal shopper (I didn’t have it in me to make two outfits) to help him get colours to match mine :)