Burda Style For people who sew
Description
I made both my wedding dress and the bridesmaid’s dress (and both bouquets, on the morning of the wedding day, would you believe?)
For my wedding dress, I used Simplicity 2959 as a starting point and made countless adjustments, eg altering the neckline, the silhouette (to make the skirt less full and more fitted around the wait to hips), adding a lace-up back, adding a corselette and a waist stay, adding bra cups, including a 1-tier French bustle, changing the pleats and adding a drape over the skirt, etc etc… I loved what I ended up with.
For the BM dress, I used Simplicity 4070 which worked a treat. I had to do a very wide hem (with ruffles to distribute the fullness evenly) to shorten the skirt. I did flatlining with a Hong Kong finish for the skirt which effectively underlines and finishes the seam in one, and added a waist stay.
I used silk dupion for both dresses, underlined with silk organza. I included spiral steel boning to both bodices which were very comfortable to wear all day.
It took me almost a year to finish both projects – mainly because of all the hand sewing! I hand overcast all the seams and then catchstitched all the seams on all 7 layers of my dress.
With hindsight, it was a very steep learning curve and a lot of work but I am so glad I chose to (and was brave enough to) make both dresses. It was a perfect day and I felt so special in my homemade dress (holding my DIY bouquet!).
For thousands more photos and lots more on how I made the dresses, please visit my blog
Material Notes
silk dupion, silk organza, silk habotai lining, spiral steel boning, covered steel boning, horsehair braid.
Difficulty
Advanced
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Sep 25, 2012, 10.48 PMby skeeler
Wow!! What amazing skills you have.
1 Reply
Sep 26, 2012, 08.21 AMby alicewang
Thank you!
Sep 18, 2012, 05.21 PMby caitcinnoir
both dresses are fabulous!!! i’m currently making my own wedding dress and am sooooo nervous but am hoping the butterflies will turn into happiness when i’ve finally finished it:)
1 Reply
Sep 18, 2012, 10.20 PMby alicewang
Thank you! Wow best of luck! It’s a challenging process but it will be so worth it in the end! Enjoy and do feel free to ask any questions and I’ll try my best to help :)
Sep 7, 2012, 01.07 PMby pambox
Both dresses are gorgeous! And I love that the flowers seem to exactly match the colour of the bridesmaid’s dress.
1 Reply
Sep 7, 2012, 07.24 PMby alicewang
Thank you! My bridesmaid had a yellow bouquet as well (not shown in the photos above) to complete our pink and yellow (“citrus”) colour scheme ;-)
Sep 6, 2012, 12.07 AMby pamchar
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! This dress is so beautiful… you look gorgeous. The bridesmaid dress is stunning too.
1 Reply
Sep 6, 2012, 08.14 AMby alicewang
Thank you kindly :-)
Aug 30, 2012, 07.35 PMby Sewmatt
Very nice dress. Great blog too! When do you get to do all this sewing! I work full time and only wish I could find more time to sew. I am so addicted to sewing!
2 Replies
Aug 30, 2012, 09.10 PMby alicewang
Haha, I know, having a full time (and demanding) job does really restrict how much I can sew. I always wish I had more time! I gave myself plenty of time for this though, having started the dress about a year before the wedding.
Sep 6, 2012, 12.37 PMby alicewang
By the way I am running a giveaway on my blog at the moment – please feel free to leave a comment to that particular post (the blogiversary one) for your chance to win some fabric :-)
Aug 23, 2012, 03.39 AMby kess
I love this! I can’t believe you made it! I admire you!! It must have made your day so much more special! Beautiful!!
1 Reply
Aug 23, 2012, 07.45 AMby alicewang
You are too kind! Yes it really did – some of the guests couldn’t believe that I made it either!
Aug 19, 2012, 10.50 PMby zoaki
This is just unbelievable! It is amazing, but I don´t want to imagine the hard work you put into it. I would have given up… I mean such a project looks like a mountain to me so I would not even dare to start on it. Congratulations on the dress and the wedding!
1 Reply
Aug 20, 2012, 08.16 AMby alicewang
Haha looking back of course it’s not as bad as it sounds/looks! thank you :)
Aug 19, 2012, 07.25 PMby smallone
Oh my gosh you crazy ladies who make your own bridal (and bridesmaid!) wear. As if there is not enough to do already when planning a wedding! :)
Your dress is beyond stunning…and I love the clean lined and perfectly complimentary pop of pink for the bridesmaid. I’ve no doubt this was a tremendous amount of work…but oh so worth it!
1 Reply
Aug 19, 2012, 09.31 PMby alicewang
Haha I didn’t actually find the whole wedding planning thing too stressful which was a pleasant surprise really :)
Thank you for your lovely words!
Aug 19, 2012, 06.07 PMby Irene Jones - Arias
Gorgeous dress!!! Your work is impeccable, and you look so beautiful, congratulations!!!
1 Reply
Aug 19, 2012, 08.28 PMby alicewang
Thank you kindly!
Aug 19, 2012, 12.36 PMby leokadia
Alles wunderschöne Kleider, dein Hochzeitskleid ist wunderwunderschön! Der Strauß gefällt mir auch sehr! Ich wünsche euch beiden eine glückliche und lange Ehe. xx
1 Reply
Aug 19, 2012, 12.52 PMby alicewang
Danke!
Aug 19, 2012, 10.47 AMby lienepien
Woow nice weddingdress! Also the BM dress looks great! Must have been a beautiful day!
1 Reply
Aug 19, 2012, 11.08 AMby alicewang
Thank you! It really was a perfect day!
Aug 19, 2012, 02.18 AMby schnui
Absolutely beautiful!!! You are very clever and should be so proud of yourself. Your husband must be so proud too. And I do love love your bouquets. Perfect!!!!
1 Reply
Aug 19, 2012, 09.33 AMby alicewang
Thank you! and I’m glad you love the bouquets too :p
Aug 19, 2012, 12.46 AMby april cote
your dress is beautiful.
1 Reply
Aug 19, 2012, 09.33 AMby alicewang
Thank you :)
Aug 18, 2012, 09.48 PMby Debs Brinklow
Well done, the dresses are lovely.. You looked beautiful in your dress and the fit is perfect..x
1 Reply
Aug 19, 2012, 09.32 AMby alicewang
Thank you kindly!
Aug 18, 2012, 08.45 PMby bjr99
Spectacular dresses! You did a fantastic job on both. I checked out your blog too for additional info and pics. Congratulations on your marriage and on the dresses!!!
2 Replies
Aug 19, 2012, 09.32 AMby alicewang
Thank you for your lovely words and visiting my blog :D
Sep 6, 2012, 12.35 PMby alicewang
I am currently running a giveaway on my blog too in case you are interested – you need to comment on that particular post to be in the draw and a winner will be selected at random :)
Aug 18, 2012, 05.42 PMby carolientje
your dress is beautiful!!
1 Reply
Aug 18, 2012, 06.33 PMby alicewang
Thank you kindly :)
Aug 18, 2012, 05.21 PMby Mary Athey
You looked stunning and your dress is beautiful. the bridesmaids dress is lovely as well. The work you put into your dress shows. congratulations on your dress and wedding x
1 Reply
Aug 18, 2012, 06.33 PMby alicewang
You are too kind! thank you x
Aug 18, 2012, 05.02 PMby vikibiki
Nice!
1 Reply
Aug 18, 2012, 06.33 PMby alicewang
Thank you :)