The Custom Couture Process
Before I get into blogging about my newest bride, I thought I’d write a general post detailing an overview of my process and what to expect when commissioning your custom couture wedding dress. I know! I know! This big long post looks like a lot of work. And it is, but it is also a […]
Margaret’s Design Consultation and Pinterest
In last week’s post I mentioned that even though bespoke dressmaking is an old and traditional art, I love using modern tools to make the experience more fun and stress free. One of my favorite modern tools is Pinterest. Once I read Margaret’s questionnaire answers, and spoke to her in person at our free Initial […]
Using “wiggle bones” in Lila Rose’s stand-up pleated collar
As you may recall from the mockup and sketches, Lila Rose’s dress will have a pleated stand-up collar. Our original inspiration photo had a very deep V neck with the collar folding in a bit, but for Lila Rose’s eighties-inspired wedding dress, we needed the collar to take on pretty much a 90º angle from […]
Fit Week pt. 2 – Fabric Shopping/Mockup #2
Between the first and second mockup fittings, during the few days that Lila Rose was still in town, I did pattern corrections, made the second mockup, and we went fabric shopping! Since fabric shopping is the flashiest, I’ll start this post with fun our trip to Mulberry Silks and Fine Fabrics in Carrboro. The fabrics […]
Final Mockup and Fitting and Fabric Shopping
The second mockup fitting was quick and decisive. The new pattern corrections looked great on Michelle! Changes I had made to the closures made the dress easier to get on and off and she loved the new collar design. There were still a few little fit issues to work out (see above), but for the […]
Happy Accidents
I love happy accidents. There’s no avoiding it: things never go exactly as planned. With something with as many variables as a totally custom dress, at least one of those variables is liable to throw you for a loop. But, in my experience, this dilemma has always turned into a springboard for something even better; […]
Fabric Swatching
Jill and I decided that it would be perfect if I used shades of purple in the jacket, rather than the traditional all-white bride (not to mention that it will look incredible with her red hair!). She also really loves lace, beaded overlays, and beautiful textured silks. Mixing these elements together could create something really […]
Preparations for sewing fabrics with stretch
There’s always a lot of prep involved once the real fabric is in play for a wedding dress. In most cases, you are dealing with clean white fabric and it is so important that it stays that way! It is imperative that a dressmaker be very precise and use the least amount of steps as […]
Today’s Challenge: Fabric with a bold pattern
The fabric that we chose for the jacket Leah is going to wear during her vows is a very stable plain weave 100% cotton fabric fully embroidered with a 3 color repeating pattern (blue vines, red leaves and small gold flowers). Fabric challenge #1: The embroidery is very bold and has small splashes of color […]
