Just Married!

What a beautiful day in Louisiana!!  I travel to the area about once a year, but for one reason or another, it is never in the spring.  The day was just perfect for Jill’s outdoor wedding!  So many friends and family members gathered at the Gardens of the American Rose Center to witness the ceremony […]

Bridal Portraits by Greg Pearson

  I am over-the-moon excited about the bridal portraits by Greg Pearson Photography !!!  Jill is STUNNING and I truly feel that this look turned out perfect for her and her personality!  Remember, that due to the distance between us, this is also the first time that I am seeing the jacket on her!  I […]

Final Photoshoot

    Kent Corley Photography A few weeks ago, before I shipped everything off to Louisiana, the talented Kent Corley took some studio shots of the finished jacket. Why take studio shots on a dressform when it’s really about the bride?  Good question.  Glad you asked.

Old Veil, New Look

Birdcage veils are hot!  Jill’s mother inherited a birdcage veil from her great-aunt and Jill asked me if she thought I could breathe some new life into it and make it work for her wedding.  Of course!  Sounds like a project that is right up my alley. Why I didn’t take a “before” picture, I […]

Jacket Closed

By now the brooch is selected, and the jacket is trimmed and fully lined. I chose to line it with itself using the same rayon blend fabric as the jacket.  This will give the garment the exact same “hand” and “softness” that Jill loved when she chose the fabric.  In order to make sure that […]

Choosing the Perfect Closure

Jill loves butterflies.  She is getting married in a butterfly garden and is using them in her wedding theme.  She also loves vintage jewelry (her engagement ring is a vintage piece!), and wants to have a vintage look to her wedding.  I decided that the perfect closure for Jill’s jacket was to find a vintage […]

Finishing Touches

By now I’ve actually finished the jacket, so I’m blogging the process in retrospect!  I can’t wait to show you how it turned out, but I must be patient and fill you in on how it got there first.  I’ll try to leave out the boring construction parts (boring to read about, that is!) and […]

Gussets and Beads

When sewing a beaded garment by machine, it is usually necessary to remove the beads that will be in the seam and the seam allowance so that the machine and iron can accept the fabric.  You can always sew the beads back on after the seams are finished, but you don’t want to put in […]

Balancing Act

By now in the process, I am in the couture dressmaking phase.  I have marked all of my stitch lines, prepped and cut out all of the pieces for the lighter colored base fabric of the jacket.  Now is the time for a crucial and somewhat tedious task:  The layout of the beaded net.  A […]