Dress update

Sooo, it's been another week and I haven't had time to do anything remotely do do with the wedding. Work was crazy and I am very panicky about getting it all done in time now. Today's shown a lot of progress, what with finished menus, a seating order, a table plan and place cards, as well as a started letter box.

But the dress is another matter.
It's shoulder straps are done - I've used ribbon to keep it simple - but with the whole bottom still needing draping, it's looking like another all-nighter. Having said that, I am pleased with it. The top fits perfectly, the bottom sits nicely around my curves and I actually look a lot slimmer than I am.

The shoulders that I've been so worried about now look okay and I may even leave the beads off them after all. So really, it's just the skirt. I will attempt to fix the messed-up thread tension on my sewing machine and give it another go.

But have the picture as an impression of what I've been doing.

And finally, a big THANK YOU. 1000 views cracked!

Tears, Tantrums and T'dress (sorry)

Just updated the post to show what the dress really looks like. The previous picture was awful, sorry.

Every day is dressmaking day, even though it still doesn't seem like much has got done. Draping the first bit was easy enough - all I had to do was find a shape that suited the dress and that I halfway liked.

Draping the second side was harder as I wanted to make sure that the patterns matched up completely.

Both parts were trimmed at the bottom, leaving a rather large margin to avoid fraying ruining the dress before the big day.

This then left the question of what to do next. The idea was to make the rest of the corset quite fitted, with a single layer of fabric being shaped around the belly and back bit. Oh, how mistaken I was. The fact that the material is gathered underneath the breasts has meant that it does look a little untidy under there, which means that any straightforward fabric layer would have shown the extent of the problem and in the trial I was close to tears and just buying a damn dress again.

However, I then chose to layer the fabric across the first 4 sets of bones on the corset (the affected part) and used a slip stitch to fasten the upper layer to the breast draping.
I have to say, I am quite happy with the result. The additional layers have taken the focus off the middle and onto the belly. Whether I would really like to show my belly off is an entirely different question, of course.
Any fabric underneath the last layer will now become skirt as this is the height my hips start at and dresses that shape appear to suit me.

So now it's onto the sides and back. Hopefully this means that by the end of the week the majority of the dress will be finished.

A friend has helped me choose some jewellery to take apart and use to cover up the shoulders and midriff area to hide any less than professional stitching. I am also using some of the newly-gained beads in a second tiara and potentially some earrings, so that everything will appear to match up after all.

It's all coming together

The mannequin was indeed a good investment. I was able to pin everything together today, able to see where adjustments need to be made and where fabric needs to be added to tidy up the sides and back. I was also able to pin the neckline to the exact shape it needs to be in the end and tack the pieces loosely together.

Currently, I am adding the elastic band to the waistline in my corset, before I start to sew all the front bits together.

Seeing the dress coming together has given me a real motivation boost, which was very much needed after I have spent what seems like ages just working on individual bits, without ever seeing what it was all going to become. It is all starting to make sense in my head. Good times :-)

Dress Preparation

So I am going to brave it. I have given up on the idea of losing x amount of pounds for the wedding - I weigh 56kg and that's that - and will use whatever fat I carry on me now to guide me through the shape of the dress.

A colleague of mine has been so kind as to lend me some of her wedding things. I asked her whether I could buy her old underskirt of her and she agreed, then showed up with veils and dresses in addition to that! One of the dresses was highly interesting and, amazingly, even suited me, so I will use it as a guide for my autumn dress.

I will jot down what I learned here, so I don't forget:

The corset: undoubtedly the most interesting thing to look at for me. It had two layers of fabric - one cotton, one satin. 8 pieces altogether. The bones felt like plastic - nothing a good cable tie wouldn't replace, but contrary to my previous thoughts, it didn't really seem to matter, as the dress was tight enough and would have held my stomach in anyway. I counted 12 bones, paired up. My partner wrapped me up in duct tape the other day, so I have a perfect imprint of my upper body, excluding, of course, seam allowance.

The skirt, again, was two layers of satin. It had an extra layer of white organza and a light, green fabric added to it, both gathered just underneath the corset on one side. I found it interesting just how easy the gathering seemed and will definitely use that when I put the finishing touches to me dress.

The pattern on the bottom hem was raised - I liked it on this dress, but as mine should be fairly plain, I doubt I will use it. I may, though, add a fairly large hem on the organza - somehow, it worked very well.

Now the bits that I'd change:
The corset was zip-up at the back, meaning that I was unable to close it properly - any weight gain between now and the big day would mean I could trash the dress. Not good. Lace-up it is.
And, once again, the pictures I took with the dress on confirmed that I am just not the type for boob tube. Cover up my arms already!

Frustrated!

Why oh why is it so hard to find a simple, plain corset? I am not buying online. I have tried every single lingerie shop, clothes shop and brides shop in the area. It's not that small. Really. But nothing.

So I got fed up enough to decide I'll have to make that myself, too, despite the fact the very thought scares the hell out of me. I have, however, one advantage over the skirt issue: I have found a decent sewing pattern online.

So off I went to Halfords in weather that told me that today, even the sky couldn't be bothered to decide whether to snow, rain, or just be done with it all together and decided on a measly compromise which got me wet and miserable.

In Halfords, there was nothing even approximating steel ribbon to be found, but then, I had a brainwave! Steel rulers! They're durable, stiff enough to last the evening, but just bendy enough to be shaped into corset bones. And, looking at pictures on the internet now, they appear to be just the right size.

I also got a Sainsbury's TU Shapewear dress in hideous nude (does the inside matter? I needed stretchy material and Hobbycraft is shamefully short on those!), in L rather than S for the extra inches of fabric.
There is enough satin to cover the corset, inside and out, if necessary.

Wedding dress preparations

As I am sitting down after a morning of household chores to mask the state the house was in up until about three hours ago, and waiting for a new piece of furniture to materialise, I am thinking about how I can make that dress happen.
I am okay at sewing. I can repair a torn seam, sew on some decorations to plain Christmas stockings to make them special and put together some crude felt food.
I am not very good at making clothes. However, that might be due to the fact that up until now I have never used a sewing pattern. So I guess my next step is to learn how to read and alter these to fit my shape.

After the cabinet has arrived, I thought about popping into the local bridal wear shop and having a nosey around. This is less to do with lack of ideas and more with trying to find out how on earth these things are put together. I am not too worried about a corset - I either learn how to make one of those or I buy a cheap, plain white one and decorate it.

I am more in awe of those skirts - how do people manage to create that many layers and not make the hips look 4 sizes bigger than they are?


In a premature retail rush I decided to buy the material I will ultimately use to make my dress:
We have some white silk, silver fabric, white silk ribbon, sew simple glue, button-hole making things and a tiny white feather boa, which will form the collar, wrist bits and the bottom of the skirt. For decorative purposes I also added white bows, roses, mini-pearls and sequins. I am sure they will come in handy somehow.

The next step will be to find some literature on making clothes. I will need to know how to make sleeves, shirts, skirts and possibly a fabric corset.
Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Well, I am stubborn.