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Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

Wedding dress updates and progress! Part 2

(Avert your eyes if you're waiting till the end for the big reveal!!)

Like I said, I'm making my wedding dress and am happy to post pics as we go.  The process is taking a while since I'm only working on it at my mom's house on the weekends.  My parents live 45 minutes or so away and I've been going out there on Saturdays or Sundays to do the wedding dress and help my mom get ready for the civil war reenacting season.  She has a business making historical clothing and is VERY busy this time of year!  But it's lots of fun to work on the wedding dress there with her nearby, and get her help on the tricky parts.  She is a cutting-out expert.

Anyway, if you want to be surprised when the dress is done, wait till I finish it next month or till August when I can post pics of the wedding!!  If not, here's part 2 of the process!!

I assembled the lining of the skirt, gored with 6 panels.
I put the skirt on the mannequin, which just makes it so much more fun!  I draped all four of my sheer tulle layers (grey, ivory, pale pink, and shimmery peach) onto the mannequin and tied a ribbon around the waist.  Just to get an idea of the look...
I plan to do self-fabric embellishment with little flowers and all, but still haven't decided if I'll add some lace as well, so I threw some on there to try out also.

Then it was time to assemble the bodice.  I did an "interlining," which means I put the lining and fashion fabric (in this case the first layer of the fashion fabric, since I plan to cover it with tulle shirring) together and sew them right sides together.  I serged each of the pieces along the long seams before sewing them together so I can insert the boning in the seam allowances.  I pulled out my mom's box of corset boning... plastic-covered steel...
See, I just inserted the boning in the seam allowance!!  I'll put some in the side seams as well.
I also took a little horizontal dart in the center front of the bodice to make the bust fit better--there's a gap there with this pattern otherwise, and on a wedding dress, I thought it really should fit.  Vintage dresses often have this dart, actually.
Anyway, next I gathered three layers of tulle, together (not all four like the skirt will have, don't want to add too much bulk).  I cut rectangles the width of the bodice and ran gathering seams down the angled seams.  I pinned the sheer layers onto the grey pieces.  It was a bit of a pain to get them all to lay flat.
Then I sewed the front and back together at the right side seam (I'm going to put a side zipper on the left rather than a center back zipper).  I also put a belt of strong, sturdy linen in as a reinforcement.  I basted it to the bottom with big stitches to keep it in place.
Ta-da!  Here it is on the dress form.
Yay!  A shirred bodice and a plain gored skirt.
Next up: gathering all the layers of the skirt and putting them on.  Then sewing the bodice to the skirt.  Stay tuned for more updates!!

32 comments

  1. Wow it looks gorgeous so far, cant wait for the end result! :)

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  2. I love LOVE LOVE! that bodice! This is such fun watching your progress....looking forward to more updates, my dear.
    Cheers!

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  3. ACK. I am SO excited to see how it turns out. That bodice is DIVINE.

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  4. AWESOME. I'm so excited watching the progress of this dress, it makes it look very achievable to make something so fancy! Now I'm just wishing I had an opportunity to make something so divine...

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  5. Beautiful! Thank you for sharing the process with us!

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  6. oooh, looking very good so far!

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  7. Love following the progress. Looks beautiful so far!

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  8. Pretty, pretty, pretty!

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  9. Really beautiful. The tulle sounds like a pain to work with, can't wait to see the rest of it.

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  10. I am really surprised how fast your dress is coming along. Looks beautiful so far and I am really interested in the layered colours of the skirt.

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  11. Looks lovely so far!

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  12. I've been watching the William and Kate wedding programs all day and it was so much fun to see your dress as well. I'm kind of in a wedding mood now. Your dress looks amazing.

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  13. I love the bodice so far, the gathered tulle is lovely, and I like the different layers.

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  14. wowww it looks amazing!!!!

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  15. WOW!! Really great!! It's going to be beautiful!

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  16. it's looking fabulous! i can't wait to see the finished result!

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  17. wow !!! wow!!! wow!!! It looks beautiful! I have to ask you a favor: would you talk a little bit more about the horizontal dart?. I've never seen it before. Like sistersue said we also are in wedding mood now, watching the royal wedding and yours!

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  18. soooooo in AWE of your skill. i LOVE the bodice. it's looking so beautiful!!

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  19. Super lovely! I look forward to the next installment.

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  20. it looks really amazing...I am so impressed with you for making your own dress!..can't wait to see the finished product!

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  21. I love the bodice and gathering, and I adore the different colors of tulle! What a lovely idea. I also really like the lace when you laid it over the skirt.

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  22. looks beautiful It's great you can work on it having your mom nearby

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  23. AHH I'm so excited for you it looks great!

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  24. Wow! I love how you're dress is coming along!

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  25. This is looking gorgeous. I love your color choice's. Yay!

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  26. Dress progress is looking great :)!

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  27. Aaaw, thanks, everyone! It is nice to hear you think it's pretty =)
    Always so hard to decide things about THE dress!

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  28. @Raquel...

    More details on the horizontal dart! From my mom:
    "Well, I don’t know everything about it, but I have seen it on 1890s ball gowns (patterns and in Janet Arnold’s patterns of History, I think). When the whole bodice needs to fit closely, it helps to pull in the fabric between the breasts, As you saw on your dress, it emphasizes the sweetheart shape of the neckline and also pulls the fabric closer to the body, both between the breasts and also along the edge of the neckline. (We don’t want a gap there where your dancing partner could look down your dress, now do we?)

    I’m sure it was invented by resourceful dressmakers trying to get that smooth, “poured-on wax” look for their clients."

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  29. Your dress is looking fantastic! Good luck for the big day.

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  30. Beautiful bodice! It's so exciting to see your progress!

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  31. http://www.sanseed.com/ball-gown-strapless-floor-length-sleeveless-beadings-satin-organza-wedding-dresses.html

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  32. Wow! I do think this will come up into a beautiful wedding dress. Can't wait! :D

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