Bridal Fashion Show

Long time no post . . . .

But I am back, if only for this posting. I am still pretty crazy busy with 'the season', but had some time left over this evening and wanted to get photos posted from the Bridal Fashion Show of May 1.

The girls all looked gorgous, as did the dresses!
I won't post all of the photos, but here are the best ones - enjoy!

And finally - all my beautiful models together!

Day 5 - Tiffany Gown

Despite the day starting out with a series of minor catastrophes, the work went pretty well today.

It started with my getting up way too late! I am usually up and going by 7 or 7:30 at the latest. It must have been the thunderstorms, but I slept in til 9:00 a.m. this morning! Then my husband had a minor emergency when his truck died. While we were in the middle of that crisis, I got a call from a client, whose appointment I had forgotten! After all was said and done, I didn't get started on Tiffany til about 1:00 p.m.

I began today's work with attaching the lining and the foundation to the gown. Not difficult, but with all the little extras I add when doing this step, it took longer than it probably should have.

 I also added the zipper and finished the hem edge to prepare it for the hemming tomorrow.

Doesn't sound like I did much, does it? In my defense, I also had 4 appointments today.

All in all I was fairly satisfied with the days work. Tomorrow I will do the hem, as well as add some crinoline to the lining. I will also finish the shoulder wrap and add a little embellishment.

Then - TA-DA!! Finished!

Day 4 - Tiffany Gown

OMG!!! Can I just say that I am in love with this gown! I don't know if it is the fabric, which is a dream to sew with, the pattern/style of the dress, or the simple fact that it is going together so well. But this gown is just so pretty! There will be one tiny style change from the original sketch, but it has been approved my the designer ( my daugher, Brittany), so I will move forward with it.

Today I put together the dress pieces, the neck drape, and the lining. WOuld have gotten a bit more done, but my sweet husband dragged me away for a bit to go see the new Sams Warehouse. Spent a deliteful couple of hours with my sweetie. Not exactly a date, but fun just the same. 

Tomorrow I will put all the layers together, the zipper, the hem, and add a tiny bit of embellishment. I may also have to finish the inside seams of the skirt with some hem lace. I'm not comfortable with how much the silk is ravelling. Even with the underlining - it's making me nervous. I rarely see wedding gowns with the seams finished, but in this case, I would just be a bit more at peace, I think.  Have you been waiting for photo's? Well, I only have a few, and they have been cropped so you can't see the whole dress - that's for later!

First, the original design for the back detail:

And here, the change:

And a little peek of the front:

It has been asked, several times, by several people, in tones of disbelief, "how can you possibly make a wedding gown in just a few days?! Well, Dear Readers, you must understand, this is ALL I DO! I do not have a life. I get up, I feed the animals, get dressed and throw on make-up (yes, I am one of those people who wears make-up at home; you just never know when I may get called out to an appointment, or a client will show up here), and check email, then it's upstairs to the sewing studio. I do not come down again unless I have to. During my busy months/ weeks, I live on diet coke and crackers. I will sew sometimes from 8:30 a.m. till 9 or 10:00 p.m. or later. I usually come down to throw some dinner together for my husband. Then it's back upstairs. I do have to leave for appointments some days, but for the most part, I am upstairs. It is all I do. It's a good thing I love what I do. I can't imagine doing anything else. So, if you wonder how I can possibly complete an entire wedding gown in just a few days, this is part of it. The other part is that this is a very easy dress. No complicated pieces. And I have done enough wedding gowns to not have to stop and think about or read instructions.

Now, will I actually have it done in a few days? Tomorrow will be my fifth day. I have given myself till Wednesday to finish. If it continues to go as well as it has so far, yes, I will have it done!

(Famous last words, right?)

Artfully Romantic Gown

Back in February, I mentioned I was creating a gown for  a contest sponsored by Brides Magazine. It was to be done under the theme of  'Artfully Romantic'. Unfortunately, my gown didn't make the cut.

I gave you glimpses of the gown before it was finished, but now it is finished, and though it won't be entering any contest, I am still quite proud of it. I still believe it embodies all things romantic,and it also shows some creativity in the use of the 'felted silk' on the embellishments.

The dress is a strapless/one-shoulder gown of ivory satin and pink and ivory beaded lace, over-layed with ivory silk oragnaza. There is asymetrical pleating at the right side of the bodice, as well as pleating at the shoulder. A pretty 'fall' of lace at the shoulder sets a frame for the embellished flower. A pale pink ribbon shows off the waistline and an additional embellished flower. The skirt is slim fitting through the hips, flaring into a trumpet skirt, with one lace godet at the right front.

The lace is layed asymetrically across the front and back hip for a flattering line.

The lace gives an antique look to the gown.

The flowers are what I am really happy with! They started out as an experiment. My very good friend, Jill, does a lot of felting. I was curious about how silk would do with felting, so we started a bit of playing with different types of silk and different needles. We got some very interesting textured silk - which I used to create the flowers seen here on the shoulder and at the waist. They include tulle, and some small pieces of the beaded lace as well.

When I think of romantic, I think of lace, pink, feminine details, flowers. All the attributes that I put into this gown. I don't know why it wasn't choosen to be in the contest, but I am at peace with it. I love this gown, and hope you do as well!  It will be shown in the May 1 bridal fashion show I am coordinating, and you will see it soon in my Etsy shop as well!

How About a Little Tease?

I recently found out about a contest!

It is sponsored by Brides Magazine. It is called Operation Dream Dress.

www.operationdreamdress.com

They are looking for new wedding gown designers to submit their original designs. I will be a bit pressed for time, but I am excited about it. My original idea feel apart when I remembered I had some beautiful lace packed away just waiting for the right dress. So I unpacked it and started playing. It only took a few minutes before I came up with my dress idea. Sketches must be submitted by the end of January. 25 finalists will be chosen to make their gowns and submit them by March 7. Then the gowns will be voted on by readers! As I said, I will be pressed for time. Because I am leaving for a trip out of town on Feb 12 and will not return until Feb 21. Which would only give me a week or so to make the gown. So, in anticipation of atleast becoming a finalist (!) I am getting a head start on the gown now!

I won't show you the sketch, but I will give you a little tease of what it looked like as I was 'playing' with the fabric and lace!

The theme of the gowns is "Artfully Romantic", so your submission needs to be relative to the theme.

You can't really tell in the photo's, but the lace has a light pink threading in it. I have used the lace before in another gown. It has pretty pearl and glass beading in it. This lace was the last of a bolt I got from Gail K's several years ago. I got the whole rest of the bolt. Couldn't resist!

The prize you ask? Well, here's the thing. I'm not thrilled with the fine print. Winner gets a check for $10,000. Sounds really great right? Except, number 1 - Big Daddy gets about 40% right off the top.

You have to give up all rights to your design. You get no residual $$ for any sold dresses. You cannot make or sell the dress yourself for profit. The dress design will not have your name on it at all. I mean - you give up ALL rights to this design you spent hours and hours creating. I'm not jazzed about that. But, then, I don't have a desire to do any mass producing anyway.

My joy comes in the creating, and though I really wish my name would stay on it, perhaps the recognition of just being in the contest would be enough. The money doesn't hurt either.

I will keep you posted with further details!! Wish me luck!!

If You Liked the 16 Pt Bustle - How About This!

I love bustles! They can make a wedding gown go from just pretty to fabulous! I especially love tiered french bustles. They look so elegant. They are perfect for very full skirts. The 16 point bustle I did  a few posts ago was just such a bustle. Full skirt that made a beautiful tiered bustle. 

Today I bustled a gown that topped the 16 pointer. This is another Justin Alexander Couture Gown. It is much fuller than the earlier gown, thus needing more bustle points. 

Figuring out where they would all go ended up taking more time than I expected. Lots of measurement taking, marking,  re-measuring, and rechecking. In order to get an even look all the way around, it is important to mark the bustles symmetrically on each side from the center back.
Each bustle is marked with color coordinated pins which are then replaces with matching ribbons.

 I was a little concerned that I would have enough different colored ribbons so I wouldn't have to use any of them more than once. Fortunately I had recently purchased a huge supply of ribbon, and had plenty!

Here is a view of the bustles all tied up -

And here is the finished view -

4 1/2  hours, 32 feet of ribbon, and 24 bustle points later, the bustling is finished on this gown.

16 Point Bustle

I can't even begin to count how many bustles I have done over the years. And I do love a pretty bustle! I enjoy experimenting and trying to come up with unusual and inventive, creative ways to hold up the train on a bridal gown.
This gown I worked on yesterday was one of the fun ones! Most of the time, it's the gowns with the huge trains that get the creative bustles. This gown is a lovely Signature Justin Alexander ballgown.

Right away I knew that this beautiful gown deserved an elegant bustle that would only enhance the beauty of the lace and not detract from the fullness of the ballgown skirt.
After playing with the skirt for awhile, I decided to do a tiered french bustle. There are 9 points on the top layer, and 7 points on the bottom layer.  Here is the finished look -

And here is what a 16 point bustle looks like from underneath -

There are 16 sets of different colored ribbons that tie together. I like to use pretty printed ribbons when I can. Some of these are plain, but most have either polka dots, stripes, even tiny little cupcakes on them!
French bustles don't have to be confusing or difficult! I use the colored ribbons not only to make it easy to bustle, but to make it fun!!

Back From the Bunny Hole

Remember my adventures in the bunny hole from a few posts ago? I believe I can safely say I am back from the bunny hole. The gown I was working on at the time is finished and delivered.
To refresh your mind - I had been working on a gown for a bride who had received a completely free wedding. The gown she had picked out was a lovely ivory draped and pleated Pronovious gown. It had a halter neck, very fitted to the hips, where it flared out with gathered godets at the sides, flowing into a huge - HUGE train. The first thing she wanted was to change the neckline to a sweetheart strapless. It needed taking in about 1.5 inches at the back; added padded cups, hem and figure out a bustle for this huge train. Oh - and she wanted a lightly beaded belt that was on a different gown. She also got free bridesmaid dresses, flower girl dresses, 2 mother of the bride dresses, shoes, veil, jewelry, cake, flowers, catering, event center, and yes, honeymoon. It was never mentioned to her that alterations were not included in the package. But it became quite obvious that she assumed they were. Perhaps I should have mentioned it sooner, but in all honesty, I didn't realize she was getting everything free of charge until after our first fitting was done and she was gone. At our second fitting, she was feeling quite sick (almost fainted on me) and it didn't get mentioned again. She was to let me know with in 2 weeks after our 2nd fitting how she was coming on her weight (hopefully she would not have gained or lost anymore and I could then go ahead and do the alterations, again). After 3 weeks, I finally contacted her to find out what she wanted me to do as far as taking the dress in again or not. She insisted she didn't have time to come for another fitting so she told me to just do what ever I thought I should do, but to make it unique and special in a way that would be different than any other gown. Hmmm . . . we had only discussed alterations, not design changes.  She asked me to just drop it off at the bridal shop and she would pick it up this week. The wedding is this coming Friday. And could I take it in just a tiny bit more than what I had pinned?
I did the alterations as we had discussed., but no design changes.  I have no idea whether it will fit or not, because, as I mentioned, she didn't come for further fittings. It was at this point that I became quite, well, irritated. She was expecting me to make her dress into some dream version of a dress that even she wasn't sure of. She expected it to fit perfectly, but wasn't willing, or able, to do her part. And she was expecting me to do all this for free. Hours - and I do mean hours. 22 to be exact. That I could have spent working on other gowns for much more appreciative brides.  Frustration set in as it never has before. And while I sat in my chair by my window with her dress in my lap, I decided to just pray about it. And I immediately found peace. I knew what I had to do. Whether or not I could do it cheerfully was another matter entirely. I finished the alterations and delivered it to the store.  I then sent her a message that I hoped she was feeling better, and I hoped the dress was done the way she wanted, and my blessings for a beautiful wedding and happy marriage. I didn't mention any payment. God helped me to see that as He had gifted me with my business, so I could gift her with my services. It was the least I could do to show Him my gratitude. It may not have been done with the most cheerful of hearts, but it was done in obedience. The cheerfulness will follow, I believe. In the meantime, here is the dress -

Here is the front view, finished; changed neckline, cups added, belt added, hemmed, taken in twice, left unbustled in this photo.

                                         A close-up of the bodice with the confiscated belt.

                                                                 The train full length.

The train is bustled here. There are 6 traditional bustle loops across the back of the skirt going to a single button at the right side, and 4 traditional bustle loops from the center back to the left that go to a single button at the center back.
The heavy satin underskirt is held up with 3 french bustles underneath.
It really is a lovely gown, and she will make a lovely bride. I do hope she is feeling well on her special day, and I pray daily for my own  attitude. It is a work in progress.

Down The Rabbit Hole . . .

There is a line in Alice in Wonderland, where the rabbit is running around tyring to find his way screaming, "No time to stop no time to wait, I'm late, I'm late for a very important date!"  Or atleast it goes something like that. Such is my life the last few weeks. I feel like I've been playing catch-up for about a month now. Nothing has been late, but I feel as though I am right  on the verge. Which is why I haven't been doing much posting.
Let's start with where we left off - remember the bustling I promised? Ok -I now have pictures.

Here is the train bustled fairly loosely.

Here it is bustled tigher.

And here is why it is different than what I have done before. This train is HUGE. Very full. To do individual ties for a french bustle, would take many many ties which would get tedious to do up as well as confusing. so, I attached the ribbons, but they are threaded through thread loops, to gather the fabric together, then the ribbon is tied to the coordinating ribbon on the underskirt.

This is the center bustle. I attached the ribbon at the center, then you can see where each end is threaded through a thread loop.

Here is where the two ribbons come together and tie to a third.

This is a view of one of the side bustles. It is threaded through 5 thread loops spread out over about 2 feet of fabric. It will tie to a coordinating ribbon on the underskirt, pulling all the fabric together.

All together, I attached 5 sets of ribbons. Each set is a different color and or fabric of ribbon, so it is easy to see which ribbons go together.

All this to say that when the bride tried it on, she didn't like it. Here is why -

As you can see, from the front, it looks like the dress has wings. Not very attractive. Together we tried to remember exactly how I had originally done it up. It wasn't until after she left and I was playing  with it again that I think I finally came up with  it. All the fabric was pulled over to the right side, on the outside of the dress, where each fold will be attached to a single button on the side. That will leave one piece (which doesn't quite reach to the side) that will have to be attached at the centerback. I'm not liking the look of it attached here, though. I may see about pulling this last fold up underneath into a french bustle instead.

But it is much more flattering from the front!

I first met with this bride about 6 weeks ago. She was a tiny size, and I had to bring the dress down atleast a size to fit. Hemmed about 6 inches, added padded cups, changed it from a halter to a sweetheart strapless, and of course the bustles.

When I met with her last week, she had lost weight - not that she had any to loose. If a strong wind blows, she will disappear. And I have to take to take the dress in more. About 2 more inches at the back, and now also at the waist through the hip area at the side. She has been on medication that has caused her to completely loose her appetite. I told her I am not touching the dress for 2 weeks, at which time I want to hear from her on whether or not she has gained any of the weight back or (God forbid!) lost more. The wedding is in November, so we still have a bit of time.

Ok - back into the bunny hole. I am off to another fitting. It never stops . . .