10 Days until the wedding!
Time is running out and we’ve resorted to plan B:
Kate wears this.
What do you think?
Totally Joking! This well endowed dress was concocted at my sister’s bridal/lingerie shower . It was too funny to not share with you!
This activity/game was so much fun! I highly recommend it to anyone throwing a bridal shower (especially for the seamstresses out there)!
“Newspaper Wedding Gown” Rules:
Split the party into 5 teams. Each team creates one piece of the dress: skirt, bodice, train, sleeve or veil. Each team has 10 minutes to create their piece. Extra points for being creative with your choice of newspaper articles or words.
Can you guess who won the challenge?
Team Bodice took the win! And since I’ve yet to finish Kate’s wedding top- Kate may walk down the aisle with her lace/silk skirt and newspaper top 🙂
Making the Top/Blouse
My sister made 2 requests for her top: (1) Cover her shoulders and (2) Reusable (She can wear it again!)
Sounds easy- right? Well, this request is a bit tricky and has added extra work/time to my already very tight schedule.
From the start, we began working along a fine line between casual & elegant. I think creating her wedding dress with separates (and using different shades of white and ivory for the fabrics) added a touch of casual from the beginning. So when I created my first mock-up for the t‑shirt/top, the top made the dress look far too casual and did not fit the occasion (at all). (It had to much ease and the sleeves were too big.)
Above you can see the second mock-up. (Yes- The sleeves are set-in poorly! But, it’s only a mock up and I need to cut corners if necessary!) I am still not happy with this top. The set-in sleeve (the sleeve you see in the photo) make the attire look casual.
I slightly ripped the top, so that Kate could push the sleeveless strap slightly off the shoulder. We agreed this small cap sleeve (with no set in sleeve) looked more elegant. Below are some other examples/options we are looking at. Shop these patterns here.
Mother of the Bride Dress Update
This week I’ started the mother of the bride dress! To make things easier for myself, I chose to make her a dress using BurdaStyle Magazine’s pattern.
I love these European patterns and thought it would be fitting to use them for my sister’s wedding! I chose a simple shift pattern with slanted darts. (See photos below)
So I transferred the patterns to poster board and created my mom’s first mock-up!
Despite the few adjustments to the pattern at the sides and neckline, I was very pleased with the mock-up!
I couldn’t wait to get started on the final cut and dress, but unfortunately (and of course) there was a problem and hurdle to jump! I didn’t have enough silk wool! I was about five inches too short when I laid out the pieces! Oh boy- I was not happy! There was no way I would be able to drive up north for more fabric nor willing to pay for expedited shipping!
I tested different layouts and nothing worked.
I even thought about changing the dress to paneled princess seamed dress in hopes to use the smallest about of fabric possible. But before I was about to change the pattern, I double checked to see what I had in my fabric stash. Luckily, I found a bag of 2 expensive silks I bought in New York City last winter at Mood Fabrics. I had them stashed away for a gown I planned to build. One of the silks is almost identical to the color of the silk wool! PHEW! (However, I will have to change the plans for the gown I intended to build.)
This is where I’m currently at with the mother of the bride dress. Though I am not positive, but it is likely I will use the silk from New York City as a horizontal strip along the bottom of the skirt. I guess you will have to wait and see what I end up doing! 🙂
Next Post: Revised Maid of Honor Dress Sneak Peek & the story behind the second dress (actually skirt and top)
