Week 3 of My Sister’s Wedding Dress
Last week was packed full of work, projects & fun! Again I’m finding it extremely difficult to sit down and write a full post to guide you through week 3 of the wedding dress build. But here goes…
First, I finished stitching the hem using a rolled hemming foot. I typically hand stitch my hems, but due to lack of time and the silk being covered by the silk underlay, I opted to use the sewing machine. I’m glad I did because it saved me lots of time and the results were beautiful!
Next I laid out the lace and carefully cut the pieces out with a rotary cutter and mat. (This is where I’m glad I invested in an extra large cutting board! You can get them for a really good price on Amazon here!)
At first, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to serge the lace edges or not. I knew that the serge edges would at strength to the lace seams, but it would also add a dark white line running along the seams.
I decided to serge the waistband seams and back seams. (If I could go back, I would do a long zig zag stitch instead of serged edges… the white serged seam stands out too much.)
Then, I stitched all the pieces together, tacked the lace to the silk in places and hand stitched lace at the zipper.
Below: Katie had her first fitting! Fingers were crossed that it fit!
Sadly, it was not a perfect fit 🙁 First, I needed to take it in (more) at the hips.
This alteration wasn’t difficult, but is was a pain to take out & put back in the stay stitches/tacks to take in the side seams. I guess that is what happens when you have to rush through the process and skip fittings (because the bride-to-be is away )!
But the biggest alteration to be made and obstacle to overcome was the dress length. At the first fitting (the mock-up), we decided to keep the dress on the longer side to give it more elegance and flow (and I also thought she would wear some type of heels). Well the dress ended up being much too long! It was almost impossible for her to walk in without tripping on the lace in front. The silk under layer was fine, but the front lace consistently got caught in Kate’s toes.
I tried to get my sister to change her mind and wear heels, but she did not budge. Her argument was, “Why would I wear heels now, on the most important day of my life, when I won’t be able to stand/walk straight without shaking?” Ok- she was right! But I wasn’t sure how I could alter the length of the lace???
We decided the only way to do this (without driving north for more lace fabric) was to cut and re-hem the front of the silk underlay, then roll under the lace at the front. At first, I was very disappointed that things resulted to this and that we lost most of the beautiful lace trim at the bottom, but ultimately it turned out very nicely! In fact, I may even like it better this way, since it emphasizes the train in the back more.
I don’t want to leave you hanging, but I don’t want to show anymore pictures of the skirt until she is married. I have family reading this and want to leave some surprise for them on her wedding day 🙂
This week: Finishing the silk top for the wedding dress, Finishing the “new” bridesmaid dress, & patterning the mother of the bride dress.
Coming up next:
you are funny for leaving readings “hanging”… it’s like waiting for the next episode of friends. the silk and lace looks beautiful together! i can’t wait to see the top portion of the dress. did the fabric stretch while you was working on it?
Haha sorry Susan‑I don’t do it on purpose…usually I’m too busy to continue writing or posting. I rather be sewing then writing!
I interfaced the seams of the silk skirt, so it shouldn’t stretch. I will let you know if the silk top stretches. Take care!
Gorgeous dress! Really lovely
Thanks Sewing Princess! 🙂
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What a fabulous read and great images! You explained everything so well. Dress looks gorgeous- so far!!
Love Heatherxxxxx
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