The big white dress…

As some of you already know, I’m getting married this December.  And of course, I’m making my wedding gown! How could I resist such a glamorous, high-profile project?  And how would I maintain my sewing-teacher street cred if I didn’t make the gown?  I got some Italian silk taffeta and some heavy-weight silk organza (for the foundation) at Mood in NY when I was there in April.  Mood is definitely one of my all-time favorite places to shop, along with Osgood in Springfield, MA, Fabric Hut in Norfolk, VA, and Pacific Trimming in NY.  We used to shop at Mood for costume fabrics a lot.  They have such a broad selection and very reasonable prices, plus it’s actually way bigger than it looks on Project Runway.  So, anyway, I got the taffeta and organza back in April and then I got some beautiful Alencon lace at Fabric Hut in May (with a 20% off coupon–get on their mailing list!).

I’m going to flat pattern the foundation (which will be built in), make a muslin, fit it, and then make it in organza and maybe some other fabrics with spiral steel boning.  Spiral steel is so much better than rigilene (the plastic kind you can sew over).  It’s a holdover from my costuming days.  We always used it in stage corsets because due to the spiral structure it can move with you as you bend but it still offers support, being steel.  It’s more comfortable than rigilene and it comes with caps to keep it from breaking through the fabric and cutting you.  You can order it in many different lengths or by the spool and cut it to fit with a wire cutter.  I haven’t ordered the bones yet because I’d like to order them to size once I fit and avoid lots of wire cutting.

So then, I’ll use the actual foundation on my dress form to drape the gown, make a muslin, fit it, and then make the real deal.  Also I think I’m going to build in a store-bought crinoline so I don’t have to work with 15,000 yards of tulle netting for the ruffles.  Is this sounding like an involved project to you?

The good news is, I finally started it.  Yay! I’m really looking forward to this project.  I may not get to make anything this fancy for myself again, so I want to enjoy every minute of working with those beautiful fabrics.  No hints on the design, you’ll just have to check back here and spy it out as it progresses.  I’ve been having trouble finding time to work on it, so I think I’m going to block off Fridays for that purpose all summer while my schedule permits.

Have any of y’all made your own wedding gown?  Or anything else super-fancy?  I want details!  Email me pictures if you want, too.  I love seeing people’s finished projects.

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