Wedding Dress Sash

Amongst other things, I have been working on creating a new sash for a wedding dress.

The dress started off fairly plain and my customer wanted something with a bit of sparkle.

This is what I started off with.

I had a bit of muslim, cut in a strip, so that she could give me the correct width of what she wanted. She also wanted a bow at the back.

I started off with a piece of organza that was the correct width ( + small top seam) and used some chiffon behind and over the top of it and pinned it into place (as picture).

There was a small strip of fabric on the dress and a bow that needed removing so I had to undo the stitching that held this in place, cut and remove it. I had to undo an area along the zip edge and open up the sides to put the sash into it!!!!

I find it difficult to 'create' beaded areas, purely on a design level. What one person would like is not necessarily the same as you might create and because it takes a long time to hand sew beads into place, I must admit to being a little nervous !! I showed her some beads that I was going to consider and she liked them, Swarovski crystals, whats not to like, truly my favourites, plus a few others. Bit too extravagant a budget would have been needed for it all to be Swarovski .

I also got sew on ones (because I like them and did not want to risk burning the chiffon with some hotfix ones) which I got from http://www.cheapfabrics.co.uk/

She came around the other day to check out the beading, just to make sure she was happy before I continued with the back and the bow, and she was really pleased.

So, thought I would show you it so far.

Re-styling a dress

One project I have just done is a little unusual, and not at all easy.

A young lady comes to me every now and then with unusual requests, and this was no different, she brought me a dress

The problem was, she did not like the top of the dress, wanted it taken off and a new one put on.

I told you it was unusual.

Problem one; she wanted a top with floaty sleeves.

Problem two; dress has a side zip . A top with sleeves can not have a side zip !!!!

Oh yes, and there was no centre back seam on the skirt.!!!

I love problem solving and a challenge, just as well in my job.

I made a muslin top with floaty sleeves with a centre back seam. I found the centre back of the skirt, marked it and stitched a V shape around it because it was made of chiffon and would have frayed !!!

We had a fitting, just to make sure everything was to her liking and it was fine.

There was no way to find a matching colour, so we picked a contrasting one for the top.

Made the top and attached it to the skirt.

For the centre back I used the sash that had been around the waist, to surround the raw edges before inserting the zip.

I made a little flower, using a technique I found on a blog, to bring both colours together. Unfortunately I can't remember the blog, otherwise I would happily tell you where I got it from. I changed the technique because I could not find the blog again and repeat it !!!!! I was quite happy with the result though. Here is the finished dress

Christening Gown

The date for the Christening has passed , so I feel that it is ok to show you my picture.
As usual, my photography is below par and does not show the detail of the skirt or bodice.
The lace was taken from a wedding dress, it was then placed onto the skirt and bodice (as shown in a previous post) and then re-beaded. The flowers were also taken off the dress.
It is the first one that I have ever made and, although it took longer than anticipated, it was a pleasure to do. She is a beautiful little girl.

I WON , yay !!!!

I won a prize !!!!! I have never won anything before !.

Spratsie, one of the people on http://www.misi.co.uk/ had posted a thread to win one of her sculptures. you just had to pick your favourite one and say why.

I picked the one called Blowing Kisses Your Way . I really liked it, and as I am a wedding dressmaker, amongst other things, if it wasn't for love I would have no job !!!!! What a lovely name for a sculpture.

I am not giving it away either, its beside my TV , blowing kisses my way !!

Well, you can't possibly expect me to give away the only prize I have ever won, can you !

here, could you give this away x

She has other ones, and they are very reasonably priced, so if you are looking for a gift thats a bit special go to www.misi.co.uk and check out Spratsie store - The Seven Seas

Happy Valentines xx

Next Blogs

Do you ever just go to the top of the page and keep clicking Next Blog until it stops changing them.
I love doing that, you can find some lovely sites that you did not know existed. Do you think it's just because I am nosey, I like to think of myself as being curious.
Sometimes it is a shame that I do not know the different languages as I seem to come across lots of blogs not written in English, I really think it might be nice to learn a new language.

Time is my enemy. At the ripe old age of ' nearly 40' I find that it slips away so much quicker than it used to.
Perhaps I should spend less time 'browsing' the internet, and more time 'doing'.

I do not know why the writing has changed !! I have pressed the same button again and it did not go back to normal.

I am afraid computers are not a strong point for me. Probably why I 'waste' so much time, making mistakes. But there is soooo much on here.

I shall make a list. That seems to be my hobby lately, lists of everything. I have joined a yahoo group called Getting Things Done and although I have read some of it and tried to follow the rules, I still have not found the 'time' to do it properly. I have however found that I am much more productive than I used to be, and that is definately a good thing. So , maybe its not a bad thing that I am 'nosey/curious' (take your pick). I would, after all, not have made myself more productive by being this way.

Note to self; its ok to have the time to be curious, you might learn something useful. I think it should be on everybody's list

On my twitter I have been writing about one of my sewing projects.
It is a Christening Gown.
The customer came to me with a pattern (McCalls M4865) and her wedding dress. She asked if it would be possible to make the Gown from the train of her dress. The wedding dress fabric was too thick for this, so I suggested a thinner satin.
I took the lace and beads from the train of the wedding dress, had to also make the wedding dress train shorter and finish the hem.

I positioned the lace onto the christening gown skirt, tried it in 3 different patterns before I decided that I liked this way best.

I have hand sewn it into place, added the beads, then attached a lining so that it hid all stitching.

I made up the gown, although, I sort of followed the instructions. I had lined the skirt, which was not in the instructions. I attached the skirt lining and skirt together, then continued, as one piece. I also made the sleeves longer, I needed to add elastic around the 'cuff ' part because they were quite wide. I found fiting the sleeves a bit tricky because they were so small. But got there in the end.

The little baby is beautiful, I cant wait to see the pictures . Valentines Day, what a lovely day for a Christening

Medieval Dress

One of my ladies has sent me pictures for you to see.

I made this Medieval dress for August this year. Its my first one of this type, but it is a style I have always wanted to do.

She brought me a pattern for a costume dress because it was most similar to what she wanted. She had also bought the silk. I changed the neckline because I thought it would make it look nice, as its in a block of colour, it would be just a bit more interesting. I loved the sleeve design and it looks fabulous in the picture. She loved it and I was very pleased myself.

Hope you like