bridal

So I secretly felt relieved when my friend did not ask for dramatic trains or super puffy skirt. I’ve never made those, and I would be very nervous to try it for the first time on someone’s wedding dress. My friend decided on a dress that was simple, flowey, and easy to move around in. Since the dress I’m making is for her afterparty, she really emphasized her desire for mobility. I wouldn’t want to be dragging a long train at a restaurant/bar type place either.  I suggested that we do simple half circle dress. I thought it would go well with the  big “balloon bow” we were going to add to the back of the dress. She loved the idea, and the muslin of the skirt I made for her. It worked out pretty well for me as well, since I’ve already drafted a pattern for half circle skirt for Grograin‘s free pattern month (free scallop waist half circle skirt pattern is here).

Because of the length of the skirt, I had to separate the skirt pieces in four. My Grosgrain half circle pattern can be cut out as one piece, because the length is short, but for a floor length dress, I had to separate them.

This satin fabric sheds like a dog! I had to sweep the floor multiple times everyday. It got really frustrating working with this fabric so for the skirt pieces I overlocked the edge, even though I didn’t have to, since it was going to be lined. This extra step made my sewing time much easier.

I ironed the seam allowances open. This thing became really handy..I’m not sure what you call it in English, but in Japanese, it is called “Sode Manjyu”, which means “sleeves steamed cake.” It’s different from a Taylor’s ham, it is longer..anyone know what you call this in English?

Now that the four pieces were connected and became a big one skirt piece, I added an iron-on interface tape to prevent the waist skirt line from stretching too much. Although the fabric did not have any stretch, the fabric was cut in bias so I wanted to avoid the measurements changing because of the possible stretch.

I made sure that the seam lines of the bodice and those of the skirt piece matched up. It would be terrible if they didn’t… I pinned the bodice and skirt pieces together and sewed the places where the two seams matched first. Then I sewed together the two pieces. That way I knew for sure that the seams would match and by doing it this way I was able to avoid re-sewing the entire line because of possible mismatches.

Tada! Now it looks more like a wedding dress! Next, I need to install a zipper 🙂

Read my progress on sewing wedding dress! :

Part 1 – Fabric shopping
Part 2 – Muslin
Part 3 – Another Muslin
Part 4 – Cutting Fashion Fabric
Part 5 – Sewing the Bust Part
Part 6 – Ruching

My friend told me that she wanted a wide waistband, that is a bit more decorative than just one of fashion fabric. We initially thought of ordering this handmade organza and rhinestone belt from an etsy seller, JML Jewel Design(which is full of very pretty items by the way!) But things did not work out with the timing and seller, so we decided on adding a fabric that is ruched on top of waist band.

This is how it looks like from the front. I cut a piece of fabric that is 1.5 longer in length than the waist band. Then I sewed a straight line with wide stitch length, gathered the fabric, and sewed it on the waist band in order to create this ruched look.

Inside looks like this. I stopped often to iron.

I’m so happy that the side seams matched up perfectly!

This is how it looks like after attaching the waist band. I put the pretty pearl choker on the dress form to motivate myself! I’m pretty happy with how the dress looks so far 🙂

By the way, I finally started watching Project Runway shows a couple of weeks ago. We (yes, Andy watches this show with me! He is a wonderful husband :p ) finished season 1, then skipped season 2, because I wanted to watch Alison Kelly from BurdaStyle in season 3. It is so inspiring to see all the designers tackle the challenges and sew in such a limited time!  As a side note, I think Heidi Klum looked amazing while she was pregnant!

Read my progress on sewing wedding dress! :

Part 1 – Fabric shopping
Part 2 – Muslin
Part 3 – Another Muslin
Part 4 – Cutting Fashion Fabric
Part 5 – Sewing the Bust Part

Today, I want to write about how it was to sew the bust part of the wedding dress, but before I do so, I wanted to share Sarah from Pattern Runway‘s insightful comment on iron-on interface in case you missed if from my last post.

“…When I was working in fashion Industry we always used a stretch high-quality fusing such as whisper weft or sheer weft fusing on all fabric types, you can purchased this type of fusing in different weights from sheer to quite a heavy weight, this fusing fuses beautifully for just about every type of fabric I have used from silks to georgettes and heavy weight wools to. Because of the stretch nature of the fusing it strengthens the fabric giving it more body and weight but without the crinkly, stiff feeling that the other types create. It still retains the quality and characteristics of the fabric you are using…

I used to hate fusing before i knew about this type! Most sewing /fabric stores will sell this as a stretch fusing but its not to be only used for stretch fabrics!!! I know that alot of bridal places use this type of fusing to “Block” Fuse the whole amount of fabric (including the skirt) before cutting out the individual pieces as it prevents the fabric from creasing during wear and makes it really nice to sew and press aswell!

Just as a note I only use the whisper and sheer weft fusing on all my sewing projects and have great success with it!”

I have used stretch fusing, but only on stretch knit. I did not know it was so versatile and can be used for non-stretch fabrics! I can’t wait to try this trick for my next project, and wanted to share her sewing tips with you all.

Going back to sewing bust parts..

I sewed bust parts together, carefully on the seam lines. I want this part to fit her body perfectly! Then cut notches on curves, and opened the seam allowances with iron.

For the sweet heart neckline, I used a trick I learned from Gertie‘s Perfect Bombshell Dress course I took over at Cratsy.com. In the course, she uses twill tape to sew in the bust curve part, but also recommends using selvage of the fashion fabric. Since I did not have  twill tape on hand, I cut the selvage of the fabric, 1/2″ shorter than the bust curve length. I did the same for both right and left side of the bust curves.

After that, I cut in the “V” shape part of the bust line.

Then I ironed the bust line, folding the seam allowances inwards. Also, I added a strip of selvage fabric at the “V” line to strengthen that part. This trick I learned from the Perfect Bombshell Dress course as well. The course was totally worth it!

Read my progress on sewing wedding dress! :

Part 1 – Fabric shopping
Part 2 – Muslin
Part 3 – Another Muslin
Part 4 – Cutting Fashion Fabric