Making the dress of my dreams
- meggou279
- May 5
- 4 min read
I always knew I wanted to wear something unique on my wedding day. I never thought I would make my dress since I was always so excited to go shopping and try on different styles to find the perfect one.
My Grandmother, who taught me how to sew, made her wedding dress and my Mother's dress. When the time came, I felt inspired and wanted to keep this tradition alive by making my own dress. This was not an easy process as I can be indecisive, but I made sure to give myself enough time to experiment. 15 months to be exact.
Where better to start a project than the fabric store. After one trip to Mood Fabrics with my Mum in April of 2024 we found the perfect fabric. I decided on a Carolina Herrera silk georgette and got 10 yards since I was not sure on the final design. The fabric is a soft ivory color and has a minimal sheen.
After looking at different designs online to get inspired I figured out a few things. I knew I wanted to accentuate my curves and did not want anything over the top. However I was unsure about the neckline and the little details that would set this apart from others. To help me with deciding on a neckline I kept an eye out thrifting for different style corsets and found a few I could experiment with. I also went through my patterns to see if there was anything I could use as a base.
I had a pattern of a dress I liked, but didn't want to make the exact garment. This pattern was assembled with a princess seam which meant I had to alter it so I just had the skirt pieces. This was a long process and I made a LOT of muslins and mistakes! This picture was taken after making a muslin of the skirt and basic corset bodice. I liked the overall shape, but it just felt so simple.
One thing I knew at this point in the project is I loved how the skirt fit and figured I could focus on this part first. I tried to finalize the fit of the muslin as best as I could and decided to cut the fashion fabrics. I used a lightweight lining that had a cooling hand which felt so nice in the summer heat.
I assembled the skirt and knew I needed help with perfecting the final fit of the skirt, as it is hard to do on yourself! I turned to master seamstresses Jane and Barbara to help. I showed them my progress and asked for advice on my next steps. They recommended I put horsehair braid in the hemline of my skirt to help it keep its shape. Jane also mentioned silk organza would be an ideal option for an underlining. After these suggestions I was off to Lorraine Fabrics. Horsehair braid, but no organza I decided to finish up the skirt.
Luckily my Mum likes to go to NYC and was able to pick up a couple yards of silk organza from Mood. I was originally going to use this as a stabilizer for the bodice, but it ended up being used in an entirely different way.
This is where magic happens!
After being inspired by the flowers above, I ended up playing with colored thread and silk organza. I free motion stitched petals and ended up individually cutting them out around the stitching. I liked the bottom color combination of magenta and orange, plus it matched the tie I thrifted for Dan. After making a few, I loved how delicate and different they looked. I started to pin them to my dress form playing with how they could cover my dress. Since I had a corset I wasn't using I decided to start covering it in them. Hand sewing the flowers together, then hand sewing them onto the corset.
After sewing them on I decided they still needed something. I added orange beads around the centers and pearl beads and it was perfect.
I originally was going to wear this as an after party outfit, but it was too cool to only wear for a couple hours. After going back and forth working on the sweetheart bodice and hand sewing the flowers, I went back to Jane and Barbara for some advice. I showed them the bodice I had sewn onto the dress and this corset I had been working on. I tried them both on and once I put on the floral corset I finally felt like a bride, and myself. Since they know me well, they knew this was the one. They reassured me to trust my vision and go with what I felt best in. Turns out I feel pretty in flowers.
Now having a clear vision of what I was making, there was one thing left to make. a veil. I loved the cuteness of the fluffy 50s style veil and decided to make one. I used an old veil I had and started to hand sew it onto the comb. I had magenta tulle that matched the stitching on the flowers and tried to incorporate it. Not loving how it was turning out, I tried to think of alternatives. I wanted the focus to be on the flowers and the veil felt like too much.
I had extra fabric leftover, so I went ahead and made a long scarf to see how I felt. It ended up completing the whole look.
After finishing it I had to give it a test run!
Looking back it is so funny how many versions I created, and ended up going with the one that was meant to be (and felt most like myself in!).
I have three very talented women to thank for their encouragement and advice! Thank you Barbara, Jane and Grandma
Daniel and I got married on the Summer Solstice in 2025 - 10 years together!
Comments