My biggest sewing project. Ever!!!
By the time I I met my love and got engaged, I had gained pretty good sewing skills and I knew I wanted to take on the challenge of sewing my own wedding gown. Once I said "YES!!!" to the love of my life, it was time to say "YES!!!" to the dress! Along with a good friend, I went to one of the biggest local bridal shops in town and began my search for my inspiration gown. I had tried on various styles, in all shades of white, cream, and beige, but the very last dress that the stylist had pulled for me was the one. It was a Pronovias gown from their 2011 bridal collection that left me feeling "that's the one!"... sort of...
Pronovias, 2011 Bridal Gown Collection
I loved the pleated bust, I loved the pleated ruffles on the back, but I did not like the puckered fabric on the front and wanted the dress to be a bit more of a trumpet shape as opposed to ball gown. So with nothing else to guide me other than pictures of this dress and having seen it in person one time, I set out to the fabric store! I selected a crisp white solid satin and being uncertain about how much fabric I would need, I purchased 15 meters.
I began sewing a trial dress out of muslin to obtain a pattern that fit me perfectly:
It was time to sew the dress out of the satin; Firstly, I sewed a simple fitted bodice. I inserted boning into each seam to give the upper fitted portion of the dress structure. Then, I folded satin and hand-stitched it into place to form the irregular folds. I sewed in ruffles at the bust area and finished off with an invisible zipper and satin buttons all the way along the back. I also sewed a strapless bra into the bodice so that the back straps would provide support and prevent the dress from slipping down. The next step was to sew and attach the base layer of the skirt and train. I pressed meters upon meters of ruffles, which were then sewn onto the entire skirt in a criss-cross pattern, in between loosely puckered satin.
Sewing in the lining and a few other finishing touches later, my gown was complete. I was thrilled with it! It turned out exactly as I had imagined! Overall, I estimated that it took about 80 hours to sew. Definitely my best sewing achievement to date!
