Tags
altering my bodice, bridal couture, designing your own wedding dress, making my own wedding dress, sewing my wedding gown, sweetheart neckline
Well….. I had taken my dress apart again to do a little altering on the bodice and had the bodice pinned to my dressform for a week, staring at it…. then decided that I really didn’t like it. Since the bodice is on my underdress and will be covered by an overdress along with silk chiffon rosettes at the neckline, I wasn’t really considering the shape much…. even though I wasn’t 100% happy with it. I decided that if I’m going to spend my time creating my own wedding gown that I was going to make it EXACTLY like I want it and not overstep any steps, so I made a new bodice.
I looked at several bodices on bridal, evening gown, and costume patterns and decided on Butterick B5461. Butterick patterns were on sale at JoAnn’s for 99 cents so I lucked out. This pattern is a bridesmaid dress pattern with five different bodices. I chose a crossover tank bodice with a sweetheart neckline. Since I usually buy more fabric than I need, I still had a few yards of my ivory peau de soie satin left, so I didn’t have to worry about fabric matching. I did decide to go with a polyester satin lining for the bodice though, instead of cotton voile as the new bodice doesn’t have as much lining as the other one does. I already have my bridal lingerie and my bra is ruffled, so I wanted to make sure that it couldn’t be seen underneath.
First, I made a muslin. I wasn’t as detailed with this one as I was certain that the measurements were correct and that I didn’t have to do much altering.
And I was right, it did fit. So I went ahead with cutting out the bridal satin and constructing my new bodice. This one is a lot more detailed than the old strapless bodice, but I really love how beautifully it came together, although it took a lot more time.
I am VERY happy with this one and am looking forward to attaching it to the skirt of my dress. I am considering adding a modesty panel, which will depend on how much “boobage” is going on. I just got the alencon lace trim for my mantilla veil the other day and think that might look gorgeous if I decide to go that route. Since I now have a different bodice style, I may rethink the placement of the silk chiffon rosettes, but I’ll come to that decision at a later time. Before I add any decoration to my dress I want to have both the underdress and outerdress constructed and then I’ll go from there. I think this new bodice has a very 1930’s look, so we’ll see how it all comes together as I move forward with this project. I do think that the neckline will be very flattering on me and I’m so happy with my choice. 🙂
Update:
Sewed the bodice to my skirt!
Margaret Ivory said:
From the pictures, I can tell that your dress is going to be very pretty. This brought back memories for me. I sewed my wedding dress when I got married eons ago. It was a tough economy at that time also (gas was being rationed in the late 70’s, etc).
Sewing your own dress is a smart move. Save your money and put down on a house.