Wedding dress project: last stretch

As I mentioned in my last post, the deadline is approaching and it’s more than time the wedding dress comes to an end. I made another muslin since the last one I posted about and I and the bride then agreed that the fit was good enough for me to cut into her textured wool/silk Escada fabric.

Here’s a reminder of the original dress:

And here’s how my version looks:

And with a simili belt:

The changes I made:

• shortened the bodice
• added sleeves, which also meant changing the armscye to accommodate them, making it higher and less indented in the front
• changed the neckline, which is not as high as on the original
• skipped the pockets
• rotated the darts from the bust to the waist, making sure that the resulting darts correspond with the skirt pleats
• added a full lining. Wool is itchy to the bride and she doesn’t like man-made fibers so we chose a cotton lining. Lining the dress also meant not to forget details like understitching the neckline. Who would want a facing rolling out on her wedding dress?

Here’s what’s left to do:

• the right dart needs to be corrected. Do you notice what a difference half a centimeter can make on a dart here?
• the zipper needs to be inserted, with some taking in in the center back seam
• hemming to cocktail length
• making the belt

I’ll make a final post when all is done. The bride-to-be is thrilled and I must admit, I’m relieved. Retrospectively, it was daring to accept to make a wedding dress as the first project done for another adult person and I’m learning a lot of things through the process (eg the benefits of muslining) but I think the most important is that I should be more confident in my sewing abilities. So I’m glad she trusted me with this project.