Wedding Dress....the creation...

Good morning! I am so glad you stopped by! Whoa, I sound like Mr. Rogers. Okay, so let's skip all the salutations and move right along. 

We are so busy right now, with work and kids and remodeling a house for some friends (a TOTAL remodel of a huge house) so I haven't had much time at the sewing machine, but I have been stealing every spare second and I am slowly making some progress. The first step in making my dress is the corset. I am wearing a corset under the bodice of my dress to help give the shape I want as well as to give support a little better than a simple strapless or long-line bra. I was going to make the bodice of the dress with a built-in corset, but I have changed my mind on that so that if my daughter or someone else wants to wear the dress later on, taking it in would be much easier than having to take in 5 layers of bodice and corset. 

Right now I am working on my very first corset ever. It's kind of exciting and fun. I may have to make another as we get closer to time, since I am hoping to order the Insanity workout next week, and will most likely need a smaller size. But for now, I wanted to share my progress on the first steps of making my wedding dress. 

In order to preserve my patterns for later use, I trace the size I need onto wax paper with a Sharpie and use that for my pattern so that the original stays in tact.

 

The most tedious part of any sewing project for me is the tracing and cutting out of the pattern pieces and the fabric. Sometimes it just stresses me out, but I digress. Once the patterns are all traced onto the wax paper, I pin them to the test fabric (muslin) to create my mock-up for fitting purposes. 

You'll notice that I trace every note, line and arrow, so that I actually have a complete pattern in the size I need. This allows me to put away the original pattern and rely solely on the wax paper copy, preventing any accidents. 

Then I follow the instructions to piecing the garment together and create my "muslin" or test fitting piece. 

If any changes need to be made, they will be marked right onto the fabric and those marks transferred onto the wax paper so that I have those for any future copies of the same garment. You would use this if you really liked this piece and wanted to make another one in another fabric color, style, or texture. This fits swimmingly, so on to the next step: starting with the actual fabric with washing, drying, cutting, and then piecing! Hope to have that for you soon, be patient friends, the wedding isn't until December!!

 

Getting Started - Wedding Dress

I am so excited to share this post with you! I have started the wedding dress. Well, demo mode anyway.  If you haven't seen it before, this is the dress I started with (in ivory, not champagne). The bodice and outer layer will be remade, the inner layers will remain the same, and the sash...well, I just don't know what I am doing with it. 

Also, since this is a December wedding, I plan to add a shrug. My original plan was to make the shrug out of lace, but it may end up satin instead. It just depends on what I can find to make it out of. 

For those of you who don't know, our wedding is going to be very country with the guys wearing Wrangler 47 MWZ pre-washed jeans and my girls wearing boots with their dresses. In order to be uniquely me, I plan to make my dress out of denim, with some satin and lace to keep a traditional feel.I am so blessed to say that Wrangler has GENEROUSLY provided the exact material that the jeans are made of for my endeavor. The only problem is that they couldn't pre-wash the denim without streaking it so I will have to find a way to was it myself before ever letting it touch the satin as the blue from the denim could bleed onto the satin. The outer skirt is one HUGE piece, instead of sections pieced together, so I have no idea how to wash it without the streaking issues that they had at the factory. If you have any hints, tips or tricks, please feel free to share them. 

The first step was taking the dress apart at the seams.  It was a tedious process but it was so much fun sharing this time and experience with my sweet little girl. 

When you undertake a project like this, it's important to have some extra hands to pull gently as you pull the seams. Just be sure they don't pull too hard so as not to rip any material. Also, when dealing with fabric, remember to wash your hands and working surface so that you don't stain your fabric.

Although very wrinkled from storage, this beautiful piece is the inner layers of the skirting, the part of the original dress that will be part of the new dress.

 This is the original bodice, made for a shorter bodied woman, and of course, not denim.

This is the original outer skirt, beautiful and full, but also, not denim. I will use this piece as the pattern and remake this exact piece out of the 47 MWZ denim. I am thinking of making this part removable, to make dancing easier. 

I know that several of you are following along with the process and I just thank you so much! I can't wait to share the finished product with you! Check back soon!

Wedding Dress: A Huge Blessing

James tells us in the Bible that we have not because we ask not. So I asked. I am in an amazing online community of Childcare Providers who help each other out in so many ways every single day.

With my dress, I figured the lace alone was going to break my budget for fabric, so I asked for help. I asked if my friends in Providers Playground would help me out by looking at thrift stores and yard sales for a used wedding dress that I might use to make the lace foundation for the skirt of my dress.

I got an unexpected answer much quicker than I could have imagined. A beautiful woman, another home childcare provider, from Canada emailed me and said that her handmade wedding dress had been sitting in her closet for the last 28 years and that I can HAVE IT!!! Wow. She said, "Well, I always knew that some day I would meet someone who needed it., lol. I just didn't want to donate it to a shop, I wanted to know who was actually getting it."

I was literally in tears. She had two boys, so no daughter to pass it down to and has held onto it all these years waiting to bless someone. I get to be honored with the joy of receiving that blessing. How beautiful is that?

Thank you again, my friend, for blessing me this way. I can't wait to show you the finished product. I am having a custom tag made into a tiny pocket inside the dress, with my name and wedding date on it. The pocket will hold an embroidered handkerchief with message about the story of the dress for whomever it gets handed down to. They, too, will be able to add mementos to the pocket for the next wearer of the gown. You can bet that your name and generosity will be mentioned.

Some people never know how they've blessed others, but I get the honor of telling you thank you. You have blessed me!

Denim Wedding Gown Rants, Raves, and Questions

Oh my, have I been getting some crazy emails. Not just from those critics that think my wedding is faux pas, but also by some serious denim gown critics.

Somehow some serious fashion critics have stumbled upon my humble little blog. These proclaimed "professionals" have made statements such as vomit, hillbilly, and Hee-Haw in reference to my planned wedding gown. I've been asked what my beloved thinks of my plans to wear a denim gown. I have been asked what my family thinks. Oh my, I have been asked if it is some sort of media stunt.

So here are answered questions. My sweet husband not only knows, but he will be wearing blue Wrangler jeans, a frock coat, wild rag, a cowboy hat and hopefully a pair of handmade boots. My family, as far as I know is on board. This is my day and as long as I am happy, they are happy. Media stunt? Ha! I will be lucky to have the 100 people I am planning on at my wedding, much less a media circus. No, I am not trying to get attention...I am simply planning the cowgirl wedding I have always dreamed of. This is Texas. I own horses and will soon own cattle. For both my husband and I, a day at work or night on the town almost always includes a pair of jeans and cowboy boots, so will my wedding day.

I am not a traditional girl, so why have a traditional wedding? This is my only wedding, it should mirror our unique personalities. It should resound with echoes of who we are. It should make people say, "Yup, that is so Vaughn and Kaci." Hillbilly, eh, probably not. Redneck, probably. Hee-Haw? Really? That might be a fun reception theme though *wink*. Vomit? That's a little harsh, don't you think. I saw pictures of some pretty crazy weddings in my research, but I would never speak harshly in referring to someone's dream wedding day. If you don't like it, it's simple, don't read my blog and you probably aren't invited to the ceremony anyway. If you do, thanks! If you're merely curious, follow along, the next 20 months will be full of wedding planning and information.

My Dream Wedding - Second Chances - Daydreaming

This is so much fun. Having all this time to plan, not being in any rush and being able to take my time and take care of each detail. I think I've pretty much decided on exactly how I want my dress to look, and the general idea for the bridesmaids dresses.

Any of you who are following my dress planning ideas, remember that your street size is not the same size you will need in a pattern if you are sewing your own dress. Before you go shopping for patterns, take your measurements. (Here are some tips on that from Threads magazine.) Take the measurements with you and look in the back of a pattern catalog for your pattern size. Promise yourself, before you go, that you will not freak out, fall apart, or hyperventilate in the fabric store because your pattern size is several sizes bigger than your street size (especially if you are ample in the chest and/or hips). It will be okay, your dress will be beautiful, and you will be gorgeous and radiant on your big day.

I finally have it, in my head, the picture of my dress. It's kind of like when the traditional bride goes shopping for her gown...she tries on dress after dress until that one takes her breath away and leaves her standing in front of the mirror with tears streaming down her face. When you're making your gown and you find the right pattern or combination of patterns, and you can see the finished product in your mind's eye, you get the same feeling. So here I am, decided on my pattern, standing in front of the mirror in my mind, knowing that this, like my beloved, is the one. This is the dress that I will wear in front of God and my loved ones to pledge my love eternally to this man. This is the dress that will be available for my daughter and granddaughters to wear if they want it. This is the dress that I will make with my own hands.

I wish I could show you a picture, but that will have to wait until the big day. I will allow you in on the process, the making of the gown, but no one but my MOH's and my Mom will see my gown until my wedding day. I can't wait to see it finished. I can't wait to see his face when he sees it.

I wish you were here, Mom, to help me make this thing, but maybe I can drive up a few times and you can help me....I love you for believing that I can do this even if I am not always sure.