It’s been awhile for me on this blog. I’ve clearly been busy in life, trying to keep my head above water with work and various life changes. I’ve lost touch with friends, my house is a total mess and I’m so behind on projects it’s not funny. I have done some sewing and even finished some great clothes, but every time I go to write something, I get distracted. I’m hoping to pick things back up in the new year to write about my backlog, but in the meantime I wanted to mention my one major project that was the ultimate challenge in my whole sewing life. I am talking of course, about making my own wedding dress.

Back when I was first sewing, I remember being proud of my ambitious (at the time) project of making a dress that I was going to wear to a wedding. That seemed scary enough. Making my own wedding dress? That seemed like something other sewists did, ones that are imaginative and innovative or can draft their own patterns. Ones who have a sloper ready to be used. Ones who actually know what a sloper is (still learning here). Could I, with my amateur sewing skills, actually make something I would be proud to walk down the aisle in?

Before I go into the details on the dress, I want to mention that my wedding was an elopement. Years ago, I got married and had the wedding with all the family. I bought a poofy dress that I loved and did all the traditional things. That marriage didn’t work out so for my second wedding, I knew I just didn’t have the energy (or the money) to plan a whole thing again. My husband and I decided to combine our wedding and honeymoon into one trip, to a place I’ve always wanted to go – Bora Bora in French Polynesia. I wanted to get married on a beach where I only had to worry about myself and my partner while we vowed to share our lives. An occasion like this calls for a more simple dress – or at least that is what I wanted. Something that was not too elaborate that would distract from the natural beauty around us. I found out it’s hard to find a dress that’s simple but still makes sense in wedding photos. I thought maybe if I made something, it would represent what I wanted more (however I did buy a back up dress just in case this ended up being a total disaster).

My skills may be a bit better than when I made that first dress for that wedding, but I still knew my limitations. This was too important an occasion to just go it alone, so I enlisted my mother to help me. It was great to have another person there to interpret the directions and bounce ideas off of. The first step was picking a pattern. I had a few wedding-like dress patterns in my collection and I settled on New Look 6401 (view B). I liked the simple design and since it didn’t seem to have a lot of pieces, I was hoping there was less of a chance of a screw up.

The first task was getting the right fabric. I thought maybe I’d be able to take a trip to NYC, since I wanted to actually meet the fabric in person and not just order online. Unfortunately fabric stores in New England are few and far between. I wasn’t able to get away, but luckily there is a local fabric business that is an online shop but sometimes will accommodate visitors if you make an appointment. This is Gorgeous Fabrics in Billerica, MA and it’s more than just a fabulous name. I wasn’t even sure I wanted something white, I was maybe thinking of pale yellow for the dress, but I ended up seeing something really unique that I loved. It was a cotton eyelet, but the pattern on it was different from anything I’ve seen and was told it was sort of a “peacock” print. It was an Oscar de la Renta fabric and I saw the potential right away.

I was able to pick out the perfect fabric for the lining, which I had to admit was very breathable in the warm weather. The only thing left was to figure out what to do about the bow in the back – the cotton was not flowy enough to create the right shape. The owner showed me some sheer organza that could work beautifully, with just a narrow hem.

Because I wanted to be as sure as I could be, I of course made a muslin. This helped me determine the best fit, which was lucky, because it made me realize we would have to adjust the top to be a bit smaller and expand the hip section out a bit. The seam allowances were generous so I had a bit to play with, but we did measure out a half inch to make sure it wouldn’t be too snug around my lower half.

I also noticed how low cut the top was. A bra was pretty much out of the question, so I decided on sew-in cups. Another thing I’d have to purchase.

Working with the organza made me a bit nervous as it was so sheer. I got some good advice from the fabric store: 1) Do not pre-wash it as it will lose it’s stiffness which will make working with it impossible and 2) Hem it using Ban-Rol waistband interfacing.

I had never heard of such a product, but I guess it’s something that is used in men’s pants waistbands. Sewists have discovered it can make a pretty nice narrow hem on thin fabrics like chiffon or organza. I just needed to review a few YouTube videos and was off and running. You basically need to remove a few strands until you get the hem size you want, then sew it to the edge, roll the hem and sew it again. Then the whole thing can just be torn out and suddenly you have a pretty straight narrow hem.

Now that I had the bow section ready, I could put together the final dress. Cutting into this beautiful fabric gave me anxiety, but my mom was there to make sure I did everything correctly.

The issue I have with dress patterns from New Look is the directions are not always very clear. It took a few tries to figure out the bodice correctly, but luckily all this was worked out with the muslin. I think what threw me off was this was the first dress I’ve made that didn’t have a completely sewn together bodice. In this case, the bodice was in two pieces, the left and right. Each side would be sewn to the skirt piece separately.

I added no real embellishments, as I said I wanted a pretty simple dress. I did find a hook and eye that had a small rhinestone, which you could just barely see if you were staring at the back. The bow with the organza came out great, however we did have to tack it more at the back than the pattern intended, in order for it to lay flat when tied together.

It may not have been the wedding dress of the year, but I am extremely proud of my accomplishment. I never in a million years thought that I could make a wedding dress that I would want to show off in photos. I couldn’t be happier with the results.

The wedding itself was perfect. The Four Seasons in Bora Bora really know how to make a day like this special and our wonderful photographer and videographer we hired through the hotel captured the day perfectly, as seen below. Although part of me missed having my family around, it was nice to just be able to focus on each other, as we started our journey together as husband and wife.

This coming year, I hope to share more of my sewing adventures, as well as my other adventures. They may not all be as exciting as a destination wedding in French Polynesia, but joy comes in all forms.