My wedding gown

Here are the preliminary sketches for my wedding gown.

I drew the design based on my actual body type and the shape of my curves.

I was inspired by my own personal interest in the 1930s and 1940s.

I find that the styles of these eras best fit my body and look very nice on me.

First, I sketched the basic shape of the dress I want.

I drew the front and added all the lovely details I want.

Then I drew the back. I added and removed details, then phoned my Fiance and asked him what he thought would look nice. I sent him pictures and got him involved in the process. I listened to his advice. He loved the ideas I had. I decided on a bias-cut design and told him about the fluid draping quality of such gowns. He was very happy about that concept. He said that the groomsmen would need a defibrillator after seeing me in the finished product. He helped me decide on the fabrics to use. After our decisions, I wrote little notes all over my sketches to lead me in the right direction. See, a little help from His imagination doesn't hurt one bit.

And so, here are my sketches:

Here you see the front and back of the design:

Detail of the back:

Detail of the front:

The back in detail:

The front in detail:

I hope that you are able to see the satin flat piping around the insets and under the bust.

My Fiance asked me if I was going to sew the sleeves out of the same fabric as the veil- the man is a genius.

As you can see on my illustration, I am planning to do exactly that.

Here is a list of details:

Bodice:

Bias-cut crepe back satin

Tulle underlayer grazing over decollete at neckline

Waistline and skirt:

Bias-cut crepe back satin

satin flat piping

Peplum at front:

Vienna lace inset with satin flat piping

Skirt back:

Bias-cut crepe back satin

Cascades:

Bias-cut crepe back satin

Bodice back:

Bias-cut crepe back satin

Vienna lace

Sleeves:

Tulle under sleeve

Vienna lace sleeve overlay

Of course, I am planning to do a lot of.... planning as well as a lot of hand-sewing.

As I did with my prom dress senior year of high school, I shall not do with this dress.

Lessons learned:

~Do not cut some pieces on grain and others on bias.

~Do not skimp fabric and end up warping seams. Seams will ripple and look horrible. (it only worked because it looked like a chiton)

~Do not underestimate your size on a pattern and end up having to add triangles of fabric to the bodice side seams around the zipper.

~Don't use a black zipper on a lavender coloured dress.

~Sew the seams securely, not using invisible thread.

~Buy the correct materials before you even think about starting.

I went in reverse of normal processes. First, you find inspiration and then you put together your design, no?

It is not this way for me, whatsoever.

I pull things from my mind, dash them down on paper, and then find construction details that I can utilize to make my process easier.