Wedding dress: stage 3 - making the boned bodice & interlining ...

NOTE: Full details for making the entire dress & each of its various parts can now be found here & sequentially altogether:

 please click Black wedding dress ...

... only basic general details are outlined below

After the demi-toile (stage 2) was finally fitted & a stiffened torso-bodice had been made, it was decided to integrate the 2 items into one garment as an interlining (above left) since this will help in keeping the nets layers separate & their movement somewhat independent.

The most important aspect of this dress was its boned under-structure & to find out more about this, please click the link to Stitcherydoing - its the stitching of it that's the crucial part !

Wedding dress: stage 2 - making demi-toile ...

NOTE: Full details for making the entire dress & each of its various parts can now be found here & sequentially altogether:

 please click Black wedding dress ...

... the following ones are just a brief outline:

The initial bodice toile was been taken apart to create a pattern (shown above - cut in canvas) for cutting all the dress as well as being used to make a boned bodice for the dress.

Initially with the shapes longer & cut in poly-cotton, they created a floor length dress that I have termed a ‘demi-toile'. This became a ‘multi-purpose’ garment used as a full-length 'sample' to obtain general & final finished lengths & was able to confirm how the dress would be assembled & made. As the bride’s body measurements were changing, I had to ensure the garment’s size remains ‘current’ at each fitting stage whilst making & stitching as much as possible early on, leaving only minor changes & finishings til the last moment.

After this, the demi-toile will become an interlining for the final dress & be used as a support layer for a boned bodice & more visible net layers.

Wedding dress: stage 1 - making 1st bodice toile ...

Left: back pinned            Right: seam allowances added

Stage 1 - Bodice toile

The first stage of the dress is preparing a toile for the upper bodice to ensure shapings are their best in the fitting for this particular dress. From this, a longer underbodice toile is to made which will probably become part of the actual dress.

A fine polycotton has been used along with a sew-in lightweight interfacing for its backing. The panels are then stitched together to form a simple bodice for its first fitting stage, after which any changes &/or alterations will be made for the next steps.

NOTE: Full details for making the entire dress & each of its various parts can now be found here & sequentially altogether:

 please click Black wedding dress

Update 1/9/14: The toile has been fitted & provided an overall good initial fit with a good basic pattern to use next. After discussion with the bride-to-be she has opted to have this ultimately form an intergral part of the dress rather than have it separate. Stage 2 will now commence & involve making a demi-toile (my name for it): a full-length dress that will become a underlining.

October wedding ...

PLEASE NOTE: The description of the dress that follows is a generalised one since the bride naturally wants to keep her dress a secret until after her wedding.

Client brief

An order for a wedding dress was received over a month ago for an October wedding but on a diet (like many brides) & with time constraints (for making the dress), the dress is now only being started. As with many brides, weight loss can occur right up until the day before the wedding yet any dress must ensure a perfect fit especially if it's being made. For this reason, it is intended that final fittings & any minor alterations will occur as late as possible & all major stitching completed as early as can be. 

The bride-to-be wants a sleeveless fitted full-length dress with asymmetrical hemline showing an underskirt of net. To take into account her overall design as well as likely variations in measurements throughout the fittings, a princess/panelled dress was chosen as the basic dress shape which will have an attached full-length lining/net underskirt. Main fabrics are to be man-made ones (customer’s preference) & have been purchased locally: the upper dress layer is a stretch suiting, underlining a slight stretch satin & there are 2 mesh variations of netting. A built in boned underbodice (polycotton) will also be made & stitched to the dress to help its structure & ensure all fabrics are well-supported - a waist stay may also be necessary. 

Getting around to it! ...

I've just had a tidy-out (many months overdue!) of some of my mail-order suppliers list & come across some VERY USEFUL companies I'd like to recommend for specific jobs as I've found them to be very reliable - here they are:

for covering buttons, belts & other trims:

Harlequin in Essex

for pleating of fabric:

Ciment Pleating - Potters Bar (Herts)

for dyeing individual items of clothing or furnishings:

Harry Berger - Cheshire

Kaffe Fassett @ American Museum ...

Last Friday I visited the gloriously colourful Kaffe Fassett exhibition. Apart from all his work, here's some of my favourite pix I took:

Fabric & thread @ entrance tree

Woollen flags by doorway

Entering the display gallery

Mirrored entrance

The entire entrance area to Kaffe's work was a superb welcoming - ready to next see his work. Too many things to itemise, I've just tried to capture it all with this one shot below!

A taste of what's on view !

I personally would have liked to have seen a lot more of his work on show & was somewhat disappointed but on venturing into the main museum, was told that there were more pieces amongst the other museum exhibits. Here's one of my favourites I came across:

1964 ink sketches

Cotton cups !! ...

Dolls beachwear c.1950
handmade by me !

I've had a couple of customers recently enquire about bras, predominantly for me to make or alter them. One customer in particular has several problems regarding 'buying off the shelf' & a "joking suggestion to use up some of her fabric scraps & make her one to match the blouse" may now be a reality! More on this next week when I meet with the customer for a further discussion.