Brooks Ann Camper Bridal Couture
Custom Wedding Dresses and Sewing Lessons in Hillsborough, Durham, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina
As we all close out the weirdest year ever and move into the unknowns of the future, I wanted to offer thanks and gratitude to you (and my small Team -more on them below!) and to share some updates about where I’ve been and where I am going!
My quick 2020 recap (click each link or photo for more):
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The final post of this short blog series following the coolest dress I made for myself is here! (And it’s a doozy! I have over 50 photos to share!)
In Part 1- I walked you through my design process, the custom pattern making, and fitting my mockup. In Part 2– I shared how I dyed the silk/wool fabric and prepped it for construction by underlining each piece with my deconstructed mockup. Caught up? Good.
In this final Part 3, I’ll do the actual dressmaking- stitching and finishing it all up! Let’s get right to it!
To get myself warmed up, I started assembly with one of the short pieces of the back. I figured that working through the back first would give me enough practice to confidently stitch up the front.
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In part 1 of this short blog series, I tell the story of how I designed, drafted the pattern, and fit the mockup for a super-cool dress for myself. This second post is all about the fabric!
My rule of thumb for purchasing fabrics is to buy enough for my pattern + plenty of technique tests + enough to recut the largest piece if I had to. Since my sewing practice involves plenty of prep, I rarely need to recut, so as a one-of-a-kind custom wedding dressmaker, the “fabric stash” I’ve accumulated over the years is mostly white.
I rarely wear white. And in addition to Frocktails, I was planning to wear my new dress as to a special wedding (more coming soon!) (spot my hem and elbow in People Magazine!)… But with a custom dye job, I could make white fabrics any color I want….
…and since I so rarely sew for myself (#thedressmakerhasnoclothes) I might as well work with a favorite…
Deborah’s bridal gown was made from the dreamiest silk/wool satin. It’s not only goooorgeous, it was really fun to sew. I did not need to recut while creating her dress, so I had some scrumptious yardage left over…
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Though my personal wardrobe is mostly “the dressmaker has no clothes”, when I do make something for myself, it’s usually an epic project. I’m so excited to finally share this super-cool custom-designed self-drafted hand-dyed color-blocked dress with all of you!
Back in olden times (over a year ago), I was working with two brides at once (each will have a bridal blog series coming soon!) (Well, soon-ish...) I needed something for myself to wear to one of the weddings and to Asheville Frocktails. Frocktails is a magical event that started popping up all over the world (back when events were a thing) to give garment sewing enthusiasts a reason to make themselves something super-special to wear while meeting others who love to sew.
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It’s finally time to share about Tiffany’s wedding day!!! Yay!!!
Tiffany and Kemp were married in December 2018 in the cutest little chapel in downtown Raleigh. Jessica of Three Region Photography was there to capture the day and all its gorgeousness. I could chit chat, but the photos (and some words from Tiffany) say it all! Let’s get right to it!
Next door to the chapel was the little room where Tiffany would get ready for her wedding day. I felt the magic as soon as I arrived to deliver the dress…
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As we are nearing the end of the bridal blog series following the creation of Tiffany’s custom wedding dress, I am really feeling the anticipation and excitement. After making the final stitch, there were still a couple of events before the Wedding Day: The Photoshoot and the Delivery Day (which also became a photoshoot!)
Before a custom dress leaves my studio, I have learned to get my own “professional” shots. After months of working through the couture custom process, I get really attached to my work and become nervous to let it go without some serious sharable documentation. Most wedding photographers are delighted for me to share their photos, but they all have different policies and styles. I’ve learned that if you need to be certain that something will be available to you, you often have to do it yourself. Luckily, DIY is my jam!
With the help of my handsome husband Charles, I turned my sewing studio into a photo studio and pretended I was a professional photographer for a day.
But before I share my favorite shots…
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After the basted fitting, it was all about finishing. Anything temporary would now become permanently secured and all the gorgeous inner sewing guts would be finished off and hidden inside a lining. My To-Do list would get shorter and shorter until each task was checked off. This is such an exciting part of the process… Thanks so much for following along!
Though I didn’t quite put my finger on it during the basted fitting, I had a nagging thought that there was something missing in Tiffany’s dress. So before moving forward with finishing, I compared my memories and photos from the fitting with the final sketch– looking for anything I may have missed or done a little differently.
And I found it.
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