Hey ya’ll! Hanging in there?

In case you are new here, I’m Brooks Ann Camper! I first learned to sew as a young adult in professional workrooms and have been creating custom garments for individuals ever since. After a costuming internship at the Yale School of Drama, I earned a Masters Degree in Costume Production and past jobs include sewing for Broadway productions such as Wicked and Mama Mia!, creating unique dramatic pieces for clients such as Bernadette Peters, Felicia Rashaad, Kristin Chenoweth, the Rockettes, the Muppets… just to name a very few. I now create custom couture wedding dresses (while blogging the process) and I teach my unique methods of custom sewing and patternmaking online.

Learn more in my interview on the Love To Sew podcast.

For the first half of March, I put everything aside to focus on creating a gorgeous wedding dress for a bride named Claire. (That’s a peek at the mockup dress behind me, which seriously might be my favorite ever!). Checking wedding dressmaking off my To-Do List was going to allow me to get back to finalizing epic projects that have been in-the-works since the end of 2018. 

Then the world turned upside down.

I’m doing okay. In some ways, I’ve been unknowingly training for this. Not only do my child-free husband and I already work solo, we live with our 15-year-old coonhound. To support him as best we can, we took our last vacation in October and then cleared our schedules indefinitely to have at least one of us home every few hours. …

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After Tiffany’s first mockup fitting, I was ready to use the edited patterns and original polyester mockup dress to create a second mockup dress for a second mockup fitting. As I sorted through the photos to create this blog post, I realized that everything looked very similar to what I’ve shared before! So it’s kinda Déjà Vu for Mockup #2!

Second Time’s a Charm!

Since there were so many tweaks made to the bodice during the first mockup fitting, I needed to completely recut and create a new mockup top for Tiffany to try on in Round Two….

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The very first fitting is always a fun part of the custom process. The dress the bride tries on in a first fitting is not the real dress- it is a mockup version. This means that you can play around with changes in a completely no-risk way! The custom design was created from scratch and the custom pattern was created from scratch so I love that the mockup process eliminates any pressure for prior perfection. The goal of the mockup fitting is to experiment with improvements and to play!

When Tiffany arrived at the studio, she beamed with excitement seeing the mockup dress on the form. She couldn’t wait to try it on!

And when she saw herself in the mirror for the first time, her smile said it all!…

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After the first drafts of Tiffany’s custom patterns were created, it was time to test my experiments by making a ‘test dress’ using inexpensive materials. This dress and this stage of the process are what I call the mockup (often also referred to as the muslin or toile). Though I sketched the design onto Tiffany’s silhouette and created the custom patterns on a Size-Tiffany body double, working through mockups is a risk-free way for myself and the bride to communicate design and fitting ideas in 3D on her body, while evolving and improving upon the original information. I absolutely adore this part of the custom process.

A mockup takes away all the pressure to get things right on the first try (or second or third…). Cutting, ripping, pinning, marking, practicing, and drawing all over the test dress is its purpose (and is really fun). You have complete freedom to make a mess (without fear of messing anything up) while discovering the answers to all your questions. With the knowledge and practice gained from the mockup process, the actual dress comes together with lots of confidence….

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After turning my new tiny dress form into a replica of my bride, it was time to create the custom-fit patterns for Tiffany’s future wedding dress. With the custom sketch of the dress design and the Size-Tiffany dress form as my guides, I experimented my way through a first draft of paper patterns.

There are essentially two ways to create a custom-designed custom-fit pattern: Draping and Flat Pattern. Draping works in 3D by manipulating fabric onto a dress form that replicates the individual’s body. Flat Pattern works in 2D by manipulating paper based on the individual’s body measurements. I usually use a combo of both and Tiffany’s dress was no exception!

The Rough Drape

Though I teach custom flat patternmaking in my online courses, I most often start off with draping for my brides. Most beginners can’t afford the space (physically, mentally, and financially) for a full-sized body-double in their sewing space but, as a pro, I adore working with this tool. Not only is the custom dress form the foundation for creating my patterns, it is also great for photographing the dress, storing/displaying the dress, and it helps with designing and sewing and fitting and much more!…

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In my previous post, I introduced a new custom bride named Tiffany to the blog! I also shared about our design process and how I created a custom coqui to sketch a wedding dress to fit her unique body and style.

I’ve reached a point in my career where I mostly only accept commissions that offer a unique benefit for the bride (if she can find something in a store- I encourage her to buy it from the store) and offer a new and interesting challenge for me (I love learning new things- which is why I love teaching so much).

The benefit/challenge for this custom dress commission: Tiffany is very petite.

When searching for wedding dresses, she consistently felt “swallowed whole“. For her wedding day, she didn’t want to wear something that was designed for someone else’s proportions and have it ‘taken in’ in an attempt to work for hers. When you choose custom, you and only you are the inspiration and the starting point for the design and creation process. I was very excited to accept the challenge to design for Tiffany’s petite figure while creating the wedding dress of her dreams!

Photos and Measurements

Once the design was accepted by the bride, my next step was to measure and photograph her body for the purpose of turning a professional dress form into a Size-Tiffany body-double. This tool would allow me to create custom-fit patterns, to design and sew three-dimensionally, to display and photograph the dress in a uniquely custom way… and much more. Having an accurately shaped replica of my bride is incredibly helpful (and a lot of fun)!…

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