Custom Printed Fabric for Cameron’s Custom Wedding Dress
After completing the first draft of Cameron’s custom overdress pattern, I shifted my focus to fabric. Though I love shopping at Mulberry Silks for bridal fabrics, sometimes my brides have very specific visions that simply can’t be found in a small boutique store. Or anywhere for that matter… Cameron’s custom wedding dress design features a floral […]
Draping and Patterning Cameron’s Overdress
Once the design and sketch for Cameron’s custom wedding overdress was complete, I was ready to start my favorite part of the custom process: patternmaking. There are essentially three ways to create a custom pattern: Draping, Flat Pattern, and adjusting an existing pattern or garment. I usually use a combo of these techniques. In Cameron’s […]
Cameron’s Design Consultation and Wedding Dress Sketch
The Design Consultation After meeting for our initial consultation and combing over Cameron’s questionnaire, I did a lot of prep for our Design Consultation. The Design Consultation is the meeting where the bride and I (and in this case, also her mom and sister!) collaborate to determine the design of her soon-to-be wedding dress. During […]
New Bride Blog Series: Creating with Cameron
The bridal blog series is back! In each bridal blog series, I recount the process and share the behind-the-seams story of creating a one-of-a-kind custom couture wedding dress from start to finish. To keep the dress a surprise, I do not begin to tell the story until after the wedding day. Cameron A few weeks ago, […]
Brooks Ann in INDY Week!
If you are local to the North Carolina Triangle, be sure to pick up a free copy of the INDY Week that just hit newsstands this morning! Reporter Brian Howe and photographer Ben McKeown visited my studio (the morning after I got back from a vacation to New Orleans) for an interview and photoshoot for […]
Helping Brides Make Their Own Wedding Dresses
If you follow this blog, you know by now that I love making wedding dresses for others and I loved making my own wedding dress. You also know I love teaching. So naturally, I love love love helping crafty brides make their own wedding dresses! In this post, I’ll share how I helped three local brides create […]
Sewing Camp is Real!
I’ve been putting off writing this post because it’s so hard to figure out what to say. I always end up sounding super cheesy! So first, let’s just start with the facts: In October, I taught a new class in Upstate New York at Camp Workroom Social. Camp Workroom Social is a 4-day sewing sleepover […]
How to Choose and Use a Thimble
There are many great pleasures in my life and sewing practice that I originally resisted. I would never have learned to sew at all if it weren’t for a college professor who assigned me to work in the costume shop against my wishes. It wasn’t until someone said “You must do this” that I realized […]
Two Myths of Learning To Make Your Own Sewing Patterns
Before becoming a custom wedding dressmaker, I had an unusual introduction to sewing which took me from absolute beginner to sewing professionally for Broadway in only 5 years. I did not learn to sew as a child and I did not attend design school or fashion school. My MFA is in Costume Production. When creating costumes for […]