Crafting Deborah’s Skirt
While crafting Deborah’s bodice, I also began crafting the skirt of her custom wedding dress! Her skirt was designed to have the loveliest deep pleats with gorgeous lace panels hidden inside. After our 3 mockup fittings, I finally achieved the look and fit we were going for. The mockup was then taken apart and used at the […]
Crafting Deborah’s Bodice
Once all the flat fabric pieces of Deborah’s custom wedding dress were cut and underlined, it was finally time to give them some shape. In the previous eight blog posts in this series (which starts here), I’ve shared a lot of the prep work of designing and patternmaking and mockups and fittings and preparing the […]
Cutting and Underlining Deborah’s Fabrics
Once Deborah’s scrumptious bridal fabrics were chosen and prepped, it was time for cutting and underlining. Her dress would be made from a gorgeous silk/wool twill with lovely lace accents. Via a process known as underlining or flat lining, I would back each piece of fancy fabric with the corresponding piece from her mockup dress. (Click here […]
Choosing and Prepping Deborah’s Fabrics
After working our way through 3 fittings of mockup dresses, it was time to finalize our fabric decisions for the real thing: Deborah’s custom wedding dress! The majority of the custom process happens before the fabric is cut. Months pass while working on sketches, and patterns, and mockups. Most retail fabrics come and go, without the […]
Deborah’s Second and Third Mockup Fittings
After the first mockup fitting improvements for Deborah’s custom wedding dress were translated into a second mockup dress, it was time to try it on and test the changes. I love how the mockup process (of working through test dresses before starting the real dress) allows the freedom to continually evolve the original ideas and […]
Deborah’s First Fitting and Second Mockup
After creating Deborah’s first mockup dress, it was time for her to try it on in our first mockup fitting! A mockup dress is a ‘test dress’ designed specifically for making changes and trying new ideas. I adore the mockup process! It removes all the pressure of getting things perfect on the first try (or […]
Crafting Deborah’s First Mockup
Ok! Where was I…? After the first drafts of Deborah’s custom patterns were created, it was time to test my experiments. I’d begin by making an adjustable ‘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 […]
My Love To Sew Podcast Interview!
I’m thrilled to share my first-ever interview! The Love To Sew podcast is a fantastic resource for makers interested in creating their own clothes (and my #1 favorite podcast.) I was suuuuuper nervous, but hosts Helen Wilkinson and Caroline Somos made me feel at ease. So much so that I kind of forgot that it […]
Draping and Drafting Deborah’s Patterns
After our design consultation, the custom sketches were approved and Deborah returned to the studio for lots of measurements. I took a set of 40+ measurements and several body photos which I used to create a custom Size-Deborah dress form. Creating a Custom Dress Form Dress forms (also known as Dressmaker’s Mannequins) are manufactured in […]