- Construction ·
- Fabrics ·
- Hand Sewing ·
All About That Lace…
When the story of turning Jenn’s mom’s wedding dress into a rehearsal day top left off, the vintage dress had been taken apart. Its satin fabric had been cut after pinning the mockup pieces as a backing fabric. Catch up here. The post you are reading now is all about that lace… Jenn’s mom Lydia wore a wedding dress that was mostly satin- only the bodice and the sleeves were lace. Jenn’s top design also has the bodice and sleeves made with lace, but the style and sizing of each piece changed in a way that I couldn’t reuse the lace from Lydia’s dress. No worries! Lydia also wore a looooooong lace train that hooked along her the neckline. I’d use the train to cut all of Jenn’s lace!
My Most Recent Bridal Series:
Tiffany!
Tiffany’s Wedding Day!
Three Region Photography It’s finally time to share about Tiffany’s wedding day!!! Yay!!! Tiffany and Kemp were married in December 2018 in the cutest little…
- Brides ·
- Photo Shoots ·
Tiffany’s Photoshoot and Delivery Day!
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…
- Brides ·
- Construction ·
Finishing Tiffany’s Wedding Dress
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…
- Brides ·
- Construction ·
Tiffany’s Basted Fitting + Prep & Corrections
If you’ve been following along as I tell the story of how Tiffany’s wedding dress came to be, you’ll know that we are nearing the…
- Brides ·
- Construction ·
Constructing Tiffany’s Wedding Dress: Collar & Neckline
The most dramatic elements of Tiffany’s custom wedding dress design are the gorgeous collar and neckline. Once the shoulder seams and cut-in-one sleeves were finished,…
- Brides ·
- Construction ·
Constructing Tiffany’s Wedding Dress: Cut-in-One-Sleeves
The blog is back! The newsletter is back! The Skirt Skills Freeview is back! There’s a bazillion reasons why I’ve been offline since my dog died on the first day…
- Brides ·
- Construction ·
Constructing Tiffany’s Wedding Dress: Skirt & Midriff
After our 2nd mockup fitting, it was finally time to get started making the custom dress that Tiffany would wear on her wedding day! Having…
Déjà Vu: Tiffany’s Mockup Dress #2!
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…
Tiffany’s First Mockup Fitting (and Pattern Corrections)!
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…
Making Tiffany’s First Mockup
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…
Draping and Drafting Tiffany’s Custom Wedding Dress Patterns
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…
A Custom Tool for Tiffany: Creating her Petite Body-Double Dress Form
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…
- All the Brides ·
- Brides ·
New Bridal Blog Series: Tiffany!
The bridal blog series is back! In each bridal blog series, you meet a new bride and I slowly post-by-post recount the process and share…
Tutorial posts
Padding a Dress Form As Your Body Double: A Condensed Guide
This post originally appeared as part of By Hand London’s Creators Collaborative series. Hi there! I’m Brooks Ann Camper and I’m a couture wedding dressmaker…
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…
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…
DIY Professional Ironing Table
I’ve been blogging at BrooksAnn.com for a little over 6 years now. While most of my posts are following the story of a bride and…
Small Sewing Space Solution: Portable Ironing/Cutting Table
As women begin to take online courses with me, we often talk about solutions for working in small home sewing spaces. While it’s fantastic if you have…
Sewing Technique Spotlight: Underlining (pt. 3)
Today’s post is the 3rd in a short series on underlining! I get a lot of questions about underlining, so I finally decided to start…
Sewing Technique Spotlight: Underlining (pt. 2)
In part 1 of this blog series, I shared what the sewing technique called underlining is, what underlining does, and I even offered some fabric…
Sewing Technique Spotlight: Underlining (pt.1)
Have you ever wondered if there is an easy way to make your handmade garments look professional instead of home-made? A sewing technique called underlining…
DIY Professional Sewing Room Table
Last week, I sent an email to those on my free newsletter subscription list featuring a clever solution for making a small sewing space feel like a…
POPULAR POSTS
I Made Myself the Coolest Dress pt. 1 – Pattern Design & Mockup
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…
My 10 Year Blogiversary! (pt. 2)
I’ve been blogging for TEN YEARS now, ya’ll! In “My 10 Year Blogiversary pt. 1”, I share links to each bridal blog series that I’ve…
Deborah’s Wedding Day!
It’s finally time to share about Deborah’s wedding day! HOORAY! Deborah and Blake were married in November 2017 at a church in Greensboro, NC with…
- Brides ·
- Construction ·
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…
Creating My Own Dress for Cameron’s Wedding Reception
(Okay, so I’ve been away a bit while creating my newest eCourse but…) After the final post in my blog series about creating Cameron’s gorgeous…
- Brides ·
- Construction ·
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…
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…
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…
My Sewing Machines
Before I start blogging about my summer bride, I thought I’d tell you a bit about my sewing machines, including the new additions to my…
DIY Professional Ironing Table
I’ve been blogging at BrooksAnn.com for a little over 6 years now. While most of my posts are following the story of a bride and…
Small Sewing Space Solution: Portable Ironing/Cutting Table
As women begin to take online courses with me, we often talk about solutions for working in small home sewing spaces. While it’s fantastic if you have…
Caitlin’s Couture Bridal Buttons, Linings, and Waist Stay
After Caitlin’s final fitting… …it was finally time to do all the couture finishing work. I love this part of the process! Couture finishing requires…
Sewing Technique Spotlight: Underlining (pt.1)
Have you ever wondered if there is an easy way to make your handmade garments look professional instead of home-made? A sewing technique called underlining…
DIY Professional Sewing Room Table
Last week, I sent an email to those on my free newsletter subscription list featuring a clever solution for making a small sewing space feel like a…
Retrospective: My years as a custom picture frame craftsman
In last week’s post, I mentioned that I no longer have a day job. You may not have known for the past 9+ years, while…
Finishing Loula’s bustier!
After our fitting, I was able to take Loula’s bustier apart in order to put it back together permanently and with better materials. During the…
- Business ·
- Construction ·
Retrospective: The making of a dress, a blog & a business
Leah’s wedding dress was the first real wedding dress that I created for someone I did not already know. It’s funny to think of…
- All the Brides ·
- Brides ·
Retrospective: My Own Raw Silk & Cotton Lace Wedding Dress
Yes, I made my own wedding dress. After making his sister Katie’s wedding dress and his sister Melissa’s wedding dress, I got engaged to my…
- Brides ·
- Construction ·
The Construction of Lila Rose’s “Space Bustle” pt. 2 (Ta-da!)
If you are just joining, you are probably wondering what in the world I am making! Lila Rose is a non-traditional bride who commissioned a…
- Brides ·
- Construction ·
The Construction of Lila Rose’s “Space Bustle” pt.1 (Prep)
After the collar was constructed, I was able to add the invisible zipper, begin to close up the dress, and start on the unique bustle…
- Brides ·
- Construction ·
Using “wiggle bones” in Lila Rose’s stand-up pleated collar
As you may recall from the mockup and sketches, Lila Rose’s dress will have a pleated stand-up collar. Our original inspiration photo had a very…
- Brides ·
- Brooks Ann ·
Two weddings and a funeral
If you’ve been following the story of Greta’s dress, you may know that- though I am behind in posting the progress of its construction- her…
Initial Consultation pt.2 (Strapless)
As I explained in pt. 1 of this blog post, Michelle’s face lit up when we started talking about style. She loved the inspiration of…
Recent Posts...
- Construction ·
- Fabrics ·
All About That Lace…
When the story of turning Jenn’s mom’s wedding dress into a rehearsal day top left off, the vintage dress had been taken apart. Its satin fabric had been cut after pinning the mockup pieces as a backing fabric. Catch up here. The post you are reading now is all about that lace… Jenn’s mom Lydia…
Fitting, Disassembling, and Prepping Jenn’s Underlining
Welcome to the 5th post in my custom bridalwear blog series about Jenn! Thanks for following along! In my previous post, I created a second mockup of Jenn’s rehearsal dinner top. We rejoin the story in the summer of 2019 for the second mockup fitting- which took place immediately before Jenn’s bridal shower. The 2nd Mockup…
Jenn’s Sketches to Second Mockup
During the process of working with my friend Jenn to create custom bridal millinery and transform her mom’s wedding dress into a rehearsal dinner top, the steps of my custom process got all mixed up. Jenn is a professional actress whose schedule wouldn’t allow for much in-person time before her October 2019 wedding, but we didn’t want…
Making and Fitting Jenn’s First Mockup
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know that I love the mockup process! A mockup (often called a muslin or a toile) is a test garment that you construct in a way that allows you to easily deconstruct it. The magic of a mockup garment is that it is specifically designed for…
Duplicating the Vintage Dress’s Pattern (without taking it apart)
In my previous post, I introduced Jenn and the custom bridal wear project(s) for her wedding weekend. Check out the full story for all the deets, but to catch you up quickly: I’ll be transforming her mom’s 1970 polyester wedding dress (sewn by Jenn’s mom’s mom) into a special top for Jenn’s rehearsal dinner outfit.…
- All the Brides ·
- Brides ·
New Bridal Blog Series: My (kinda famous) friend Jenn!
Brooks Ann, Jenn, & Charles January 2017 Going Way Back… To begin my next bridal blog series, let’s head into the Way-Back Machine. And we’ll head farther back than this bride’s October 2019 wedding, and even farther back than her January 2017 inquiry about transforming her mom’s 1970 wedding dress. This beautiful bride and I…
Hi there! I'm Brooks Ann.
I’m an independent designer and couture dressmaker for one-of-a-kind bridalwear located in Hillsborough, North Carolina. I also teach the sew-curious both in-person and online.
My blog follows along with the couture process of how each heirloom-quality custom wedding dress is made from idea to wedding day, as well as other interesting tidbits related to sewing, weddings, and body positivity.
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