The second mockup fitting was quick and decisive. The new pattern corrections looked great on Michelle! Changes I had made to the closures made the dress easier to get on and off and she loved the new collar design. There were still a few little fit issues to work out (see above), but for the most part the dress looked stunning on her even in the cheap unfinished fabric! Once again, I’ll take the changes that we made in this fitting and translate them back into pattern corrections. The difference is: the next time I cut the patterns, I’ll be cutting the fabric of her actual wedding dress!
Immediately after the fitting, Michelle and I headed back to Mulberry Silks to look at fabrics again.
With the style and fit of the dress fresh on her mind, we can get really serious about making our final fabric choices. Originally we had liked a gorgeous, but somewhat slinky, cotton/silk blend for the main dress fabric. It had a beautiful sheen and color, but now that the dress is taking its shape, we were both a bit concerned that it might not have enough structure for this very architectural dress. If this fabric ended up being our final choice, I would use a technique called flat-lining, (where I attach every piece of fabric to a more structured under-fabric that is never seen) changing the fabric into something that works perfectly. This fabric shopping trip was to see if we could find a fabric that would actually be perfect, rather than something that had to be manipulated into perfection. It’s always nice to work with a fabric’s natural qualities.
We decided to look at everything we possibly could with an open mind. One idea that I was really stoked about was looking at wools. Michelle is having and outdoor wedding in October and she is a professional woman who loves the look of tailored suits, so I thought this choice could be totally appropriate and amazing for her unique wedding dress. The natural qualities of wool would absolutely be suited (no pun intended) for this style and it is a dream to sew. We looked through pretty much everything Mulberry Silks had in stock as well as their special order books and our absolute favorite choice did end up being a gorgeous cashmere blended wool sateen. The sateen weave gave it a formal look, the weight gave it an beautiful drape and the cashmere gave it an amazing softness. They had a bolt of Ivory in the store, but we found out that it can be special ordered in Winter White.
This immediately became my absolute favorite choice for Michelle’s wedding dress. Since this was a totally new idea and a big decision that we wanted to make absolutely sure was the right one, I wanted Michelle to sleep on it.
We got some swatches of the Ivory to take home and she actually gave herself a deadline to make the decision. It was hard for her to visualize what this dress would look like in this fabric (or any fabric, which is totally understandable), so I started doing a little research for her. I wanted to see what the Roland Mouret dresses that she loved the most were actually made of. In my research, I found out that he often uses wool. Not only that, but at least one of our favorite dresses that made it into Michelle’s Design Proposal was made of 100% wool! (see below)
Heidi Klum in Roland Mouret
I sent Michelle an email with links to beautiful wool dresses. This new fabric was significantly more expensive and luxurious than the original fabric we had chosen, so I also sent her a new estimate. She came by later that week and said that she was totally confident that the wool sateen was the right choice! I was so excited! I went to Mulberry Silks the next morning and placed our special order. I also special ordered an amazing silk twill lining that will feel so good next to Michelle’s skin, negating any slight itchiness that the wool might have.
I’m confident that Michelle will be completely comfortable and totally gorgeous on her wedding day and I can’t wait for the fabrics to arrive!
I’m a former professional costumer and couture dressmaker for one-of-a-kind bridalwear located in Hillsborough, North Carolina, who teaches custom garment sewing too the sew-curious online.
My blog mostly follows along with the couture process of how each heirloom-quality custom wedding dress was made from idea to wedding day, as well as other interesting tidbits related to sewing, weddings, and body positivity.
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...
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 excited to finally share this...
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 created over the past decade....
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 the reception at a nearby...
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...
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...
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 the behind-the-seams story of creating...
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 the behind-the-seams story of creating...
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...
Sally is someone special. Back in December, I got an email from a dear friend named Sally that I had lost touch with. The subject line: “dear lord i’m getting...
As it starts to get cold, it sure is nice to think about summer! Gin and tonics… BLTs… beach trips… seersucker… Earlier this year, I worked with a bride who...
Welcome back! It’s the series finale! In this third and final post of My Warmup Jacket series, I share the behind-the-seams details of my jacket’s construction and finishing stories!
In this second post of My Warmup Jacket series, I share the behind-the-seams details of my jacket’s patternmaking and mockup stories! And after putting this patterning post together (which was...
Welcome to a somewhat meandering story of three custom garments! This blog post loosely threads between my previous tutorial post on creating custom croquis, a couple of my “Custom...
How To Create Custom Sketching Croquis from Photos
It’s early 2010. Michelle, my very first custom bridalwear client, is leaving my home studio after our Design Consultation. I snap a photo of her on her way out the...
(If you are new to this series, start with Pt 1: Academics. Otherwise…) It’s THE END of this Sewiversary series! My previous post “Entrepreneur” left off in October 2019, when...
If you are new to this series, start here with Pt 1: Academics. Otherwise… Welcome back! Let’s pick up my sewing story 15 years ago at my own March 2008...
Welcome back! In this second segment of my Sew-iversary series, I’ll share about the various ways I was employed before going solo. While putting together Pt 1 Academics, I predicted...