I feel it is a little inadequate to rush through the draping, patternmaking, and muslin-building process but I am anxious to start blogging in real time rather than retrospect. Many of the dressmaking aspects will be mentioned later when I make the dress for the final time: in real fabric!
So at this point, patterns are drafted, trued up for accuracy and cut out of muslin or a fabric that is inexpensive, yet similar to the dress fabric. For Leah’s dress, muslin was actually quite appropriate, since she has chosen all-cottons for her wedding dress.
The muslin that the bride will try on resembles what the dress will look like in basic shapes. Almost all seams are basted together by hand or machine so that they can be removed and altered easily in the fitting. There are hand stitched lines running horizontally and vertically on your dress to see if they stay that way when on your body. The edges are all clipped and basted and there are large seam allowances.
Once I finished constructing the muslins, I added a Muslin Preview page to Leah’s Design Proposal website. The purpose of the preview is so that she can have some time to think about the design now that it is on a form that is close to her figure (instead of just a drawing on paper), she can examine any changes I made from the original sketch, tell me if there is anything she knows she wants changed before even trying them on, and most importantly, so that she can get a good idea of what undergarments to purchase. You can view Leah’s Muslin Preview pages (she has two looks, therefore two preview pages) by clicking here.
At this point, proper undergarments become really important. It is ideal that a bride wear the same undergarments that she is to wear on her wedding day to her first and all fittings. They don’t call them foundations for nothing! A great foundation garment is the key to everything you wear, so I always recommend spending some extra time and extra money on this essential piece of your wedding look. I am always available to help my brides find something that is both flattering, appropriate and most of all comfortable.
Leah’s dress has a very low back, which is always a challenge for undergarments. She ended up purchasing 3 options for undies to bring to her fitting, and would take back the 2 losers. She naturally wanted to wait until the dress got a little further along to purchase her shoes, but she was going to bring a pair that was more than likely the height she would wear on her wedding day. Perfect!
