Making your own dress - The PASH Wedding Forums and Message Boards

peckmiranda · #1 06-23-2006, 12:11 PM

Has anyone on here made their own wedding dress? I know pretty much what I want my dress to look like, but I can't find the perfect one anywhere. I just don't know if I want to start doing this and realize it's just not going to work a few months before the wedding and be totally screwed.

I was also thinking about buying a very plain, basic gown and dressing it up a bit myself. The main think I want is a long lace overlay and a lace-up back. I have tons of pictures of dresses I kinda like, but they're still just not perfect, and I want my dress to be completely ME.

Clarity · #2 06-23-2006, 01:20 PM

I've thought about this myself. I haven't sewn for years though. I want something simple and basically plain but I can't find it. I did find a pattern I liked and thought about trying it with some inexpensive material. But I do have a little over a year to tinker with it. I think it would depend on how important this particular project is to you and how much time allowance you have. Is it worth the stress? Are you pretty creative with a project like this? Ok so I"m only good at creating more questions

But seriously, I think It would depend on your creativity, the importance of this project to you, and how much time frame you have.

peckmiranda · #3 06-23-2006, 02:33 PM

Well, every girl wants to have the *perfect* dress, right? My problem is, perfect for me is obviously NOT what anyone else wants. I love vintage-style dresses. If I could afford it, I'd totally have a flapper-style wedding

I agree with you, I want something basically simple but with little details that make it mine.

I used to be really good at sewing. In high school I sewed quite a few of my shirts for this same reason, I wanted them to be unique. Both of my prom dresses were store-bought and then tweaked so much they no longer resembled the originals.

Ugh. I don't know. I better quit babbling on here before you all get rid of me

Complicated Woman · #4 06-23-2006, 02:47 PM

Haha, babbling is basically what we do on here!

I don't sew, so it never occured to me to make my own dress, but if you are good at it and have enough time, why shouldn't you? I'd just take it easy on how much DIY stuff you take on if you decide to do something so large.

ljeagle · #5 06-23-2006, 03:56 PM

My mother made my dress and unless you have a lot of extra time b-4 the wedding then I wouldn't think of it. My mother had over 100 hours in my dress and she knows what she is doing.

Sh@ks18 · #6 06-23-2006, 04:20 PM

Have you gone to a store to try on dresses? Alot of times what you think is the weirdest looking dress, turns out to look absolutely gorgeous when you try it on. Definitely go try on dresses first.

If not, maybe if you get into details about what you have in mind and we can help you find something

Here are some links that might help

http://www.jordanfashions.com/produc...nPhotoID=14079

http://www.marysbridal.com/unspoken1.htm

(disclaimer: im not advertising these sites and im not affiliated with them)

peckmiranda · #7 06-23-2006, 04:47 PM

One good thing is if I start to feel overwhelmed, I can just hand it over to my mom and bat my eyelashes and say PRETTY PLEASE!!!

peckmiranda · #8 06-23-2006, 07:11 PM

Okay, let's see if I can figure this out. I'm going to try to post the pictures of what I want.

I want the train of this one...how it's just the lace and not the satin gown.

I can't get the other two gowns to work so I'll just try to explain. I want a strip of wine-colored satin across the bust, and on each arm, I want a piece of satin going up over the shoulder as a strap and another piece draping around the upper arm, as an off-the-shoulder strap. I wish I could get that picture to work, because it doesn't sound pretty at all, but it looked so gorgeous. They had a big flower brooch connecting the two pieces of satin on the gown. Since I want the lace to just hang loosely off the actual dress, I want a lace-up top. Instead of it being open, though, I saw a picture where it was laced up with really thick satin and it looked really cool. I thought I could do that, using the same colored satin as on the top. Then, at the bottom of the lace-up part, I want the lace to be gathered a little tighter and a low-hanging wine-colored satin bow covering it. That way the lace is tighter across my mid-section but will still hang nicely for the skirt.

I hope I described that alright. I was never very good at descriptions :P

ljeagle · #9 06-23-2006, 07:23 PM

DO u have a site where we can see this other dress?

peckmiranda · #10 06-23-2006, 07:33 PM

No

I found it at like two this morning and saved it to my computer but completely forgot where I found it. I actually think I found it on eBay, but there's no telling. All I know is it's used.

Here's the satin around the bust I was talking about. I don't think I want it bunched in the middle, though. I'm a little well-endowed and I think it'd look ridiculous.

ljeagle · #11 06-23-2006, 07:37 PM

I love the picture you posted but it's going to break the bank if you go out and try to buy lace like this and this much lace. For you to find some lace that would even work would be really hard. I say what u would end up doing is making it out of a really light tulle and then sewing each lace panel on it. When is the wedding?

peckmiranda · #12 06-23-2006, 09:01 PM

I haven't set a date yet. I can't decide if I want it early April, early June, or late September. I'll probably end up going with late September, though.

peckmiranda · #13 06-23-2006, 09:04 PM

I wonder if I could just buy the Alfred Angelo dress, but buy it a couple sizes too big so there's lots of lace, and I can always take the gown in...then I could add the satin...probably even the lace-up back...can anyone tell from the picture if that lace is attached to the bodice or if it looks like it's hanging loosely around the bodice?

DragonYoga · #14 06-24-2006, 03:35 AM

I think it's hanging loosely from the bodice, but I can't tell for sure.

kenzies_mama · #15 06-24-2006, 02:23 PM

I planned on making my dress, I made my prom dress and both of my sister's on of which was a wedding gown without the train. I've also designed patterns and made clothing from them myself. With it being September of next year I think you could get it done but you would need to find a pattern(s) to have some starting point.
I do suggest to keep looking though cause it was going to cost me about $300 just for a satin dress and lace can get pretty expensive. I don't agree that you couldn't find the lace, many fabric stores can special order things like that for bridal gowns, but it could be expensive and difficult to work with.
You do have lots of time to find a dress but not a ton of time to decide if your going to make it or buy it. I ended up buying one on clearance when I went to make sure the style I have picked was flattering to me, it wasn't and I kept trying on to see what did look good and found my dress.
So my suggestion is like Shaks go try a couple on and see what you really do like and what you don't, cause it's different when the dress is on.

Also there's no way to tell from the pic whether the lace has been fitted or not.

Complicated Woman · #16 06-24-2006, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenzies_mama

So my suggestion is like Shaks go try a couple on and see what you really do like and what you don't, cause it's different when the dress is on.

This is SUCH good advice. In the pictures on the website, I really didn't care for the dress I ended up buying...but it looked so flattering on me that I fell in love. And similarly, the dresses I loved didn't suit me as well in person, even though the cut seemed like it would be nice. I very nearly ordered one I hadn't been able to try on...so glad I didn't!

555Ann555 · #17 06-26-2006, 03:43 AM

I completely agree about going to try them on

Best idea possible.

I'm kind of like you in that I love vintage style wedding gowns... I wanted a really creamy ivory lace gown, long sleeves, fitted but flared from my hips... But it looked ridiculous on me!

I'm too short & chubby to carry it off! I looked like I had been playing my my grandmas dress-up box. Not good

In the end it went for something lighter & a bit more ethereal... (eta: and I managed to save a fortune by getting a BM dress in ivory instead of a "wedding dress"!

)

Go try some on

Emily · #18 06-26-2006, 02:30 PM

Hey ya - I origionally looked into getting a dress made as I had falled in love with one particular dress but the price was way out of my reach! I looked into have the dress replicated and it was similar to what you are after - satin with a lace overlay - I got a few samples of lace that I liked and it all ended up being just too expensive! Some of the lace that I was looking at was £90 meter (which is about $180 meter)!! I am still having my dress made - its my Mums old wedding dress that I am having altered majorly!

Why dont you get someone else to make it for you?? You would probably find it wouldnt cost toomuch and also would be one less thing you would need to worry about!

kenzies_mama · #19 06-26-2006, 03:19 PM

Lace can be very expensive but doesn't have to be:

http://http://www.fabric.com/apparel...ce-fabric.aspx

http://http://www.housefabric.com/ca...egorySubID=304

http://http://www.housefabric.com/ca...egorySubID=306

http://http://www.joann.com/catalog.jhtml?CATID=96035

I think it just depends on what you want, but buying as much lace as you need even at $25 a yard could get pretty expensive. There's no way in life I would spend $180 a meter on fabric that's just insane.