So, it’s been months since I announced on here that I was making my own dress for our vow renewal. I would have blogged about it sooner, but I’ve been up to my ears in life. You know, the usual stuff, like having a hysterectomy 2 days after the vow renewal and making the oh so smart decision to go to Disney’s California Adventure a week later… In July… In the intense heat.
Yeah, I’m not the smartest blonde on our block. But, hey, anything for my kids!
Back to the dress:
I flip flopped on which pattern I was going to use I don’t know how many times. I finally settled with Butterick 5708. I would have loved to design the entire thing as I do most of my aprons, but I just didn’t have the confidence and time.
For the fabric, I chose a red star print found at a VERY low price at a local fabric store back in May. My Mom and I literally fell upon it while I was there looking for something else. I didn’t have the money on me, and had only decided the night before that I was going to make my dress so I hadn’t been saving up for it. My gracious Mom reminded me that the bride’s parents are supposed to buy the dress, so she bought the fabric and thread. Cost? About $25. Not bad, eh? Especially since the pattern was found on ebay for less than half off. How many wedding dresses do you know of that cost about $30?
When it came to starting out the project, I was nervous as all got out. I always am when I start something new. I knew I could do it, I just always second guess myself regardless. It’s what I do.
The cutting took the most time. There weren’t a lot of pieces, it’s just that they were LARGE pieces. Part of that reason? I’m very large myself. It went well though. I did make one little mistake on one piece, but in the end you couldn’t even tell.
The sewing went SO smooth. I did get a bit of vertigo looking at all the stars, so I had to take a lot of breaks. I get dizzy just thinking about it now, months later.
I tensed up again on the zipper. It was my first invisible zipper and I had to watch a tutorial on youtube about 58 times before I felt comfortable enough to do it. Okay, 58 times AFTER I messed it up after watching it only twice. But it all went well. A big thank you to my friend Cindy for the pep talks and cheerleading! She told me all along that I could do it. 🙂 And I did!
So, here it is! Best part? It washes and dries so easily and doesn’t require ironing. Woo hoo!
You’ll notice in the last photo that I had switched it to the strapless option. I HATE my arms/shoulders… but it was HOT! My sweet Aunt Sue tied them perfectly for me and I was so comfy! Didn’t even feel like the dress was going to fall off or anything!
To achieve the look I used a petty coat slip, corset, garters, stockings, make up done by my bridesmaid Genelle, bird cage veil, vintage hair style (pin curls on top, banana curls in the back) that I learned to do on YouTube (it is now my “go to” hair style. So simple to do!), and some AWESOME red shoes. If I don’t post a photo of the shoes on here, I’m pretty sure some people will be a little angry with me. Being that the shoes were like walking on nails, I will now be using them as book ends in my craft room. Yes, seriously. My Dad is probably the biggest fan of the shoes, by the way…
So, honest opinion: What do you think? It’s not perfect, but it was my first dress. Have you ever made something yourself for the first time for a big event?