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…
Ignore the cracks in the concrete. Welcome to California! Proof that we live near a fault line...
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?
