Finally... the Wedding!

Well, it finally happened after all that preparation and work!  The wedding took place on the evening of August 31st at 7 pm.  As you all know, I slaved over my dress, which used reclaimed satin from my mother's wedding gown, with new embroidered lace netting.  It was a beautiful evening, a beautiful ceremony and a terrific time with friends and relatives.  Here are a very few highlights, before we return to sewing.  Here's something you'll probably never see again... me without my glasses!

 

We were so lucky to have been gifted by special friends with our lovely cake by Niamh Swan.

 

A spectacular dessert table by Claudia Matthews.

And a killer punch by Randy Schryver.

The setting was Universal Pathways in pastoral upstate New York. 

 

 

We hope that everyone had as wonderful an evening as we did!  We are very grateful to our friends and families. I am also grateful to all of you, who have read along as I've worked on this project, offering advice and encouragement as I put this together on a shoestring budget!

 



Photo credits: Bill Lawrence, Lauren Albright, Maryann Fairman, Sam Simmons, Dee Tocci

Simple Upgrade

Hi!  In the spring, Target was featuring designs in stationery and home goods from Privet House.  There was a really cute wire "birdhouse" I loved.  I waited until it was on clearance and got it for $12.98, marked down from the original $27.00.  I'm using it as a card holder at my wedding, with a tiny alteration.

Of course, I'll add a bow, and maybe one of our cute tandem bike stamps, but not bad, huh?  Gotta love Target clearance.

On another note, my favors arrived today (well, the part that requires no crafting).

If they print "FRAGILE GLASS" on the side of the box, does that somehow translate to "Drop kick me into the truck"?  Thankfully, nothing was broken!  These will be revealed after the wedding because I don't want to spoil it for my guests.  Thanks for looking in on me!

Another Wedding Accessory: Footwear!

Weather permitting, we are being married outdoors in a bucolic garden setting.  I don't wear heels often anyway, but heels would only aerate my hostess's lawn, and end up looking all muddy and nasty.  So, what would look great for an outdoor wedding and be comfortable?

Today I'm making something I saw on Pinterest some time ago, and just loved. Now I don't want to take anything away from the fine company that made the original, but I simply couldn't afford over $40 for these, so I decided to make a version of my own using elastic nylon beading cord, the same types of seed beads from my dress, and some glass crystal beads.

First, measure out enough of the elastic cord to go around your second toe, up the foot and around your ankle.  Then decide on your beading patterns and get to it!

When you have enough to go around that second toe, close the loop with a crimp bead.

Measure how long you want the connecter from ankle to toe to be and bead that in a showier pattern.

Then, place another crimp bead but don't close it.  Bead the stretch that will encircle your ankle and then bring the end through that crimp bead you placed earlier, and close it, and you're done!

Please excuse my lack of pedicure... my feet will get the full treatment before the big day!

Now, these were time consuming to make, but they consumed about $10 worth of materials.  If one were making them for someone else, one would need to add timed costs for the labor, but as a DIY, it was quite economical.  Let me know what you think!

Something Blue

We're not doing a garter toss or anything... we're a little old for all that.  But every bride needs something blue, so I decided to make a garter.

I had this lace from an earlier garage sale day.

And a spool of blue satin ribbon.

I made a casing out of the ribbons, added the lace, and a few little embellishments... voila!  Something blue.

I'm pleased with how it came out, and it was quite a bit cheaper than the store bought ones.  I would guesstimate about $3.00.  More accessories to come... what did you wear for something blue on your wedding day?

That Ultimate Restyle

My cold is mostly better now, and I'm still working on the finishing touches to my wedding dress.  The wedding is coming up very soon, though I'm sure it seems like you've heard about this dress forever.  I've been hand sewing lace and other embellishment to the dress.  Here are a few quick detail pics.

I can't wait to wear it at the end of the month!  Until then, there's lots more I'm working on... for instance, I did our invitations a few weeks ago.  I designed them myself and printed them on my printer at home.

The theme is tandem bicycles... popular, to an extent it seems.  I got a great tandem bike cake topper on Etsy from heatherboyd.

I have SO many more things to do, and I'm taking you all along for the ride (tee hee).  Hey, my dress needs to be pressed... have you ever used a dry cleaner just for pressing?  I lack the equipment I think.  Anyway, thanks for stopping by!

Hand Picked Zipper

I'm working along on my wedding dress, and I decided to do a hand picked zipper, rather than using the machine.  The appearance will be much more subtle on the finished dress.  To review the skills needed, I consulted a recent article in Threads Magazine on hand sewing techniques.  After practicing a bit on plain fabric, I was ready to tackle the real thing.

I applied the zipper with the back seam basted closed.

Here's the completed zipper section of the back bodice.

And here's the inside, with the lining hand stitched down.

Next, I need to apply some lace detailing to the right side of the dress.  this is another lengthy hand sewing project.  Thanks for checking in on my progress!  Do you use a lot of hand sewn details in your work?

Plodding Along on the Ultimate Restyle

I'm considering this wedding dress to be an ultimate restyle.  I'm retaining the basic skirt from the original gown and I'm using similar features, like lace netting.  I applied the netting to the bodice today.  Here are a few pictures so you can get a sense of it.

Tomorrow I plan to cut the netting for the overskirt.  I'll intersperse some other projects here so you don't get bored with this dress.  It's going to be a painstaking project because I want it to be perfect, of course.

On another note, another one of my projects was featured on the Green Crafts Showcase at Crafting a Green World!  I am very happy to say that my latest mom jumper restyle was one of the five projects featured for June!  Thanks for all your comments and encouragement.

Wedding Jewelry: The Earrings

I completed the earrings for the wedding jewelry ensemble.  The drops echo one of the elements on the third strand of the necklace, which you can see in the photo.

Now, on to beginning the dress.  Years ago, I deconstructed my mother's wedding gown to make a tutu for my daughter.  I carefully saved the pieces of the gown that I was not using.  So, here is the ivory satin from my mom's gown.

Quite wrinked, but I'm afraid a wash was in order.  Stay tuned for some of the details of the construction, though the final reveal of the dress will not be until after the wedding.

Wedding Jewelry: The Necklace

So, I've had these old costume pearls laying around for years.  I always figured I'd do something more contemporary with them.  Depending on how this finished necklace looks with the neckline of my wedding dress (which is still in the planning phases) I will plan to wear it... I'm still planning to make "matching" earrings and footwear to go with this.

The design incorporates glass bugle beads and moonstone beads along with the reclaimed faceted glass and costume pearls.  All materials were on hand, so no new financial outlay was involved. What are your thoughts?

Wedding Jewelry

Today I'm working on something slightly different from the usual sewing projects.  I'm making jewelry for my upcoming handfasting in August.  I'm upcycling some old costume pearls,faceted glass beads, sterling chain and findings into a new, collar style necklace, with matching earrings and footwear.  Here's a peek at the beginning of the necklace.  I'll post the finished piece soon!

Bits and Pieces

I'm so happy, I actually won another giveaway!  I got a super package in the mail yesterday from Molly over at Molly Sews.  There are four patterns in the package.

These are going to be fun to play with. As I mentioned yesterday, I'm cleaning my sewing room.  While in that process I unpacked a bag of things I acquired at a yard sale about a week ago, and a lot of it is perfect for these patterns.  Some of this stuff is OLD, as evidenced by the bag some of it was packed in.

Do any of you remember Zayre's?  Wow!  Blast from the past.  I was very excited about my haul from this yard sale.  I got everything in the following pictures, AND MORE for only $6.50!  Gotta love the yard sale!

I'm seeing some very 60s-70s sewing ahead.  Also, the homeowner was clearly into lace.  This is a wonderful thing because I have several projects on the horizon for lace, including my wedding dress. I also want to do another Lady Mary Armistice Blouse, this time in cream and laces. 

I also snagged some cream satin ribbon,

and some pink satin that might make a cute flower girl dress.

Well, back to work I suppose!  Gotta get things prepped for my next few projects!  While cleaning, I'm also pre-washing that lavender linen for my sixties suit dress re-do.  What's on your slate this week?

Would You Consider Making Your Own Wedding Dress?

I'm sincerely interested in your answers to that question.  You see I'm getting married in August and I assumed I'd be making my own gown.  I've made them for others, so why not for myself?

I want to do it for economic reasons, for environmental reasons, for romantic reasons, and for sentimental reasons. DIY certainly seems to be the choice of most brides today when it comes to the favors, decor, flowers, etc.  At least it seems that way when you look at Pinterest pinboards, or the myriad of wedding sites in the blogosphere.

Then I started reading some other sewing blogs on the subject.  In her recent post, What I Learned While Sewing My Wedding Dress, Kim from Cotton Creek Sewing has some really great advice, including buying extra fabric and being willing to start over.  I plan on using satin from my mother's wedding gown, so extra fabric may not be an option, though I am looking for some look-alike satin just in case. 

I already incorporated my Mother's wedding gown in my daughter's Odette tutu.  To  make the basque, I separated the bodice from the skirts, removed the sleeves, and replaced the zipper with a grommeted lace-up closure.  The tutu was made from scratch, but the top layers were netting and re-embroidered lace from the skirt of my Mother's gown.

I saved all the other bits and pieces, but not with the idea of ever using them for a dress for myself. I never thought I'd get married the first time, let alone remarry!  I like the idea of wearing at least parts of my mother's gown, I like the ecology of refashioning, I like that most of the fabric will be free, and I like that the result will be uniquely me.  I have some vague visions of what the completed dress will look like.

Meg, from A Practical Wedding, started out with a family  (group effort) sewn wedding gown, only to find that the dress, despite a muslin and multiple mailed back and forth fittings,  did not fit properly.  The hand sewn gown was jettisoned in favor of a vintage find.  Though I plan to do all the sewing myself, could I end up needing a "Plan B gown"?

Many sewists do their own gowns.  Examples includes Melissa of FehrTrade, The Curious Kiwi,  and the totally impressive Iowahoodlum of FeatherPetalSilk, who learned to sew by doing her wedding gown! 

Well, would you do it?  Let me know!