So the final touches included reinforcing the bottom of the back opening, finally deciding on the bustle and putting it in place, adding the ribbons for hanging and finishing off the openings on the lace for the corset back.
I mentioned about trying out a 2-tier French bustle in my last post - I did give that a quick go but decided that it was too fiddly and that the look was too "meringue", which just didn't go with the rest of the dress.
So I did the 1-tier French bustle and it will now look at this for the evening disco (woohoo) and the first dance:
It may not look as elegant as a ballroom bustle but this was fairly straightforward to do with nothing showing on the right side. And after just coming back from my friend's wedding where her bustle broke later on in the evening (of course I fixed it for her... without any sewing stuff to hand...), I wanted something simple and strong so I could dance all night long.
To do this, I followed Linda's very helpful tutorial here. As my skirt is quite full at the bottom, I included 7 sets of plastic rings and ribbons. I bought satin ribbons in different shades of blue (all beautiful) and these will be my "something blue" (I just need to find "something old" now).
Here're some close-up pictures:
I'm not going to write for too long as I'm still in a bit of a shock that it's all done! What am I going to do with my spare time now? Well, actually... I have got about 20 projects lined up in my head that I haven't been able to get round to doing as yet. Is it just me or do you also buy fabric/patterns much faster than actually getting through them?
It's really been quite a journey. It has taken just under a year from start to finish and I've learned all sorts of techniques in the process. The biggest test of all was on my patience. I needed it the most for the construction of the corselette, all that hand sewing, the pleats, and the lace-up back. But would I do it again? In a heartbeat.
I am looking forward to wearing it in just 50 days. I will no doubt post photos from the big day in ...51 days.
Congratulations on completing your dress! Well done! It looks so beautiful. how are you managing to keep it secret from you fiance until the big day?
ReplyDeleteThank you kindly.
DeleteThis is a question I get asked a lot! It hasn't been that easy (for him mainly) as he wasn't allowed to go in at least one of the two spare rooms in our house during the whole time I was making the dress...
But the thing is, being a typical boy (I think?), my fiance just simply isn't that interested in seeing it before the big day... We did have the "I don't want you to see it, but why aren't you interested" conversation a while ago which resulted in him pretending to sneak a peek and me of course stopping him...
I just hope he likes it on the big day!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Can't wait to see your pictures from the wedding!
ReplyDeleteI't encouraging for me too see that you did it! I still have more than one year, but in the middle there will be two house movings and I'll begin to be a commuter so starting from end of July I'll have definitely less time for sewing...
And yes, I already bought several fabrics for more projects even if I don't know if/when I'll have time for them! You're not alone!!!
Thank you very much for your continued support! I'm excited to wear it now :) Tried it on properly with my BM's help yesterday and I loved it. The only thing that I'm not looking forward to is ironing it!
DeleteI know what you mean - I followed a couple of blogs where people were making their wedding dresses and it really does help a lot. It does sound like you have plenty of time left though - so you will be just fine!
What I found was that it was useful to do smaller projects in the meantime when 1) you want a break from the wedding dress, and/or 2) learn new techniques that may be useful for the wedding dress.
Best of luck with your dress! Do keep us posted :D