THREE WHITE DRESSES

There is a poem entitled Three White Dresses. It talks about a blessing dress (a.k.a. Christening Gown), a Baptism Dress, and a Wedding Dress. I remember this poem from when I was a Young Woman and the simplicity and purity that it spoke of. I aspired to these three white dresses.

Here are my Three White Dresses.

When I was going to BYU-Idaho, my major required us to take a Bridal Design course. We could create any formal gown for anyone. (Bridal and Formal are really the same thing, just different color scheme). I chose to make my own wedding dress. (I was not engaged at the time - which is good - because my real wedding plans happened so fast, it would not have been an easy time to design and create my dress during that engagement.)

This is my WEDDING DRESS

The design process began with a sketch and some inspiration.

My design inspirations were: the dresses of the Early Renaissance, Audrey Hepburn's Embassy Ball gown in My Fair Lady, and three dresses in The Princess Bride. (These remain two of my all-time favorite movies to this day.)

Audrey Hepburn: Embassy Ball gown from My Fair Lady, 1964




My Fair Lady: Embassy Ball gown in action.

Princess Bride




This is the movie trailer. All three dresses are in this trailer, if but for a short second. You just need to go see the whole movie...;)




(This dress is my favorite of the Princess Bride three. The video quality is not super - I suggest pulling out your copy - you SHOULD have one - :) This dress is in the wedding scene right before this scene AND in the final scene where she jumps out of the window onto the white horses.)

My fabrics were ivory silk crepe de chine and silk georgette. I did silk ribbon embroidery on the bodice and first head piece, and used french alencon lace and silk ribbon as hem and bodice detail.

This was the first headpiece I made, in the Bridal class. Juliet style.
The dress and the sleeves each had a train.

Actual wedding day - I had lost the Juliet headpiece (found it years later btw) and had someone make me a daisy chain head wreath which I loved much more for my wedding day.) The trains are edged in french alencon lace.

Closeup dress detail. The sleeve trains are tied at the elbow with silk ribbon.

Closeup bodice and sleeve detail. Silk ribbon embroidered flowers down center front bodice.



My Daughter's BLESSING DRESS

On her Blessing Day. (Laying on the quilt my grandmother had made for my wedding.)

The beautiful and sentimental thing about this Blessing Dress and underslip was that I made them from the scraps left over from my wedding dress. I learned the heirloom techniques in my Children's Clothing class at BYU-Idaho.

I added pink ribbons to the entredeux lace.

Bodice detail.

Sleeve detail.

Hem detail.

Skirt detail.



My Daughter's BAPTISM DRESS

On her Baptism Day.

Baptism Dress: white sparkle organdy, rayon lace trim, double skirt

Lined, with invisible zipper.

Sleeve detail.

Skirt detail.

Pleated skirt attached to waist for fullness.

Lace at waist seam.

Double skirts trimmed in lace.

Back: invisible zipper through waist seam.

Back: lace wraps around waist.

(I couldn't help myself - she also needed a Scripture Tote to match her Baptism Dress!)



I hope to end up making more versions of these white dresses - for my daughter's wedding someday, and my children's babies.

Do you have Three White Dresses?

Three White Dresses




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EMBROIDERY: What's In A Name?

Did I mention that I love my Bernina sewing machine? It is ten-"ish" years old and I still love it (because Bernina rocks - that's why!)

I was talking to my aunt (the one who actually got my great-grandmother's sewing machine) and we were talking sewing machines and it turns out we bought the same one (Bernina Artista 180E) at the same time lo' those many years ago. My aunt lives in WA state and I really don't get to talk to her much more than Facebook and that has only been recently, so it was nice when we got to chat the other day. Anyway, I digress...

So she has the same machine as I do and has NEVER used the embroidery module! I sat there shocked for about ten minutes! Well, she is a busy lady (she is a quilter and has piles of them going at all times...) and has no real use for it presently I suppose. But I cannot even imagine not using mine as OFTEN as I do.

What do I use it mostly for? Well, I do cute pictures and different feature things now and then but NAMES are the big ticket! And who does not love a good Monogram or set of Initials to personalize an article of clothing or a pillow or a bag or T-shirt or fabric plaque or a baby's bootie pants? I ask you.

A very busy time of year is Christmas time - people love to have their family names on the stockings, don't you agree?

I love doing these jobs!

I have a client who makes the cutest hooded towels for newborn babies at church. I have the privilege of embroidering the names on the towel pieces before they are sewn up. I would love to feature some of her towels...future post coming.


Do you need any custom embroidery names? Contact me. I would love to help!



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BUSTLES

Ooh - a good bustle can be fun! My experience is that there is no REAL scientific method to creating a beautiful bustle - well, there is SOME method to the madness, but it's harder to calculate. I'd say it falls in the category of draping patterns vs. drafting patterns from slopers. It's more like draping.

The point is, it takes a lot of playing with the hem and train to get it to look just right. Here are a few I have done that I have pictures of...



The purpose of a bustle is to bring the back hem and train up in the back of the dress so that the bride can walk, dance, not drag her dress, etc. These first two dresses are simple bustles. They are bustled "on top" of the dress. Meaning: the maid of honor - or whomever is the bride's helper - can bring the bustle up without having to get under the dress.



There is some type of hook and eye or loop and button nestled in the lace or on a seam that can be easily pulled up and attached. Fluff it out and Voila!



This last dress (above) had a cathedral train (about 10 feet long). It required a different kind of bustle. This is called a French bustle. Basically that means the dress train gets pulled "under", in sections, creating the puffy part on the top. All layers have to be pulled together underneath the dress. Yes, the bride's helpers actually have to lift it up and go under! There is usually a series of coordinating ribbons per layer and per point of contact that have to be manually tied. (It can get hot under there too!)

Then when you come out for air, it has to be fluffed just right. It's a real commitment and you better get all the pictures you want with it all tied up before it gets taken down again!