No big.
Well that's a lie. It was a big deal. I mean it's a wedding dress. THE most important garment a lady ever wears. And I had a ton of confidence and people's opinions riding on this. So yeah. Big Deal. The biggest.
I went into this project a little nervous. After my friend asked me to do this we sort of put it on the back burner for a little while. And then one day she told me what she wanted. I knew what she wanted before she even asked me, so I was kind of mentally prepared when she decided that her dream wedding dress was Mina's Red Dress from Bram Stoker's Dracula.
This dress is a beast, and completely unlike anything I had created up until that point. But I love challenges. Love. Them. So I got started on the research and spent about 8 or 9 months preparing to start what would be the most awesome thing I had made to date.
I made nearly everything needed to pull off the Victorian silhouette. Corset and bustle...I didn't have time to make a petticoat or chemise (shame on me). I would have loved to make the bustle that was designed to go under this gown, as it's terribly fantastic, but time constraints became a serious issue. All in all it took about 4 straight months of working solely on this, plus a few super late nights a few weekends leading up to and an all nighter the day of/before the wedding to get it done in time to walk down the aisle.
But I think all that effort was worth it. Especially when you see the groom cry when he saw this walking down the aisle towards him. Mission accomplished.
It's not nearly as grand as the original, but I think it's still a pretty decent recreation in comparison.
Patterns Used:
Laughing Moon Dore Corset
TV108 - Grand Bustle
TV202 - Grand Parlor Skirt
TV382 - Asymmetrical Drapery Add-on
TV460 - Cuirass Bodice
This was my very first costume resembling any sort of historical accuracy. I had plans long ago of doing some historical costumes, but only went so far as making a corset for myself for a steampunk costume. I was in new territory. Fun territory! Crazy amounts of fabric territory!
I used about 25 yards total of a red/black taffeta. This includes all the little petals and the pleats on the hem. I used about 5 yards of cotton for the bustle. I would have loved to use more to really build it up, as I couldn't get the exact silhouette with the one I used. But the bride, was happy, so that's all that really matters. For the most part. The whole dress still looked good.
And I even tried to make the bum bigger, but my lady was all, no.
In the movie version of the dress, the entirety of the underskirt is pleated; from waist to hem...that's a lot of pleating. Luckily, my lady wanted to keep things simple and a little more cost effective. I ended up doing a pleated trim, about 12 inches high along the hem on the underskirt. Much easier for me to handle. I can't even begin to think how I would pleat an entire underskirt and not want to kill myself.
A bit melodramatic, I know....But pleats are time consuming! Especially since I don't have a fancy pleater like all those fancy dressmakers did back in the day. (oh how I wish I did T_T)
I'll need a find a better way to do pleats. Part of the problem may very well be my impatience at certain methods. As I was making the pleat trim, I couldn't get the pleats to stay pleated at all. And it wasn't a fabric issue. I used a poly blend Taffeta, so it irons beautifully. I think I just didn't let it cool enough before touching them. So I decided on this seriously long way of making pleats that meant sewing 3 yard long panels together, marking the pleats, pinning the pleats, ironing the pleats, sewing underneath the pleats to make sure they stay pleated, ironing again to set the stitches, and then sewing the panels together. HOLY CRAP. It took me FOREVER to do this.
The pick ups on the back of the skirt are actually attached to the bodice. I wanted to create the look of no seaming to match the look of the movie dress. The petals are sewn over any seams to hide everything. Each of the petals were hand sewn together and then hand sewn onto the bodice all along the neckline and around the hem. I loved my thimble.
This was a grand dress and perfect for the personality of the bride, and probably the greatest thing I had made at that point. But luckily, I have this habit of making everything else after my latest project way better. My expectation bars for myself are pretty freakin' high.
I'm pretty proud of this thing, though it is, entirely a monster a dress. It's opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me. I was able to figure out period understructures and how much I wish women's dress was as fantastic and dramatic as it used to be in the past. Sure it's a bit difficult to drive a car in a corset, but what's a little pain to look grand?
On a slightly unrelated note...I desperately need a new camera.
Peace!
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