Anatomy of a Bridesmaid Dress

Monday, January 3, 2011

I spent most of November building six of these bridesmaid's dresses for
a darling couple having a Christmas wedding.
Just thought I'd share some of the steps it takes to construct a piece like this.

These dresses were tea length, so I only used 45 yards of fabric, compared to the 60 yards I'd have needed for floor-length gowns.

The initial bodice seams and markings for the ruched fabric band at the waist.

When applying the ruched band of satin, I gathered it at the seams first to help add fullness to the final ruching.

There are several types of ruching, but for these dresses, I hand-tacked the fabric down in an abstract, irregular pattern to give it a more fluid look, and to avoid the look of pleating.

The picture above is how the band looked before ruching, and below is how ruching really tranforms the band into something special and interesting.

The decorations in the sanctuary of the church were overwhelmingly gorgeous!
I was honored to be invited to attend the wedding, and I sneaked a couple snap-shots of a few of the girls in their dresses.

11 comments:

  1. Ahhh, so that's how a bridesmaid dress is made! thanks for taking us into your sewing world. Im really amazed by your attention to detail on these! The results show and the bridesmaids all look beautiful.

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  2. The girls look so beautiful! And the inside of the church was just lovely - what a happy occasion to be part of! Well done, Kristina!

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  3. beautiful! I always wanted a Christmas wedding, but my husband wouldn't wait - so we got married in June!!

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  4. I can't believe you made those dresses! Christmas weddings are so pretty!

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  5. Beautiful dresses! Your work was the perfect accent to a beautiful wedding!!

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  6. These dresses are amazing! I had no idea that's how the ruching worked. I love the colour of these dresses (I'm crazy for red) and the fact that they don't look too bridesmaidy. You could totally wear these dresses again!

    Awesome work Kristina!

    Lisa
    www.sweetlaundry.blogspot.com

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  7. great bridesmaid dresses :D
    Love the color!

    http://www.style1509.blogspot.com
    Live.Laugh.Love. - everyday.

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  8. Wow! Peggy, I guess he really jumped the gun, huh?

    Thanks girls for such sweet comments!

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  9. what a beautiful dress! i love your blog and your style. I am so happy you find my blog, so i could find yours :) visit anytime! off to heart your shop :)

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  10. wow those dresses are so pretty! I LOVE the color especially :)

    taylor

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