After helping my son (B) and his fiancee (S) with their reception centerpieces, they chose silk flowers at Hobby Lobby for me to buy so I could create the bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages for their wedding.
Although I took furious notes at the store, after I laid everything out on the dining room table, I needed to be sure, so I invited them over to review their choices with me.
NEW FITTING AND HANDSEWING AREA
But first, I took S to my new little sewing space on the fifth level of my old but new-to-me townhouse that has a loft, currently employed as my closet while we assemble IKEA versions in the master.
Envisioning this space as a hand sewing area, S loved the idea!
With her she brought her gorgeous lacy wedding gown, that hadn’t been completely altered to her satisfaction.
BLACK HOOKS FROM THE BRIDAL SHOP
First, S tried on her gown to show me how the alteration lady from the bridal shop sewed the bustle.
S liked neither the black hooks showing, under the tag, nor the overall effect.
Worse, the train was pulling at the top hook. That’s going to destroy the fabric.
When I showed S this great video I discovered in my research, she liked the effect a lot, but she didn’t have a pin, nor did we have much time left before the wedding to source one.
Carefully removing the black hooks, S tried the gown on again, so I could replicate the waterfall look from the video.
Using a safety pin through all three layers, I took these photos of S so she could assess how she liked the overall look.
After sitting down, S decided to drop the bustle some.
After repinning and taking those photos, S was happy, so I sewed on a button she chose from my collection.
Sewing the button through all three layers onto the gown, I then created the thread loop similar to an 18th century dorset button with the heaviest matching thread I had.
Creating that while sewing that through the three layers where the safety pin had been on the lower portion of the skirt, I finished by hooking the train around the button.
I hesitated over whether that would last, but S was happier and wanted to run with it.
Then she packed up her gown so my son wouldn’t see, and we returned to the dining room table to assess all the florals.
HEMMING A BRIDESMAID GOWN FOR MY DAUGHTER
After finishing all the florals a few days before the wedding, my daughter asked me to hem her bridesmaid gown.
While my two year old granddaughter sat in my lap, together we pinned her mommy’s gown, which I took home to hem.
Upon arriving home, the dining room table became a sewing table, since my sewing room was no where near finished.
I had the utmost agony stitching this synthetic fiber fabric…how I wish I could have hired my friend to do this, but at the last minute, one does one’s best.
Then I packed her gown away to give to her once at the wedding venue.
Meanwhile, I packed my sewing kit and extra safety pins for emergency work the day of the wedding!
For more photos, check my Flickr set.
