One day I got a call from a young lady named Christine, looking for a designer and seamstress to take her already purchased wedding dress, alter it, add to it, and transform it into a unique gown. From the moment she said “I want a colorful wedding!”, I was intrigued and couldn’t wait to hear her ideas!
We had our first meeting and she shared her thoughts, bringing along her friend Bonnie for her input and creative ideas. Christine imagined her ballgown shaped wedding dress to be embellished with embroidered flowers, having flowers and greenery appear to “grow” up her dress, somewhat as in this image she pinned on her Pinterest board:
She scouted out, found and purchased a colorful embroidered mesh fabric on Etsy, perfect for both cutting out the flowers from the mesh background, and also to be used to make part 2 of her bridal look: a tulle and organza bridal skirt and a custom-made top of TBD style to be worn with the skirt:
As soon as she received the fabric in the post, we planned a meeting and got to work with the creative projects. She invited her mom, friend and future mother-in-law, all to come over to my house and get to work cutting out the individual flowers, carefully trimming them from the mesh and separating them. We spread out over my living room floor, got out sharp little scissors and got to snipping & sipping champagne.
Meanwhile, Christine also wanted me to make a top for her to wear with the bridal skirt, as well as do some alterations to both the bridal skirt and the dress. We decided on a bodysuit for the top to wear with the skirt, and I got to work making a mock-up of the bodysuit for fit and aesthetics. Well, of course I didn’t consider the lack of stretch that the mesh has, much less than that of the spandex material we chose for parts of the bodysuit.
Mistake #1
It took some time and effort to make this garment. I started with a bodysuit sewing pattern, choosing this great Belen bodysuit by Masin pdf pattern that had sleeves and a boat neckline.
Planning the placement of the flower motifs within the bodice front of the bodysuit was a little challenge, mostly as I was trying to get her favorite flowers to be closest to her face, but also appear to be randomly scattered and not placed like pasties right smack on her boobies:
Fast forward to the bodysuit being nearly finished and ready to try on. The bodysuit looked great, and the mockup wasn’t half bad either. Well, the fitting didn’t go so well and the bodysuit was way too tight. Like, she couldn’t move her arms to save her life kind of tight. Ugh:
Now all of my problem solving superpowers were jerked awake, stepping up and getting stuff done!
I wrote a “to-do” list (in order to keep my head strait, and to avoid having bad dreams, nightmares actually, about work, this a must for me):
Christine Chenderlin
Bridal Gown & Bridal Skirt project proposal
Wedding Date: June 18, 2023
Projects:
- Strapless bridal gown alterations & additions
- Added interior hanging straps
- Added bra cups
- Hem entire gown, including outer layer, tulle and lining layers,removing train and sewing original fringe trim back on to hem
- Applique additional fabric over entire gown
- Hourly rate of $60/hr for sewing work
- ETA hours tbd
- Help from friends
- Add side seam pockets
- Make a matching shrug from purchased fabric (or sleeves from cut off fabric)
- Make wide straps out of lining
- Edit: made straps out of lace and lining
- Bridal Skirt Alterations & additions
- Remove back zipper and install corset style back closure
- Hem skirt, removing some tulle from underskirt
- Hem outer layer of skirt
- Make a crop top from purchased fabric to wear with skirt
- Edit: made bodysuit from embroidered mesh
OK this is more of an outline, but I like to get my thoughts out of my head and down on paper, in an organized, shareable format, so that I can move on, plan out my time, and get to work. It’s the only way I can maintain sanity and work productively as a one woman business.
I also had a time tracker, price list, ideas, images and other notes in my dossier for Christine that I keep for each client. Keeping organized, on track, and accountable is key with helping clients such as her. She had been planning this special day for months and I was a big part of making her bridal visions come to fruition, so there was NO room for error! No pressure!
On to the gown. I added pockets, shoulder straps, bra cups, interior hanging straps, removed the entire train, made the gown floor length, hemmed it, stitched the delicate lace fringe trim back on all around the hem, plus a did a few little stitches and repairs to the lovely large floral gown.
The dress was handed off to her friends and family who were more than happy to pitch in and help her with DIY wedding stuff (and there was A LOT of DIY wedding stuff!). Like little Disney forest fairy Godmothers, they sewed on those flowers lickety-split at record speeds, creating a lovely placed, yet random, flower pattern all over the skirt of her dress. She twirled in her dreamy dress and we all gasped! Super cool!
Next, she wanted a shrug of sorts to cover her shoulders, so she chose a pretty satin to match the dress and I made a simple, yet ladylike, lined shrug for her and it worked, sort of.
Mistake #2
Ugh, WHY???? This shrug was the biggest obstacle in this whole idea. No, I take that back. the bodysuit was a bigger obstacle to overcome. The shrug was runner up. For some reason, I could NOT get a nice looking fit on this darn shrug! I made the darn thing 3x and still made her cry. I felt like the crappiest person on earth for not being able to make her happy, plus the bodysuit was giving her a major wedgie and she couldn’t raise or move her arms, so panic set in.
Well I managed to alter the sleeve by adding in a panel to make it wider and not 100% cut off her circulation. I also added a gusset to the bodysuit side seam, just so it was bearable and she could move in it (kind of). A center back zipper in the bodysuit also helped getting in and out of it.
As for the skirt, I added a lace-up corset back closure as the zipper was too small and that worked out pretty well:
Fast forward to wedding time! The wedding was held at a wonderful rustic resort in the mountains of Oregon. Out of town guests were arriving, family was wrapping up last minute details and enter frazzled and frantic Stephanie!! I drove an hour to Welshes, Oregon to her venue the day before the wedding day, finished bodysuit and shrug I made for her in hand, ready to hand off then disappear, out of her hair and let her enjoy her big event. I HAD to make sure she was ready to go, had all of her wedding outfits ready to wear, and she was happy.
Mistake #1 & Mistake #2 Backfire
She tried on her outfits, things were OK (not perfect or entirely comfortable), she looked over to me, aaaaand she cried. Sobbed really. I felt like the biggest a-hole let-down on the planet. The fit SUCKED and she was so uncomfortable! AAAGGGGHHHH!
100% MY BAD
Her friends from out of town were now arriving, she was crying (not tears of joy), and I felt like an idiot and failure. I offered what I could and said I’d do what ever I could possibly do to make it work. I had some more fabric back home, we quickly found a sewing pattern Bolero Jacket 2202 by Lekala she liked for the shrug, and one I could make up over night and drive back to her in the morning. Talk about last minute!
I left here there crying on her friends shoulder, got home, started making another NEW shrug (version #4 I think?) with the Lekala, was in touch with her best buddy Bonnie, keeping her posted with my progress, working hard to get something done that Christine would be happy with and make her not totally hate me on her most special day.
Mistake #3
I showed these photos to liaison Bonnie and she simply replied “you can stop sewing now.”
Now it was my turn to break down and cry. Literally cry. I was exhausted, crushed, disappointed, and just DONE!
So I wiped my tears, turned off my sewing machine, stuffed all of Christine’s fabric scraps, bits and pieces of undone shrugs and bodysuit parts, and a shrug that was OK from version # 1, into a bag and set my alarm to get up at the crack of ass to drive it and hour away to her on her wedding day. In the morning, I drove an hour there again, cowardly dropped of her bag of stuff at the hotel front desk and tiptoed backwards outta there, leaving a note and texting Bonnie when I was well on my way home. So, so bad, and NOT ever they way I intended to conduct business, but I just had way too much shame and couldn’t face her and her family & friends again, the disappointment dressmaker chick that made bride cry.
Well I must say, she pulled herself together and looked AMAZING on her wedding day! She was radiant in her custom designed gown, wearing one of the 4 shrugs I made her and looking fabulous walking down the DIY isle to marry the love of her life 🙂
She sent me photos and invited me to her share with her Google Photos album. She really pulled it off and looked radiant and so happy in her colorful bridal outfits! All of the decorations, accessories and details that were DIY’d from her family and friends were so incredibly touching and turned out beautifully.
Overall, I am SO grateful and happy that she reached out, chose me and trusted to help her achieve her dream bridal looks. It was down to the wire and incredibly stressful (for everyone!), but it was SO fun to work with her as she is delightful, creative, intelligent and just a great person to have met, plus her mom, mother in law and friend were ALL so kind, fun and caring. It all worked out in the end and she was stunning in her dresses for her wedding day.
Lessons learned:
-Leave PLENTY of time to work and to make mistakes
-Make a list, or several lists, and make plenty of notes as needed
-Keep the client informed and posted with all decisions as well as pitfalls
-Wake up early, stay up late, keep focused and get it done
-Treat all clients projects as if they were my own projects
-Make smart and creative problem solving decisions
-Keep trying the best you can to get it right and please your client
-Work smarter, not harder
-Don’t be afraid to charge for my time
-Sometimes you deserve a break, rest, nourishment and praise : you are human after all
Ode to Sew 