I am not someone who has ever given much thought to the look of my wedding dress. Which sounds easy breezy, but actually made the process of sewing a dress kind of hard. I just…didn’t feel strongly. I knew I wanted it to have a 1970s vibe, and I wanted a cotton dress. I liked the idea of a cotton dress because it feels sweet, comfortable to wear, and can be fussy if that’s what you want (think fabric manipulation, lace insertion, trims galore).

I started and quickly abandoned Pinterest pages, trawled wedding websites (a nightmare for me), and flipped through vintage sewing patterns until my eyes blurred over. I needed fabric.

For reliable bridal fabrics, I highly recommend NY Designer Fabrics. They’ve got what you need, be it silk or poly, basic lining or beaded extravagance, and they sell swatches. I ordered many. I also spent whole days in the Garment District, hunting. I was about to give up when I stumbled upon a bolt of novelty Swiss dot in the basement of Mood. Truly, I was at my wit’s end. I thought, I’ll just buy some so I don’t go home empty handed again. I asked for two yards more than what the pattern called for, and headed home on the train.

*My novelty Swiss dot is a little different from the usual 100% cotton versions of this classic fabric.*

MY FABRIC:

My main “fashion” Fabric was labelled 50% cotton / 50% silk novelty Swiss Dot at Mood's NYC store. I have my doubts about the content of this fabric. I think it is silk, cotton, and a touch of rayon. It’s hard to say just by touch, so I’ll never know, but the drape feels like rayon, and that’s a compliment. It is sheer, very light, hates to stay on grain, and absolutely shreds if you unpick a seam.

Swiss dot is usually a bit smaller scale than this fabric - smaller, less dimensional dots - and the dots are usually arranged on a half drop, where these are on a grid. It’s nice, a nod to the classic, with a very subtle shift.

LINING & UNDERLINING:

Underlining: depending on where it was needed, I used either silk CDC or silk habutai from NY Designer Fabrics.
Lining: silk charmeuse from NY Designer Fabrics. As this is a lining, the shiny side is always facing the wearer’s skin, which feels luxe and drapes beautifully.

The fabrics shown above, from left to right: silk habutai, 12mm silk CDC, silk charmeuse, all from NY Designer Fabrics.

INTERFACING:

Interfacing: silk organza from NY Designer Fabrics, and a couple small areas have Lightweight fusible from SIL Threads (inside of the straps, the label).

*Plain white Liberty Tana Lawn was used to give the sash some body.*

SASH SUPPORT:

I made my sash double sided, and silk charmeuse for a textural contrast. The pattern has it as one layer of fabric, which is very flimsy, and the wrong side of the fabric and hems will show. I used silk charmeuse underlined in plain white Liberty Tana Lawn from Duckadilly Fabrics. If I were to make this again, I’d add fusible interfacing, and something stiff, like netting or tulle, to the sections that become a bow. Or, I might make a bow that is detachable from the dress, that snaps in place.

*The tulle is used is both soft and holds its shape, especially when gathered. It is not pleasant to cut!!*

ADDITIONAL VOLUME:

Tulle: My tulle was ordered online from Mood. I’ll note that not all tulle is created equal, and you might want to try swatches, depending on your desired stiffness of the tulle. I added two layers of heavily gathered tulle under the ruffle of the skirt. This gave really great volume, but didn’t weigh it down.

NOTIONS:

When I need top quality notions, I head to SIL Thread in Manhattan. I picked up spiral steel boning, a whole roll of rayon seam binding (used to stay some seams and to cover exposed seam allowances inside dress - this is a required notion per the pattern), and a YKK invisible zipper. While I was there, I grabbed fresh spools of thread - Clover brand silk thread for basting, Gutterman polyester for construction.

*A selection of the antique, vintage, and new trims I purchased in anticipation of sewing my wedding dress.*

UNUSED MATERIALS:

In addition to what is listed here, I purchased many trims and notions which I did not use. These came from Brimfiled Antique Markets, various flea markets, the NYC Garment District, and my mom’s very sweet wedding dress. As my ideas evolved, I would buy something, and then not end up using it.

While this was wonderful for stash building - I now own a lifetime supply of white trims - it feels important to mention that it is easy to stray from your ideas and your budget if you aren’t careful with this kind of project. I have no regrets, material exploration is an important part of my creative process. I am sure I’ll find use for many of these trims in future projects.

In my next installment of this series, I’ll dive into my pattern modifications and design changes - there are quite a few, yet I kept the spirit and main design lines of my vintage pattern.

XO, Martha

SEWING MY OWN WEDDING DRESS - PART 2: FABRIC & NOTIONS