Purple taffeta bridesmaid gowns

Patterns:
Vogue 2842
McCall's 9126

Fabric:
Acetate taffeta (provided by customer)

Last fall, a dear friend of mine asked me to make the bridesmaids' and flower girl dresses for her wedding this spring. She had a design from Kathleen's Bridal that she loved, but they only had a few left, and none in the right color. I was so honored to be a special part of her day!

Here you can see a little more the draping/ruching effect in the front of the gowns:


This photo shows the back details:


The bride also asked me to do the flowers...so much fun!

The amazing photography is by Bethany Tiss (http://www.bethanytissphotography.com/).

Apricot Regency Gown

Pattern: Sense & Sensibility Regency Gown

Fabric: Provided by customer

I made this gown for a customer, and I love this peachy, apricot-ty fabric she picked! I can't wear this color, so it's always fun to sew for other people who can wear different colors than I can. I made the skirt a bit longer in the back for a train effect, and changed the bodice to have fan-front gathers.

Buy this as an e-pattern by clicking the link below:

Winter Sky Rennisance-esque Gown

Pattern: McCall's 3010

Fabric: fabricclub.com

This is a dress I made for my sister from the same pattern as my Aubergine version. The only differences are the sleeves and the smooth bodice front (versus the pin tucking on my gown).

The underskirt is floor-length on my sister, but I left the overskirt at the full pattern length, so it forms a train when she's wearing it.

Aubergine Rennisance-esque Gown

Pattern: McCall's 3010

Fabric:
Chiffon - fabricclub.com
Satin - Denver Fabrics

I made this dress during the time that my friends and I were really into tea parties. :-) I'd purchased the chiffon when Fabric Club was having a sale, and then bought the satin when I picked the pattern. It actually matches better in person than in the pictures. The diamond pintucking on the bodice was a lot of work, but I think the effect was worth it!

Ocean Blues Titanic Tea Gown

Pattern: Sense & Sensibility Tea Gown

Fabric: fabricclub.com

I made some changes to the pattern for this gown. The pattern instructions have you line the whole bodice, but I wanted the sleeves to be sheer, so I made an alternate pattern for the bodice lining, which also caused me to have to do a lot of handsewing the attach the two! I also changed the shape of the bodice front seaming. On the skirt, I moved most of the gathering to the back, as I don't like front gathers on my skirts.

Buy this as an e-pattern by clicking the link below:

My Graduation Outfit

Patterns: Simplicity 5683 & vintage Simplicity 7308

Fabric: fabricclub.com & Denver Fabrics

This was my first foray into pattern tweaking back at the end of 2003.

I changed the blouse pattern to have flowy bell sleeves, and made it several sizes smaller and added back darts to make it fitted. I also added a side zipper.

On the skirt, I used the two-gore pattern, but pinned the pieces together so the front and back wouldn't have seams down the middle. Then I cut it out on the bias. Considering that I had no idea at the time of how bias behaves, it actually turned out quite splendidly!

Ocean Breeze bridesmaid dress

Pattern: Simplicity "It's So Easy" #3829

I made this dress for a friend of a friend. It was very simple to put together; the only alteration was to lengthen it from the knee to the floor.

Isn't the color scrumptious? It reminds me of the ocean in Hawaii.