Yep, I'm sewing my wedding dress

After trying on fancy frocks beyond my budget, digging through vintage store racks and trolling the long tail on ebay, I decided that the right wedding dress for me would have to be the one I made myself.

The decision was further bolstered by the fact that I literally stumbled upon the perfect pattern at a yard sale in a box of old lady sewing goodies for $0.25. Surely a sign.

I will be making "dress A" on the left. From what I can tell, the pattern was printed in the 80s but is a classic style with very traditional techniques. The description on the back of the envelope includes the phrase "tiered bouffant skirts." Now if only I could achieve the same bouffant hair effect.

Over the past few months I've been working on a muslin prototype--a mock-up of the original pattern and making notes about alterations. This is the first time I've worked with boning, the stiff plastic strips that lend structure to the bodice along the seams and reportedly feel weird to the touch during slow dances with your high school prom date.

I'm also working with "fancy" fabrics like tulle, lace and taffeta which are a departure from the usual cotton prints and recycled thrift store mu mus from which I normally create fabulous garments. There's something quite satisfying about buying 6 yards of tulle and watching the lady at the fabric counter flail about in it's gauzy web as she tries to fold it up into a neat bundle. Perhaps even more satisfying is the skeptical look I'm given when I share that I'll be using this fabric to sew my own wedding dress. I would like to collect a dollar for every raised eyebrow.

I found most everything at my local Pacific Fabrics and found the lace at Fabric Depot, a truly epic fabric store in Portland which boasts over 20,000 bolts of fabric and takes up an acre of land on the east side of the city.

I really like the "undersea" motif of the lace which stood out from all the other flowers and fleur de lis. I also have to admit that I dig the beading and fussy embroidery which surprises myself.

My next steps are to tune up my sewing machine and start cutting out the pieces and prepping them for sewing. I plan to document every tedious detail, triumph and frustration in this blog so sit back and enjoy!