As part of the series about how my bespoke wedding dressmaking service works, this post focuses on the real dress fittings. You can also read about the previous stages of design and patterns and toiles in my last two posts.
3rd Fittings Onward
My bespoke wedding dresses take many fittings to create. The minimum is 4 fittings, but more often there are 6 or 7 fittings and sometimes more than that. It depends on the design, the fabrication and the bride herself.
Bespoke bride Savanna at her 3rd fitting – actual fabric
Here we look at actual dress fittings, so we’re beyond the toile or mock-up stage, and I’ve cut out the real fabric. Usually this is from the third fitting onward, but it can be later too. It’s the first time the bride gets an idea of how their dress will look in the real fabric they’ve chosen.
Many Layers
Often wedding dresses are made of many layers of fabric. At this stage I may only look at the under layers before adding the top layer on at the next fitting. This is especially common with lace fabrics. You can see I have done this in bride Savanna’s fitting in the image above. The lace panel at the back is just pinned for now so we can see the effect, but ultimately the whole dress will be overlaid with lace.
Trying out 2 different sleeves in this 3rd fitting for bespoke bride Claire.
Adjustments to the fit are still happening in these real wedding dress fittings. Corset layers are adjusted, lace is placed or repositioned and sleeves can be trialled. It’s an organic process of development and very exciting!
In the image above, bride Claire was unsure whether to have a puffy organza sleeve or a softer, draped chiffon sleeve, so I made one of each for her to see in her fitting.
Raw
The wedding dresses are still ‘raw’ at this stage. The edges are not finished, there are no fastenings and the hems are not turned. If something needs to be tested, I will often tack it with hand sewing rather than machining it. This way it’s easier to remove or adjust if necessary.
Bride Anna’s bespoke wedding dress fitting with trialled lace placement. A ribbon stands in for what will be a belt when finished.
In the above fitting some of the lace motifs are pinned on ready for sewing. The sleeves are yet to be attached and beaded.
Testing some Liberty printed fabric buttons for this bespoke wedding dress.
Final Fittings
At the final fittings in my bespoke wedding dressmaking service everything is generally finished. There should be no major adjustments, and any that do occur should be the work of minutes, not hours. This is an opportunity to try on, twirl around and check you know how everything does up and works.
Bride to be Jess wearing her finished ivory satin bespoke wedding dress.
Bride Emily wearing her bespoke 2-piece wedding outfit of short dress and longer overskirt.
Bride-to-be Dee during her bespoke wedding dress final fitting
At her final fitting bride Emma tries a shawl with her green silk and 3D lace bespoke wedding dress.
I will be posting some more about my wedding dressmaking service in my next few posts. It’s quite an involved yet fun process and there’s more to show and discuss about how it all works.
If you are considering exploring the bespoke route to your wedding dress or outfit, I hope this post has been helpful. If you have any questions about my bespoke dressmaking service, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
The next stage of the process is of course your wedding or celebration! Congratulations!
