Love is blue ...
Life is often full of surprises. Who would have told me that I would get married, again, in my late forties? After 12 years of life and love, my beloved partner in crime asked me to marry him. ahhh big sigh, I said yes right away, for he is such a wonderful man to live with. DH is my soul mate. Conversing, cooking, hiking, running, laughing, even arguing ;-) is great with him...
I had a few patterns in my stash that could be nice for that project, but none of them were exactly what I had in mind. I wanted an asymmetrical dress with one nude shoulder. After sewing one form Burda Style HERE, I liked the fit and look on me. While searching for inspiration, I found that stunning gown made by Ralph Lauren for Cate Blanchett. She wore that dress during a dinner hosted by the Duke of Cambridge at Windsor Castle.
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| Image form Getty - Cate Blanchett wearing Ralph Lauren |
I like the sleek look of this gown. It is classy, chic and non-pretentious. It is anti bling bling as the French would say. Sleek, simple and chic is very often what I aim for. The draping part is attached on the side and at the back hem so is stays in place. For my dress, I wanted the draping part to flow lightly in the air as I would walk. Therefore, I planned to use a gorgeous silk chiffon Carole, from Madeleine Soie et Laine , gave me in 2009 during the PR Weekend in Montreal. This fabric was actually the starting point of the dress project.
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| Chiffon de soie from Madeleine Soie et Laine |
The chiffon's print gives the impression that it was hand painted on the delicate and semi-transparent material. The colors vary from very, very light blue to magenta with splashes of yellow and green. In my point of view it is pure beauty. For the body of the dress, I chose a light blue silk crepe that I bought at Tissus St-Hubert in Montreal. Not my regular fabric store, but indeed one excellent address in town.
The pattern challenge
Since wedding gowns in Marfy's catalogs are so awesome, my first thought was to order one from them. The model S895 seamed to head in the right direction and I though I could adjust it to my original idea. By looking that following picture, I imagined that the bust section was one simple piece covered with rushed silk chiffon attached to the empire seam line (under the bust). But it was not.
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| Marfy S895 |
When I copied all pattern pieces, I realize that the bust part was actually one unlined, asymetrical piece of rushed chiffon, slightly overlapping at center front, sewn in the under-bust seam so that the upper left part creates a loop. The long draped chiffon piece is use to create a strap which holds up the bust piece. My explanation is probably not clear, but bottom line I was afraid that the bust piece would open to show my bra or that it would show through !!! Not what I wanted for my wedding. So after one quick muslin that pattern was discard. If you want it, it for sale for 25$ instead of 125$.
After this failing essay, I went for a sure shot, a pattern from Burda Style. I do not mean that Marfy's pattern are not wonderful, but this one was not what I was looking for... So Burda Style 2009-11-108 was the one for me !
Here is what the original dress looked like on the magazine cover!
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| Burda Style November 2009 - 108 |
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I made modifications to the original style by removing the sleeve, the neckline border and the bow. I made the dress less flared by removing fabric at the lower par of both side seams. The first muslin was conclusive. I had only small corrections to make on center back seam.
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| I had to take of excess in CB at the top and lower back |
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| The darts were corrected by the rest was falling well in the front |
Corrections were transposed on paper and ... hum hum .. I was ready to cut the silk... little sigh ... Making clothes for my self does not make me nervous, but sewing my wedding dress did. The fabric was relatively expensive and I wanted that dress to be perfect. So there I went with my Kai scissors.
The final result
As I was sewing all darts and pieces together, I was getting so excited. I chose a very simple pattern that was quickly assembled. I cannot remember how long it took me to sew it, but it was finished 2 weeks before the wedding. Which is definitely way more ahead the I usually finish garments sewn for special events. For my son's graduation party, I finished hemming the skirt as his father was wringing at the front door.
Here are pictures I took after the big day.
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| My wedding dress made using Burda Style 2009-11-108 |
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| My wedding dress made using Burda Style 2009-11-108 |
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| My wedding dress made using Burda Style 2009-11-108 |
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| My wedding dress made using Burda Style 2009-11-108 Side view of the rushed drape chiffon part |
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| My wedding dress made using Burda Style 2009-11-108 |
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| My wedding dress made using Burda Style 2009-11-108 |
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| This chiffon drape piece was self drafted. Nothing very difficult, it is a rectangle cut diagonally at the hem |
To be certain the dress would stay snug to my back, I followed my friend Kay's advice (The Sewing Lawyer) and added an elastic the the back facing.
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| Soft underwear elastic was added to the back facing so that the dress would stay snug fit on me |
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| Soft underwear elastic was added to the back facing so that the dress would stay snug fit on me |
The big day
We had a gorgeous day weather wise. The ceremony took place in our home with 21 of our closed friends, we then walk to Le Chien Rose our favorite bring-your-own-wine restaurant. Mitch is a young chef who creates excellent and unpretentious meals. We ended the day by playing pétanque at the park, for those of you who know that French game. Since our wedding took place 13 days after my dad passed away, I was happy we had organised a simple wedding. I did not feel like throwing a huge party.
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| Mission accomplished, the dress looked like I wanted it |
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| And he kissed the very happy bride |
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| The flowers all came from Fauchois Fleurs on St-Denis Street |
Getting married at 49 was a very good idea, it brought a new woompf in our love life. It did make a difference for us.
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