Katelyn and Ben

This week we have the beautiful Katelyn, and her wedding dress for her marriage to Ben.

They were married in Mount Macedon, in a delightful garden ceremony, on a perfect autumn day.

Katelyn came to me with thoughts of a very refined and elegant wedding gown. She had tried her mother's gown on, for its simple line, and wanted to combine lace with a long, clean line for her own dress.

We went shopping for laces, as the range is wide, and texture is a very personal choice: I never assume that I can pick the right lace for a client, because it's such a fine line between one person's "beautiful", and another's "Nanna's curtains". 

Happily, Katelyn found one she loved: a soft tulle base with an embroidered floral pattern, with filagree shapes that stopped it from being too fussy or kitch. 

I wanted to take advantage of Katelyn's understated elegance and try to represent her clear-mindedness, and calm nature. Her gown was therefore a very simple line: a darted "tunic" for want of a better word, tailored to fit her perfectly, with a small fullness at the back of the skirt. This was balanced by a classic boatneck with a deep dramatic v-back, to mirror the fullness of her skirt. The main dress was made from silk faille, as featured in Simone's dress.

The lace was the major feature though, and was laid over the faille. I cut the lace in the same patterns as the dress, but only down two thirds of the length of the skirt. Below that, I decided, that in order to make the design really interesting, I would cut out all the lace patterns and re-apply them in my own design. This was to create an organic, individual and artistic piece rather than the plainer, mass-produced look achieved by just layering flat panels of lace.


This was really fun: I dont usually get commissions to make really tricky, fiddly garments, with such detailed work required. I wanted to use all the beautiful scalloped edges of the lace around the hemline, and so worked from the hem up, to meet the bulk of the lace coming down from the bodice. This was also all cut away around the edges, to feather down into the appliqued pieces below.





I then hand-sewed all the pieces on, checking the drape of the fabric all the time. Fortunately, the skirt was cut on the straight grain, so the lace could be aligned fairly accurately, even when not hanging from the dummy.
I have now tried this method with a bias skirt; it was a very different story. Coming soon.

The sleeves were a single layer of fitted lace, set-in, with the seam allowance bias-bound, inside.


The high boatneck was perfect for Katelyn's petite frame, and the deep scooped back was the only really dramatic bit: a lovely surprise when the bride turns around. We reduced the impact of the lace by limiting the scalloped edging to the hem, and not adding to the neckline, as this would start to overwhelm Katelyn, and make her look too frilly.
She really wanted the classic pearl-button line down the back, which I think really helps to centre the design, and gives it a focus.









So here are some shots from the Big Day, thanks to Katelyn and Ben for sharing, and
Erin&Tara Photography, for their beautiful shots. All following photos are via their blog. 

 

via Erin&Tara Photography

Simply Elegant Ivory

What better way to bring in the new year, than with another lovely bride from spring?

Simone came to me through a recommendation from a friend.

She had a simple and elegant idea for her December wedding gown, that was almost fully formed.

Simone is a singer and was wedded to her partner Luke in lovely country wedding in Carlsruhe, Victoria: very intimate and personal. She chose a dress style that she knew really suited her, with details that she loved.

Her ideas were based around a plain, long line dress, in ivory, with a twisted bodice and small cap sleeves.

For her fabric, I chose an incredible silk faille, which came from Italy. Faille is a much under-used silk fabric, as far as I can tell, with very few suppliers even stocking it. I would describe faille as being like a very heavy silk crepe or double georgette: the yarns are twisted like a these lighter fabrics, which gives it extra weight and superior drape, but it's opaque, and has a fuller body, so that it hangs beautifully, whilst also not clinging or needing an under-layer.

This particular fabric was from Clegs, and we chose the off-white, as usual!

A note about white: Colour is a very subjective thing, but for brides it would seem straightforward: white or white, right? But there is an important difference.

The vogue now (as apposed to 20 years ago) is for "ivory/natural/cream", which means a white fabric which has shades of pink, yellow or other "naturalising" tones to the final colour. A "pure" white will look blue in comparison, like you are standing under a fluorescent light.  Unless you want a very white-blue looking dress, it's always better, and so often more flattering to choose the creamier, or warmer whites on offer. Also, keep in mind, that in Australia, our very harsh light will make all shades of white/ivory, look brighter and bluer, so always check your fabric choice in daylight, to make sure you don't choose the blue one.

Anyway, Simone was very trusting, and went with the design and fabrics that I presented to her, which was lovely to get right first time.

© E.Christian. Simone Gill Wedding dress design, all rights reserved.

Knotted bodice and gore skirt with train.

I made a toile for Simone, and then went straight into construction, as everything was pretty much on-track.

I have to say, I loved making this dress. It was such a pleasure to have client who knew herself, and what she wanted, and I could go forward with confidence that she would (probably) love it.

Also, the faille was to-die-for: My rule is that basically, the better the fabric, the better the result. I even think it makes my machines sew better!

I made the skirt in three panels front and back, and added a little train at the back. The bodice front was really fun, and I ended up getting a lovely line with a seamless wrap-front-and-cap-sleeve construction, which was very restrained and looked just how Simone wanted it to.
I continued the gathered "belt" around to the back to add texture, and focus the dress.

Another important note about this dress is that whilst Simone wanted a very slim-line gown, in a soft fabric, she didn't want it to cling. Therefore this dress was cut on the straight grain, and because of the integrity of the fabric, it was easily tailored on the panel lines in the skirt to create the fit, without the bias "cling".

"Natural" silk faille wedding gown

Knotted faille bodice with cap sleeves

Back skirt with goddet

And here they are on the Big Day: thanks to Simone and Luke for sharing their photos, by Jeff Sheppard @ SoulPhotos.

Silk in the Sun

Before Christmas, I had two lovely special projects focused on elegant and simple designs using beautiful fabrics.

The first was a rush job - "Hello, do you make clothes? I need a dress for a wedding next Tuesday..."

My Client had found a Roland Mouret gown she wanted to draw her inspiration from; simple silhouette, with a very classic long skirt and a focus on drape as the design feature.

Roland Mouret - Spring RTW 2011.

She also loved the black binding on the sleeves and soft neckline.

We chose, after much deliberation regarding texture (yes? no?), drape (how much is too much? do we want a bias drape??), colour (what exactly is mushroom anyway?) and fibre content (silk? rayon? wool?)

a most beautiful French Silk Faille, from Rathdown Remnants, the price of which I will not divulge. 

Needless to say, cutting was a tremulous process.

But I got it done in three days and it turned out to be quite engaging; at least my Client thought so. (hoorah!)

The next project was a chocolate silk all-in-one pantsuit, for a Client's 50th Birthday Party; pretty daring, but thats what makes this job great. 

My Client had hoarded the fabric for years in anticipation of this day finally arriving, so again, there was some trepidation when cutting. It is a designer silk satin from the 1980's. There is no more of this fabric to be had if I was a bit shy of anything.

The brief was for a wide-legged all-in-one pantsuit, with perhaps a halterneck and some kind of transformable or interchangeable scarf that could act as an inventive accessory; a wrap or a sash, or "sleeves", to glam it up. My client is a self-confessed "70's tragic", but in the best possible way. 

I (delightedly) searched for "jungle" themed silk prints and found a couple of beauties from the Fabric Store, and Tessuti.

Dusky pink and yellow animal print silk satin, 

from the Fabric Store.

I made two toiles because, well, I've never patterned a pantsuit before, and it was defiantely necessary!

I lined the bodice with silk satin, and made the two chosen silks into long silk scarves that can be threaded into the back loops and draped as desired, around the shoulders or waist.

I hope both these garments bought joy to these Clients, who were both very open and enjoyable to sew for. Thank you!