Wedding Outfit: the Outerskirt

So, this was the last sewing part of my wedding outfit to do.  I knew this one was going to be a bit of a head scratcher, but I had a very specific image I wanted to at least attempt to achieve. Originally I wanted to get secondhand curtains or table cloth, but after a lot of searching I couldn't find what I was looking for so I ended up buying from a local shop which stocks end of line products.  

As I wanted the scallops which run along the bottom of the curtains to run along the bottom as the skirt I needed to be accurate with the length.  This would also mean that, rather than just cutting the pieces out, I would need to put darts along the top of the pieces to get that shape.  I used the pattern pieces from the fantail skirt to help me get the same shape. 

First, I measured the length of the skirt (adding on the seam allowance) and transferred this onto the pattern pieces.  Then I pinned the scallop edge along the measured edge, pinned up along the sides, and then placed in darts at the top before cutting out the fabric.  I sewed up the darts to hold them into place, though these didn't hold particularly well due to the fabric.  

I sewed up the side seams, using a run and fell seam to give it some extra strength, and then used the same waistband pattern for the skirt I cut out a waistband piece.  Once I'd sewed the band on I realized that the darts on the front panel were going the wrong way, so I had to unpick this section and resew it with the darts the right way this time.  I hemmed the seam, with it running down into the skirt as I wanted to waistband to remain more clean looking.  The way these curtains are made the fabric doesn't actually need hemming as it doesn't fray.  However, as all the seams are visible from the outside I wanted them to be neat.  

Before I started making this I had thought that I'd leave the two skirts separate, but once it was on I realised that the two could easily separated whilst we are doing all our activities on the day..  So I sewed the two waistbands together with a top stitch.  Unfortunately, since doing this I noticed that the scallops at the front of the skirt are no longer flush with the bottom of the skirt.  I think it's due to the seam around the waist band which has could have lifted the fabric, so I'm going to iron it and hopefully that'll flatten this down.

And that's it, the last item I needed to sew for the big day.  The only thing left to make for the outfit was a shawl, which I've now knitted so it is complete.  Now all I need to do is work out hair and makeup, should be interesting.

Wedding Outfit: the Top

There was a very particular style that I was wanting for my wedding top and it has been so stuck in my head that I didn't want to produce anything else.  There was a lot of searching online for the right pattern, but, even though the style is quite simple, I just couldn't find one that looked quite right.  I did, however, find a blog that described how to make something similar to what I was looking for (Off-the-shoulder Ruffle Top by We All Sew) and decided I would use this as the starting point for the design I wanted.

This top was to be an off the shoulder top and part of the look that I was going for was to have lace along the top and around the shoulders.  However, I couldn't quite work out how I was going to make that work on a top that needed wasn't going to have any fastenings and which would hopefully be able to take some movement.  Then I realised that there is actually elastic lace out there, so I headed over to Minerva (which is fastly becoming my go to shop for everything sewing related).  When it arrived in the post it was actually much more beautiful than I thought it was going to be and it has the stretch it needs whilst still sitting really nicely along my skin.  The rest of the top was made up using the cotton bed sheets I had used to make the skirt with, but which I had put aside before dying.

My plan was to just draw the pattern straight onto the fabric and then cut it out from there, but I got a bit nervous about that so I decided to draw it out on paper first.  As I don't have any pattern paper but do have a lot of paperwork from when I did a mini declutter a little while ago I decided to just Sellotape those together and use that instead.  I double checked all of my measurements and then transferred this information onto the paper adding a 1.5cm seam allowance.  And yes, that is a bowl you see that I used to help me draw the circular sections underneath the arms.

The information on the website I edited this pattern from tells you to put out the front and back pieces exactly the same.  However, I have a small back and relatively large chest, so this would mean that the top wouldn't actually sit properly on my and would end up showing off my bra at the front of the arm holes.  To counter act this I increase the width of the front piece and reduced the width of the back piece, so I now have two pattern pieces which make up the main body of the top.

I started by sewing up the side seams of the body to check the fit and, once I was satisfied with this, did a run and fell seam along these sides and tidied up the edges of the arms.  It was then time to work out what size I wanted the lace section to be and where exactly on my shoulders I wanted it to sit.  I originally sewed up the lace based on measurements I took of my shoulders, but it was too lose so I tightened it a little.  

Next up was attaching the main body to the lace trim and, I'm not going to lie, this did take quite a while.  Firstly, the lace needed to sit a lot further down the top than I originally thought it would need to.  Even when I got this right and had sewn it all together it still didn't sit right and I had to unpick it and try and fit more of the cotton fabric into the lace.  As you have to stretch the lace to work the non-stretching cotton in I was worried that having to do this repeatedly would over- stretch elastic in the lace so that it no longer functioned properly.  Thankfully though, this wasn't the case and the top now fits exactly how I wanted it to.  

The last thing was to check the length of the top and then hem it with the basic fold over twice and sew method.

Now that it's all finished I am very happy with the results.  I am a little worried that I've now made the lace a little bit too tight, but we'll see how it goes.  I'll try it on again a little closer to the time and make any changes I need to then.  It feels good to have ticked off something else on the list of things I need to craft for the wedding.  Whilst I was making this top I was also making the matching masks we wanted to have just in case things changed with the pandemic again.  So now what's left it the lace overskirt, my partner's tie, and knitting my shawl.  I'm getting here, which is great and is making me feel a whole lot less stressed than I was before.

Wedding Outfit: the Petticoat

I'm not sure you would actually call this a petticoat, more of an underskirt to help give the actual skirt the volume I wanted.  I did think of making a proper petticoat, but I wasn't sure if I would actually have the time.  Maybe some other time.  For this quick project I decided to use tulle as it's a very light weight fabric and an easy way to make volume.  I got 4m of it and actually ended up with much more than I had intended as it was actually folded up more times in the shop than I realised.  I didn't use a pattern for this, but just put it together based on the shape I wanted.  

The plan was to make two layers that was made up of two tiers of the tulle, with each tier being about 55cm wide.  The length of each tier was based on my hip measurements, with the top tier being twice my hip circumference and the bottom tier being four times my hip circumference.  Both of these were gathered to give the volume I wanted.  Construction was pretty simple.

First I put in a long stitch along one of the longer edges of the bottom tiers and pulled on the thread to gather it until it became the same length of the top tier.  I then sewed the two tiers together.

I then put a long stitch along the top tier and gathered that in until it fitted the size of my waist.  I had originally planned to then sew this into its own waist band, but I realised that this would just add an extra layer to my waist and would be something else I would need to manhandle on the day.

When I first attached it to the waist band of the skirt and tried it on I realised that it was far too bulky around the waist.  So I detached it from the skirt and undid the gathers.  I then put in darts instead to draw in the waist width and reattached it to the skirt's waistband.  This worked much better and still produced the extra volume I was wanting.

I then sewed up the sides of the two layers, stopping just below the opening of the skirt.  The last step was to ensure that the hem of the petticoat was just above the hem of the skirt.  I hung up the skirt inside out so that the petticoat was on the outside to my dressmaker's mannequin and left it for a little bit of time to allow any stretching to happen.  Then I cut the hem by the needed amount.

This petticoat actually turned out a lot better than I was expecting and, even though you won't actually see it on the day, I'm a little proud of it.  It has made my skirt sit exactly how I want it without adding any unnecessary bulk or weight and I might actually leave it on the skirt after the wedding.  I have to admit that this type of 'winging it' sewing of probably my favourite way to sew as it's easier to fit the garment to my shape.  So that's one more wedding crafting done and that now leaves the top and outer skirt to sew, and my shawl to knit.

Wedding Outfit: the Skirt

This is the first bit of my wedding outfit that I've made so far.  I did knit a shawl before, but realised that the colours didn't actually fit the rest of what the outfit will be.  I'll need to redone that.  I'm using the pattern 'The Fantail Skirt: historical' by the Dreamstress.  I wanted to make this pattern for a while and my wedding seemed like the perfect excuse.  A Fantail is also a New Zealand bird, which is where my partner is from so it seemed a nice connection.

I've decided to keep with the historical version of this pattern, though I have added some facing to the waistband to give it a little extra strength as there will be some additional weight on it.  I'm also using 100% cotton fabric, which happens to be second hand hotel bedding I brought online.  Some of this fabric is going to go towards making my top in white, but I wanted the skirt to be blue and so dyed it using Dylon fabric dye in Vintage Blue. 

One addition I have made to this pattern was to add a pocket to one of the seems, using a make your own pattern I made after watching a tutorial by Bernadette (though the Dreamstress also have a good tutorial on how to add a pockets).  I'll keep the draft for future use and I can see me adding pockets to quite a lot of things now I have it.  

I wasn't able to add the pocket to the usual place you would find pockets as there aren't any seams in that area side, so I placed it onto one of the back seams.  It'll work for holding what I need it to - hankie, engagement ring, possibly lipstick.

I wasn't sure, at the start, if I was going to make this a high - low skirt as I liked the look of it in on a wedding dress I liked the look of and my partner quite like the idea of it.  I decided I'd make it in its original form to begin with and then make a decision on the length of the front. In the end we both agreed that it looked better full length all around, especially with the folds in the back.

Not going to lie, I did have to redo the waistband a couple of times.  The first time I did all the measurements but somehow managed to make it 1 inch too small.  As I have no intention of starving myself to get into it, I redid it.  However, I then managed to make it 1.5 inch too big.  So I had to unpick it all again and start again.  At least it actually fits now.

I did have to wait until I had made the underskirt / petticoat before I could see how long I wanted the hem to be.  I originally hemmed it exactly as the pattern suggested, but it didn't have the length that I needed so I shortened the second turn over.  

As part of my wedding day will involve going on a walk I wanted to be able to have the front of the skirt lifted up a bit.  To get that I've attached ribbon into the hem and two front seams so that I can pull them up and tie them to lift the hem.  I did try hand finish the seams edges, but I noticed that the stitching was too obvious from the front side no matter how small they were.  So I chose to finish them using hemming tape.

For the fastenings, I decided to not put myself through doing buttonholes again and, instead, went for the hook and bar with snaps recommended in the pattern.

And it's done.  I have to say I'm quite proud of this and I really love how this turned out, despite how much work it was.  I especially like the back section with all the folds in it and the advantage to having a big bum is you don't have to make a bustle to get the authentic look.  Now all I need to make is the overskirt, the top, matching face masks, and re-knit the shawl.  All in about 2 months. That's doable isn't it.

Preparing for my Wedding

I'm getting married this year and though it's going to be small in comparison to other weddings, there are still some expectations that mean it's not exactly going to be the wedding we want.  However, we still want to have a wedding that represents us as much as possible and we also have a budget we need to try and stick to.  The budget has meant that we've needed to do a lot of the things ourselves to save money.  So, this is the plan.

Guests

With things being the way they are at the moment with Covid we've decided to just have family who are already based in the UK coming to our wedding.  For everyone else, we'll be streaming the ceremony so that they can watch it from the comfort of their own home.  This will hopefully mean less disruption if we have to return to more restrictions.  It also means we are having a smaller wedding more in keeping with what we want and it reduces the travel miles connected to our wedding.  

For our smaller wedding, we wanted to make the wedding invitations ourselves to add a personal touch.  The cross-stitch pattern is a Pictish design that I've had for a while which comes from the area of Scotland we first met in.  The thread I used is from cross-stitch projects I've been doing since meeting my fiance.  Unfortunately, we didn't have time to make invites for everyone so to add a personal touch to the other invites I hand wrote them and made origami hearts to send with them.

Clothing

I'm planning on making as much of my clothing as possible, which includes the skirt, overskirt, petticoat (I was looking for this in charity shops, but unfortunately haven't been able to find anything), off-shoulder top, shawl, matching face mask, and I'm borrowing my Mum's veil.  I will be using some fabrics I've never sewn with before and I'll have to make up some of the patterns, but I have time and I think I'm going to enjoy the challenges these are going to bring.  I'm wanting to use second-hand fabrics whenever I can and have already been able to source some good pre-loved cotton sheets for the main body of the skirt and top.  I'm still looking for some net curtains or table cloth to make the overskirt with, but hopefully, I'll find that soon.  The plan is to write blogs about each garment so look out for those.

For my partner, we've gotten him a suit that's made out of recycled plastic from Moss Bros.  We're still looking for a shirt for him, which will hopefully be a charity shop find, and I'm hoping to make him a tie that matches my skirt and a face mask to go with his suit.  We'll have to see how much time I have first though.

Food

We didn't want anything overly fancy for this as that's not really our style.  So a nice pub lunch at a lovely pub in a beautiful location is the plan.  We've got a table or two booked at the relatively local Hope and Anchor Inn, which has locally sourced food and drinks.

My Mum is wanting to make a traditional wedding cake for us, but we're also ordering brownies from our favourite bakery - Dammn Good Bakes.  The brownies are a really good size and they're connected to a date we had.

Flowers

I was in two minds about whether we should have flowers or not, especially with the negative environmental and poor employment practices connected with the mass flower production we have now.  However, they are a beautiful thing to have at a celebration so we had a search around to see if there were some sustainable options.  We did actually find quite a few companies in the UK that had more sustainable practices, but we were lucky to find a company that was just down the road from us that sources flowers from local suppliers and is woman-owned, called Wildflower Floristry.  (Side note: the flowers photographed aren't hers.  Just flowers I brought because I wanted some in the flat after all the flower research.)  Best of all they use wildflowers (funnily enough), which are my favourite type, and I'm looking forward to having a bouquet that looks like a wildflower meadow.  For that very reason, we haven't asked for any particular colour scheme for them, apart from as much blue as possible.

They also normally offer vase hire for the table settings, but we've decided to do some charity shop hunting to buy vases so that our guests can take them away with them at the end of the meal.  Lucy, the owner, was really lovely and it's definitely been one of the best, and least stressful, parts of the wedding preparations.

Wedding Gifts

This is a pretty standard one.  There isn't really anything that we want, at least that we can fit in our flat and that is affordable for other people to buy for us.  So instead, we're asking people to donate to charity.  We've set up a Go Fund Me page for this very purpose which has the charities we would personally like to support. 

Favours

This is similar to the wedding gifts in that we wanted them to be a way of supporting charities.  So the favours we brought for everyone are badges from RNLI (with one of my favourite pictures) and wildflower seeds from Wildflower Favours to support the Bat Conservation Trust.

Wedding Day Activities

A day that's all about us and is a big party is not really our thing.  We're also having the wedding in the morning, which would make it a very long party and who has the energy for that.  So instead, we're doing things that are much more us.  This includes a walk along the coast before lunch (weather permitting) and a beach clean afterwards.  We got in contact with Surfers Against Sewage to set up our own beach clean for the day and they have very kindly sent us a beach cleaning kit for everyone to use.

So that's hopefully going to be our wedding.  There are still a few things to organise and work through, but that's most of it done.  Even though this is meant to be an enjoyable occasion I've actually found most of this quite stressful, which is unusual for me - possibly because the idea of being the centre of attention all day is quite off-putting to me.   However, now that I mostly just have to worry about making my clothes I feel that things will get a lot more enjoyable.  At least with that, I get to be creative.