tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72911372011-04-21T11:10:06.272-07:00How my supercool mom made the best wedding dress I've ever worn.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.comBlogger221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087078377860305612004-06-12T23:59:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:15:02.993-07:00

Welcome. This photoblog site is a history of the wedding dress that my mother made for me. The whole process from pattern selection through construction to complete ensemble lasted from January 2004 to the third week in April, 2004. The lesson and moral any and all viewers should take from this is, not only is my mom a hardcore seamstress, but she rocks. A lot. Thanks Mom!

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087079525065122152004-06-12T23:55:00.000-07:002004-06-17T15:12:49.296-07:00

In July of 2003, my mother had surgery to remove scar tissue from her retina - a condition which would have blinded that eye if not corrected. Mom and I were both very excited about the dress project, but her healing process slowed from complications with her glaucoma. The medication she needed to control her pressure left her exhausted and disoriented, and she underwent another surgery. I

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087079720342430682004-06-12T23:50:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:16:09.996-07:00

The dresses at that Unnamed Bridal Barn were all quite pretty, but most of them adhered to the style of "Big Froofy Dress". The skirts were quite heavy, and I knew they would prove cumbersome at a Las Vegas wedding. Mostly, they just weren't "me". Look at the picture: Is this a picture of a bride, or just some woman in a big white dress?

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087080892457050062004-06-12T23:45:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:16:30.900-07:00

I waffled. Oh, how I waffled. Mom finally laid down a deadline of January 15th as the final day for me to pick a pattern. At first I was all about the strapless dresses. I was pretty sure I was going to go for strapless, so my mom started working on the Laughing Moon Silverado Corset to go under the strapless dress. Then I became convinced that the strapless wedding dress would look dated in

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087081536634408272004-06-12T23:40:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:16:53.016-07:00

Mom and the test version of the Laughing Moon Silverado Corset. She made muslin test versions of every aspect of the dress before she ever cut the material for the real thing.

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087081705244950902004-06-12T23:35:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:17:17.173-07:00

Mom with my fit dummy Francesca. Francesca is wearing the finished version of the Silverado. Mom edged the seams in blue, for my "something blue".

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087082106915692292004-06-12T23:30:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:17:39.093-07:00

Those of you who don't sew may not know that Vogue offers some of the most challenging and intricate commercial patterns available. Combining two Vogue Patterns is no easy task. Mom had to alter a lot of pieces, and some pieces simply couldn't be combined, so she custom-made all new pieces. These are some of her many, many custom pieces. She used my step dad's old electronics draft paper.

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087082462601704892004-06-12T23:25:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:18:18.776-07:00

Even the pieces that did work unaltered had really complicated instructions.

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087082546259756122004-06-12T23:20:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:18:46.503-07:00

Mom made two full test versions of the dress to make sure it fit perfectly. She used old bed sheets that she got from thrift stores or friends. The first muslin was made of various 1970s-era yellow sheets. The second was made from pink striped sheets she used to have on her bed when I was a kid. Each time I would stand for a fitting of the muslin, Mom used markers to write adjustments and

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087083214393944822004-06-12T23:15:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:19:10.840-07:00

Mom couldn't drive because of the medications she was on for her eye, and she lives 60 miles outside of L.A. I spent a lot of time going around to different fabric stores all over L.A. in search of the perfect off-white bridal satin. I took high-resolution digital pictures so that Mom could see what I'd found. Unfortunately, by this point, I was so jazzed that I was going to have a

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087083832572401912004-06-12T23:10:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:19:44.526-07:00

Mom said that the lace would be much prettier if she removed the motifs from their original backing, and reassembled them on a new fabric backing for the lace panel in the dress. This is what the lace originally looked like. It took her 45 minutes to cut out each individual motif. Then, she sewed little faux pearl beads to the centers of some of the flowers.

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087085553392154832004-06-12T23:05:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:20:05.543-07:00

This is the back of the lace panel of the dress. Mom spent 3 weeks hand appliquéing the lace motifs to a panel of silk that she had custom-dyed brown. People may rant about how ridiculous it is to pay $25,000 for a couture dress, but now I don't think that price is so crazy. My mom spent 3 weeks hand-embroidering less than a third of a yard of fabric. Some couture dresses are covered in this

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087086007180304702004-06-12T23:00:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:20:24.706-07:00

This is the front of the lace panel. One day when my mother was working on it, I called and asked her how it was going. She was enthused and said "I've decided to view this panel as textile art! Wait till you see it." I ashamed to admit that the phrase textile art made me very nervous. Mostly, it made me think of the art projects mom did when I was in middle school which consisted of giant

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087086315732848592004-06-12T22:55:00.000-07:002004-06-17T15:14:56.170-07:00

This is a picture of the dress in progress. Mom has tacked the lace panel in, but it is far from finished. Remember how I mentioned that silk satin can be difficult to work with? My mother backed each piece of silk satin on this dress with a light-weight cotton fabric. She sewed the cotton and silk together by hand, because the silk wouldn't hold it's shape by itself, and to allow all

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087086538156844162004-06-12T22:50:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:21:03.126-07:00

Bandit, the Pissiest Cat on the Planet, (not to be confused with Terrence's cat Bandit, a.k.a. the Best.Cat.Ever.) often liked to hang out in the sewing room and watch us work. She didn't fool anyone, we all knew she was just waiting for the opportunity to jump up on the table and nap on 100% silk satin.

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087086908020166992004-06-12T22:45:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:22:07.906-07:00

Oh no! My bridal shoes do not exactly match my bridal gown. My honey and I are doomed to divorce. Or something like that. I got the shoes at Off 5th for a great price. Originally, we had planned to applique lace onto the shoes. When we laid the lace over the shoes, neither Mom nor I were too impressed. Finally we decided that we just didn't care. This picture is probably the only time

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087087834158716972004-06-12T22:40:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:22:34.746-07:00

Everyone says a bride must wear bridal make-up on her wedding day. This necessitates a special trip to the make up counter where the bride must find products which will make her appear to be many things she is not: flawless, classically beautiful, glowingly well-rested. I went to Sephora. I expected to look like a princess, but walked out looking like a drag queen. No, I'm joking. I love

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087088252392490782004-06-12T22:35:00.000-07:002004-06-17T15:12:11.023-07:00

Another thing about my beloved silk satin? It wrinkles like nobody's business. Mom spent a lot of time with her iron and her special ironing tools getting rid of the many, many wrinkles that plagued the dress. In this picture, she's pressing open the seams of the dress - just as genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, sewing often seems to be 99% pressing/prep and 1% actual sewing. Mom

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087089535557590432004-06-12T22:30:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:23:26.933-07:00

Here's a picture of me in the dress. It took about four months of work. I learned so much, and I have so many wonderful memories of all the time I got to spend with my mom. Thank you Mom! Something for which I am even more intensely thankful is that my mom's eye has healed. It was almost a year, and she went through a lot. I know it was scary for her, and she was very brave. We are all so

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087089754184971842004-06-12T22:25:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:23:59.603-07:00

My husband and I jumped the broom on May 1st, 2004.

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1087090030089681852004-06-12T18:27:00.000-07:002004-06-13T01:32:54.786-07:00

Of course, that's not all. The dress was just the beginning. I learned so much about sewing from my mother during this project, and I want to continue to learn. I am determined to become as good a seamstress as my mother because if I ever were to have a daughter, and if my daughter were to decide to get married, I would want to be able to give her the same wonderful wedding present my mother

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7291137.post-1171153201994093582003-02-10T16:16:00.000-08:002007-02-10T16:28:59.406-08:00

I took the dress to get it cleaned and pressed for long-term storage, and Round the Clock Cleaners at 115 North Lake, Pasadena, CA 91101 damaged my dress. I made a blog about it. Check it Out. Why I hate Round the Clock CleanersRound the Clock Cleaners at 115 North Lake, Pasadena, CA 91101 ruined my clothes and cheated me out of $140. If you want dry cleaners in Pasadena, don't choose Round

Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17638034004616326646noreply@blogger.com