I want to make my own wedding dress

Although I haven't gotten married yet, I do plan to sew my own dress too. What I did was find a dress online that was only a couple hundred bucks that was close to what I wanted. I plan on adding things to it (a corset, extra skirt material, etc) using a halloween costume pattern that I've used before. I've never been into white, so I'm using my wedding colors of red and gold. The dress I found online is ivory, so it's a nice base for the other colors. Another idea you could use is to find a few patterns with elements that you like and mix and match the separate pieces to create an entirely new, semi-custom dress. Of course, this requires a good amount of skill. Whatever you choose to do, be sure to leave yourself plenty of time to experiment! It would also be wise to have a backup plan. With my dress, for example, nothing I'm adding will actually be sewn on to the base, so if things go badly for me with sewing, I can always just wear my base dress. I hope this helps Good luck!

We had 4 DIY wedding dress brides in 2011/2012.

I don't think many of them are still around. They some times come back to check out the boards.

Maybe you could message them for tips? Hit the "connect" link on their profiles and see if they accept you. Or you could check out their profiles and look at their old discussions for ideas/tips.

~ good luck ~

Clare

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding/UserViewProfile?wid=3916e429727ccf12

Kimm P.

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding/UserViewProfile?wid=2853e7bcb710e9d2

Julie

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding/UserViewProfile?wid=0d462ced339c966a

Mrs. Jeni Olivier ~ embellished her dress with feathers

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/my-non-traditional-diy-wedding-and-flowergirl-dresses/53e4748c4b9e7382.html?page=2

I did this for a living for 12 years, I ended up making two dress from scratch, one for my sister which was white satin with french lace back then that what was popular and the other dress was for my now ex step daughter from another marriage, it's a lot of work, that one was ivory, it was crepe satin with french lace which is very expensive, lots of bead work, the last one had over 50,000 pearl beads and sequins hand sewn on the lace before the lace got sewn on the dress, I did a lot of alterations on floor sample gowns also, I took a few dresses from a size 12-14 to a size 1-2, the dresses now days don't have so much beading on them which is nice, I decided to enjoy my wedding and bought the dress I wanted.....!

I am looking at that as well, but I can't find a pattern I like.

I find that sometimes it cost just as much to make your own as it does to by one at a discount bridal shop. But if you make it, it will be all your own like no one else :0)

Hahahah i did too! Until i saw how much lace by the yard cost and decided it would just be easier to have someone else make it I still ended up spending only $180 for a shift dress and a wrap skirt! I'm a decent sewer, but i wouldn't want to stress about making the PERFECT dress! There are tutorials to make "forms" to make your dress on, on pinterest!

I know its hard but i can get the look i wish for just 2 or 3 hundred dollars rather then 1500 dollars im looking where i can get a templet or pattern to make my own dress. i have plenty of time to work on it and i want to make my own as it will be special to me tod that

Have you looked at combining different patterns?

Yes but im not finding many patterns even out there. does any one know of a company that makes them

I'm making my own too. I have a silver corset, I'm making a purple skirt & sleeves for it. I'm buying a petticoat through http://www.mygowns.com/

I've gotten one from them before, very good service, fast & reliable.

The material, I just want a plain skirt. I'm enlisting the help of a dry cleaners/seamstress at this one place locally. Prices are very decent.

If you're going to really make your own, I'd suggest doing a test first. Last year I had made what I thought would be my skirt, only to realize I hated the look, plus it was becoming too complicated. Now I'm doing a very simple design. So make sure you know exactly what you want.

Depending on how much material you use, how elaborate you're making it, it actually can become more costy than buying an on-sale dress at somewhere like DB. However, it's one of a kind, it's your dress, so much more special.

You can get patterns and make the parts out of cotton. So make a top you like, make a skirt you like. make sleeves if you want them. Then marry the patterns together to make a dress.

Hobby Lobby and Joanne's Fabrics have a ton of patterns in-store that you can just browse through. have you looked there?

First, can you sew in some punctuation so I can read your post more easily :-)? Second, wedding dresses are very complex to make. You have to start with high quality fabrics, and you need so much of them and so much time and attention to detail that it might be cheaper and less stressful to buy one you like and change it up like the others suggested. But if you have the time and talents, go for it!

Ah I remember Julie's... it turned out beautifully!!

As Hayley stated some of us do pop now and then. And yes I'm one who did make a dress for my wedding, however, I'm also one who ended up with two different dresses. It does take a lot of time and patience. If you know what you're doing, then by all means tackle it. There are a ton of patterns out there if you look, especially like now with Proms and all the June weddings. So the spring books should be out or coming soon, also be sure to look online like Ebay, you could come across some vintage patterns that you won't see in the stores. Sometimes making your dress can be a cost savings, but it other times it can also cost you more, so just be careful on what it is that you want to do. You will definitely have way more options open to you and what you want to do, that's for sure. Good luck and be sure to post pics.

Sandy: you're terrible lol. Though I don't think it has to be high quality fabrics or detail. I guess it depends on how elaborate she wants her dress. I mean, my skirt is just a skirt, I'm using satin & chiffon, those aren't necessarily high quality but they flow beautifully for what I want.

But if you're making a full dress, not separates, yeah I agree that can be time & money comsuming.

My friend made her own wedding dress. She was 6 mo preggers at her wedding and couldn't find a dress she liked that fit properly. It wasn't a "traditional" gown, but it was very pretty and looked great on her. She is also an accomplished seamstress and threw the dress together in about 2 weeks with no pattern (she's crazy!)

I'd take a look at Etsy. Another bride I know had her dress designed and made by a Etsy seller and it was about $300 and looked $1000. There are a lot of different styles to, so check it out.

Good luck if you go the handmade route! I'd suggest fabric.com for lace fabric. There are usually sales and the fabric is a nice quality.

I'm doing the same thing, although I'm technically a novice at sewing. I just drew up what I wanted my dress to look like (since I'm pulling ideas from about six dresses I liked) and then started looking for multiple patterns that would help bring them together. If your dress is going to be combined idea, buy different patterns and take the parts of those patterns you want for your dress. You can always make the skirts longer or shorter and add your own unique flair to them

Good luck!!

I wanted to learn how to sew a few years ago and signed up for a website that has patterns called simplicity.com. I got an email from them today and it reminded me of you. I went to the site and typed in wedding dresses and this popped up

http://www.simplicity.com/Search.aspx?SearchTerm=wedding+dress&x=0&y=0

Maybe you'll find something you can use?

Good luck! I do hope you post pictures when you're finished with it

Thank you so much I found what I was looking fo with everyones help.