This post is the fourth in a series I’m doing on how I created my wedding dress. To see part 1 go to Wedding Dress Part 1: Trying on Dresses and for part two Wedding Dress Part 2: Concepts, Inspiration, and Designing. For part three go to Wedding Dress Part 3: Draping and Creating the Bodice.

My pattern was made, my bodice material ready to go, now I just needed to cut things out and start sewing them together. Simple. Right? Well, to make it a little more complicated I wanted to have two different skirt lengths. A long skirt with a short train for the ceremony as well as a shorter knee-length skirt to dance in at the reception. The challenge I faced was how to get two looks from one garment.

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What I eventually decided on was to create three pieces. The first would be my bodice with a short skirt attached, then there would be the long ceremony skirt which would have its own waistband so it could be removed. The final piece would be a waistband, like in my designs, which would go over the waistband of the long skirt during the ceremony and then be worn over the short dress after I took the long skirt off.

I was thinking like a customer while I was planning this out. What were my time allotments for being able to change? Would it be reasonable to remove one skirt and replace the waistband before the reception dance? I decided it was and moved on.

I cut out the pieces for the long skirt. Because the pieces were so large I had to use the floor. I crawled around carefully laying the fabric and the fabric pattern down smoothly. I then cut the pieces.

I created the skirt with two layers. The top layer was the same off-white crepe chiffon as the bodice. The underneath layer was a polyester-nylon blend material with a wonderful drape. I sewed the skirt creating the pleats in the front by folding the two layers of fabric in place as if they were one, pinning them, and then basting them down. I then cut a simple rectangle piece of the polyester-nylon material, cutting on the bias, to create a waistband.

I did a quick pattern for a knee-length a-line skirt, cut the pieces for it, and stitched it together, attaching it to the bodice.

I had to create a seam down the center back of both the skirts in order to install an invisible zipper.

Once my zippers were installed and the skirts were all ready to go, besides the hem, I moved on to the waist belt. This was a mix of draping and laying fabric out and making gathers. I stitched the gathers in place perpendicularly. I used the chiffon material for the visible portion of the waist belt and lined it with the polyester-nylon material and a medium weight fusible interfacing.

The last steps on the waist belt were to tack down the lace along the top and bottom edge. I did this simply by stitching it in place so that the stitches wouldn’t show. I then attached hooks and eyes to the back of the waist belt as the closure.

I used the foundation pattern I’d made earlier (see Wedding Dress Part 3: Draping and Creating the Bodice) to create the lining for the bodice and short skirt. I also cut out the lace pieces for the straps. These got sandwiched between the lining and the bodice material, sewn into place after I finished the raw edges with a rolled hem. I added a bead to the back to hold it closed. 

Finally, once everything was put together and fitted right I put it all on to mark the hem length. I finished the chiffon material with a rolled hem. The underskirt I simply serged to finish off the fabric and left it as it was. Normally I would not have left it with just the serged edge, but I decided at that point that under the circumstances (I was only going to wear it for a day) it would be fine the way it was.

I put it on for one final check before hanging it in the closet. The layers as I put them on the included bustier, short skirt slip (for when I removed the long skirt and crinoline), crinoline, dress, long skirt, waist belt.

Layer 1: Bustier, short skirt slip

Layer 2: Crinoline

Layer 3: Dress

Layer 4: Long skirt

Layer 5: Waist belt

And that was all the layers. I felt so good! I’d just finished my very first, and very own wedding dress and it was exactly what I wanted it to be. This is the feeling we all want when we finish a project. I was ecstatic. 

Despite old wives’ tales about not wearing your wedding dress before the wedding day, I slipped it on a few times in the following weeks to show it to my sisters and parents.

I will soon be posting photos of the complete dress for the great reveal! But for now, here’s a little gem my sister caught while we waited in the nursery right before the ceremony. No, I didn’t wear the plaid, it was just a bit chilly in the room.

I’d love for you to come back to see photos of the completed dress!

If you haven’t read the previous posts in this series go to Wedding Dress Part 1: Trying on Dresses and Wedding Dress Part 2: Concepts, Inspiration, and Designing and part three: Wedding Dress Part 3: Draping and Creating the Bodice.