It's Wedding Season!  Right now I have 3 wedding gowns here for alterations.  This is the first one that I got done for a  May 12th wedding.  This is a Vera Wang gown that is cut really different.  It has wide strips of fabric sewn down the middle on fine soft tulle into interesting loops throughout the skirt of the gown and was not even close to asymmetrical.  The dress fit the lady very well and the style was very much her, the only issue was that it was still a little  long.         

   That's why she brought it to me.  I had to first make a map of the inside of the outer skirt so that after I removed all of the layers of fabric, I would be able to re-attach them the way the original  designer created them to look.  After I got the maps made, all labeled a, b, c, d, e, and g, it was time to get out my good friend , the seam ripper.  I removed the layers up to only as far as I absolutely needed to go.

After all of that was carefully removed from the delicate tulle, I had the bride in again to try the dress on and I trimmed the tulle to length while she was wearing it to be sure that is was perfect.  To get the fabric back onto the outer skirt, I laid out my maps one at a time and pinned the strips to the fabric.  This is very difficult because I was working with such delicate material on the skirt, the strips were 10in. wide and very lightweight fabric also, and I needed to be sure not to stretch either the skirt or the strips or it would ruin how the dress lay.  Since all of the edges were raw and exposed, to get the loop back to complete, I just had to overlap the beginning and end of each individual loop by about 6 in.  of course, there is still some magic in the placement of these overlaps in order for them to fall just so. 

To finish off the look of this beautiful gown for a beautiful bride, I added (at the bride's request)the band at the waist, and then the bustle for the reception.  This style of gown used a single tie french bustle which is where the skirt is tucked under the back of the dress and attached.  I used a bit of blue ribbon to add the "something blue" and to make it easier to spot under all those layers.   And I have to say, this gown bustles beautifully!