When I got engaged there was no doubt in my mind that I would make my wedding dress but it is undeniably a daunting task even if you’ve sewn dresses before. So if you’re on the fence about a DIY gown, here are 10 tips based on what I learned making mine:
1. Make it for the right reason – yes it will probably be cheaper vs buying a dress from a designer but personally I don’t think that is motivation enough alone to make your dress. It’s such an involved process that you need to really want to make it. Do you feel best in clothes you’ve made? Do you struggle to find exactly what you want unless you make it yourself? Do you want the joy of saying ‘yes I made it’ on an important day? Then this experience is for you!
2. Give yourself enough time – you might know approximately how much sewing time you need but what might surprise you is the amount of thinking time, and with this important make you don’t want to rush it. I came up with a plan 11 months before my wedding and I’d say that was ample time but give yourself even more time if you’re making other dresses as well e.g. for bridesmaids or a second dress for your reception.
3. Upskill where you might need to – my nemesis previously was hand sewing and now I am truly ambivalent because I did so much of it. I bought a book on couture finishes and read it when I didn’t feel like sewing but wanted to make progress on my dress.
4. Set goals and track progress – without wanting to sound too corporate, setting goals is important to be able to stay on track and make you feel in control if the process. I used a notebook where I could draw and hand write my adjustments as I went, as well as a spreadsheet to track my time spent and lay out what I would do next. I’d fill out at the end of each sewing session so when I picked it up again I knew where to start.
5. Give yourself grace – some days I didn’t feel like sewing so I did fabric research or learnt some new techniques. Make sure you give yourself grace as it shouldn’t be a chore. On days where I didn’t want to sew, I also went to a couple of shops and looked at finishes such as Emilia Wickstead, which gave some great inspo.
6. Get yourself a sewing confidant. Maybe you don’t want to share your progress on social media. I felt the same, mostly because I wanted to make the decisions for myself and not be influenced by outside opinions. However I did share progress with my Mum (who doesn’t sew but knows my style well) and sent any of my fitting issues to my friend Man Yee (of Sewing Bee fame) who is an incredible sewist. It was so great being able to text her and get her sewing opinion.
7. Spend time on the design – I didn’t try wedding dresses on; a bit controversial but I didn’t want to and I was quite confident in knowing what I wanted already. I did spend time looking at pictures of myself in other dresses from my wardrobe and deciding what elements I liked which helped me land on the bodice pattern. Some small elements changed but I mostly stuck with my design throughout as I’d spent a lot of time initially thinking about it. Having the vision from the start made the smaller decisions throughout a lot easier.
8. Toile, toile, toile – I don’t like toiling, it’s BORING – I want to sew the pretty fabric already. But the fit is so so important and you won’t regret spending time at the toiling stage. I spent 30+ hours toiling mine despite it being a bodice I’ve made before. When I look at the end result I feel so proud that I stuck at it during the toiling stage.
9. Pick amazing fabrics. When I researched couture wedding gowns online (costing thousands of pounds) I was really disappointed to see that lots of them were polyester. We can do better! A huge part of wedding dress cost is the labour so if you’re doing that part, pick the best fabrics you can afford. I always recommend New Craft House which is where I got my fabrics from – mine were all silk or silk/cotton blends from a well known wedding dress designer 😉 and the quality is unparalleled in my opinion.
10. Enjoy the process – easy to say, harder to do, but keep in mind why you’re putting in so much effort to make this dress. I listened to our wedding playlist while I made my dress and it kept me focused on the end goal. It should be a joyful experience, and it’s ok if at times it’s not, but in the end you will achieve something that you’re so proud of. As you probably know nothing beats saying ‘thanks I made it’.
Kate Eva 