Wedding dress part I

Hello all,I had a loooong week at work, normally it is not that peacuful in a hospital ward, but the past week was. So I was quite energized after coming home and had time to start sewing my wedding dress and this posting is  about what I've learnt so far:

1) Choosing the pattern
  It can be tricky to find a pattern that matches your tastes. I went through my old sewing magzines and borrowed magazines from my friends. There were many good options or patterns that were usable for a wedding dresses like ball gowns/evening dresses/dancing gowns/party tops and shirts/skirts.
I had an idea what to do but  I changed the pattern midway thorugh, because I couldn't find a decents pattern for an illusion neckline and I saw the price tag for the prettiest laces. And I didn't want to use lace that costs 70 euros/meter, so I opted for a more ball gown type style.

Back

I got an suggestion to visit dress shops to see what kind of a dress style suits my body type, but guess who never had time to actually do that? And besides I always end up picking similar dress: a fitted bodice and a full skirt,  I just like that kind of dresse so why bother changing my style?

2) Getting an idea what to buy
 Go to the fabric store and ask all tricky questions you have concerning the materials there. Check out the fabrics they have and how those fabrics feel to your touch and imagine that you are spending an entire day in that fabric. And it is a good thing to know your charcter, I know that I wouldn't have the patience to use elastic fabric or a very thin fabric. That is the main reason why I am choosing something like satin or taffeta.
The personnel is there for you to help to pick the right fabric and get what you need. And at least in Finland I got good recommendations from one the women in the fabric store about where to find the rest of my shopping list that they didn't have. They are experts on what kind of needles and thread to choose.

3) First prototype

Front

I made my first attempt at the bodice model this week just see if the pattern fits or is it a total disaster on me. I used an old curtain fabric I had in my storage, I just made the pattern according to all instruncitons and didn't do any alternations. I cut the fabric with the corrcet seam allowances and didn't do any finishing touches yet. The result isn't that pretty I guess but it gives me the idea of how the bodice will look and what tricks I need to do the pattern before making a second prototype.
Use cheap or old fabric for prototypes, I've had old fabrics around as long as I can remember and old curtains are just good. I used cotton fabric for mine because the final dress will be fitted and I wanted to use a fabric that doesn't stretch. If I had ended up using lace or some more elastic fabric I would've picked propaplya more elastic fabric for a prototype.
Good thing about using cotton is that I could draw all seam allowances on fabric along with other cuts. It made the sewing so much easier. I know that I can't use normal pen on satin or taffeta, but who cares about the prototypes?

Seam allowances drawn on fabric

Extra1: Buy a good sewing handbook, you are going to need it. I found mine on sale for 10 euros and it is worth every cent now.
Extra2: It is a good thing to have a good relationship with your old handicrafts teacher back in school, my old teacher was very happy to offer advice on how to do a fitted bodice.

Have a blessed week!
- Minttusuklaa, who is having trouble not to turn this into a wedding blog