Okay, I need a kick in the butt

My wedding is 8 months away. I promised my mom that if I didn't have my dress done by June, I would buy one. I KNOW what I want to do. I'm pretty sure I know how to draft out the pattern (and I plan on making plenty of muslins). I'm also pretty sure I know how to put everything together. But I can't make myself do it! I've been sewing...a lot! I made 2 shirts and a pair of pants (which I also drafted out myself) over the weekend. I drafted and made an entire outfit for Valentine's Day. But this whole WEDDING dress thing really freaks me out! Help!!!

Reply to
Lisa
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Hi Lisa,

Take a few deep breaths....now take pencil and paper in hand and write out a _preliminary_ time line i.e. day 1. draft bodice pattern; 2. cut and assemble first muslin; 3. adjust pattern, make second muslin; 4. cut and sew bodice, check for fit; 6. make any adjustments to bodice, begin drafting skirt....etc., etc.., etc. If you don't/can't stick to the time line, at least you have the _process_ thought out, and you know your own skills well enough to plan the timing.

If you cut it up into manageable chunks it helps, at least it does for me. Did you find the perfect red crystals, yet?

-- Beverly

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Reply to
BEI Design

This dress has the word "wedding" in front of it------think of it as a rose-color taffeta dress for ballroom dancing........and make a muslin.........see how you feel then.......

Reply to
Pat

I was still working on my wedding dress the night before the wedding. It was very stressful. In retrospect I would have bought a dress:) "Pat" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com...

Reply to
kristinelund

^^^^ What they said! Also, make yourself buy enough extra fabric to cope with a disaster! You can always use it later for Christening gowns or lining something really luxurious if you are using silk.

And if at all possible, let someone else organise the reception! Give them a swatch of the colours, an outline of what you want, a list of definate NO!'s, and then leave them to it! But make sure you pick someone who knows what they are doing and has done this (or organized something similar) before. It might be worth paying a professional for that.

-- Kate XXXXXX Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons

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on Kate's Pages and explore!

Reply to
Kate Dicey

I made my own gown from the jump-dress pattern (ala Titanic) for my Christmas wedding four yrs ago. It was ivory satin with a lace over dress trimmed in fine gold braid. At the last minute I decided that I wanted a Christmas dress of red and green plaid taffeta. I ended up buying one off the rack that was perfect. It was the right choice for me. I will probably sell the wedding dress at some point, but I like looking at it and thinking about how long it took me to pick a pattern, fabric, and make it. astrid

Reply to
Astrid Alexander

Treat the dress like someone elses and sew away...

Mavis

Reply to
AmazeR

Hang on....just lemme....Ok. There. Got my boots on. Point your situpon this way. ;)

I agree with what everyone else has said. DH has all these great little sayings (the pig comes from him too.) One of my favorites is "You can't eat an elephant in one big bite. You have to take lots of little bites." Your Wedding Dress has become an elephant. Start thinking of it in little bites. I love Beverly's suggestion of making a tentative schedule for yourself. That will help.

Keep looking at the Parts of the project and not the Whole project. You are just overwhelmed at the idea, I think. I know I have gotten that way over some projects in the past as well. And when I find myself overwhelmed, I do just what you are doing---I procrastinate. Never a good thing. Also you might want to set yourself little deadlines. Not to add more stress. Just to force yourself to get them done. ;) Play with your mind, it's a fun toy. lol Tell yourself "Ok. By Friday I'm going to have all my final drawings completed." Then on Friday you can do a happy dance when you have your drawings done. :) I know once I have drawings done, my fingers start itching to move from pencils and paper to fabric and thread.

Now, I'm going to share with you my best kept secret. Promise you won't tell anyone. ;) I can't draw a body that looks decent. I can draw clothing all day long, but not the body underneath. I know how to draw out the body by making the head and then the body is 7 heads high, etc. But those always come out looking like the little wooden model dolls. Not a drawing that inpsires me. So I found

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That link will take you to a page where you can print out paper dolls. I lay the paper doll under the paper I'm sketching on and trace her body shape. Then I draw the clothes on top of that. Sneaky huh? Works great for me. and if you don't like any of those dolls, search for free printable paper dolls. There are several dozen sites that have all different kinds. A good body shape drawn under the clothing I'm sketching really makes the whole thing look better to me. And a great drawing inspires me. :)

Then your next deadline needs to be your outline for construction. So you tell yourself "by Tuesday, I will have written down all the steps I think I will need to do to make this dress." (Notice I said this dress. Not Wedding Dress. Think of it in lower case letters. ;) ) That will make you do all the hard thinking ahead of time. It will also free you up to just get in there and sew when the time comes for that.

Then think of the next step and make a deadline for that. Do all the serious mental work before you get into fabric. Then when you do get to making that first muslin, you will have it all thought out and it will go like clockwork. ;)

You can do this. I know you will be very satisfied with the whole thing and feel wonderful when it's done. Just keep thinking of it in little steps. If I'm wigging out over a big project, DH looks at me and asks "how do you eat an elephant?" Print that out and tape it on the wall if you need to. ;)

(((HUGS)))

Sharon

Reply to
mamahays

Lisa; Are you CERTAIN that you want to and are ready to get married? It sounds like your sewing skills are up to the job - which leaves mental attitude. Is your subconscious mind trying to tell you something? Or do you just have doubts about being able to do the dress? Sounds like time for some serious reflection.

Reply to
JAMES RISER

Thanks everybody. I've already got a drawing of the dress I want...nice and simple, although it's been quite a trial finding the right embellishments. I think I found a place to do what I want, but it's gonna cost me $300! Yikes! Well, all the fabric for the dress only came to $200 (and that's with extra), so I'm still doing good there. Beverly, I'll come up with a more detailed time line this weekend. I already had a basic one in my head (get it all done by May! LOL...but once I get started, it should go pretty quickly). I was thinking that I need to have petticoats before drafting the skirt, cuz otherwise it'd be hard to make sure I've got what I want before cutting into my nice silk. Sharon, what a great idea about the paper dolls! I took a pattern drafting class a couple of years ago and have croquis from that, but I lost them. My dress is pretty simple...basically a corset that laces in the back and an A-line skirt with a small train. Really, nothing that I haven't done before (well, I've never done a train before!). Deep breath...petticoat this weekend...drafting next week, and get started on the dress next weekend!

Oh, and James...DF and I have been together for 6 years. I'm very much certain and MORE than ready to get married. This dress thing is just a little hard for me because there's my mom, telling me every other week to BUY a dress!!

Reply to
Lisa

Lisa stood on a soapbox and shouted to anyone who would listen :

oh that's easy then. Tell her it's YOUR wedding and YOUR dress, you aren't here so she can live out her wedding fantasies through you; in short, um, butt out.

penny

Reply to
Penny S

Um.....have you looked in the pattern books?? What you are describing seems like some patterns that I have seen in the books already, just thought that that it might help you get going

My dress is pretty simple...basically a corset that

Reply to
CNYstitcher

Re: Okay, I need a kick in the butt snipped-for-privacy@cetinvalid.com (Penny=A0S)

Reply to
sewingbythecea

Oh my yes!!! ;-)

My DD has been sooooo sweet the last few months. But then again, she is actually pretty sweet most of the time anyway, that's why it's a pleasure for me to make all the gowns for her wedding party. She just called, she's fretting because her maid-of-honor has a tattoo on each shoulder, and she is worried I'll be upset. Shoot, if Angelina Jolie can sport multiple tattoos at the Academy Awards, who am I to object to DD's best friend having a couple. Plus, I love the girl, too.

-- Beverly

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Reply to
BEI Design

well it all depends. I supose one could be more tactful, but at the same time some MOB's really do need to be told to back off, especially when attempting to push their ideas on a bride who absolutely doesn't want her wedding to be what her mother wants. A friend of mine is going throught this right now. She want's simple, informal, low coast and MOB is pushing for all sorts of stuff that friend absolutely does not want . But I don't know who is paying for it, either.

pennys s

Reply to
Penny S

In our case, I am happy to pay for the wedding and reception, I'm delighted DD has found a wonderful man to share her life. For the most part, I am attempting to let DD make the decisions. I did push hard for black ink for the invitations, as they are issued _in my name_, and I really didn't want purple. I would not have chosen the bakery she wanted for the cake, but again, it was just not that big a deal.

It was fairly minor, no tears on either side. :-) Yet....

-- Beverly

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Reply to
BEI Design

you sound like the right kind of MOB. And then would be MOBridezilla.....

penny

Reply to
Penny S

Lisa; That's a relief ;-) Once you make the first stitch things should go easier. You might want to get your mother involved. Let her help pin things and sew on the trim etc. Good luck. Jim

Reply to
JAMES RISER

Sounds like she's worried. Either because she's a procrastinator, or she knows that you have been one in the past. She'll be better once you've started, and you'll feel better too.

Can't wait to see pictures, I keep thinking I'd like to make myself a corset and A-line skirt for the next formal event I need to go to. Seems like it would look lovely.

Mieko

Reply to
Mieko

Reply to
Angela Moak

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