Turning this:
into this, for my little girl's 1st Communion!
Vogue 7845
Where do I start??? With the skirt being gathered, I'm confident that there is plenty of fabric, not to mention that the detachable train supplies me with even more! Initially, I was thinking of using only the satin (and not using the beaded lace bodice of my dress), but now I'm wondering if that wouldn't be a good use of the little short sleeve over-jacket piece of the Vogue pattern?
Let me also say, my sister is very troubled that I cutting my dress up. She's afraid that DD will want to wear it someday, but I'm confident that she'll want her own dress! As nervous as I might sound, I'm really excited to share my wedding dress with DD in this way. My anxiety comes from "I want it to be perfect!", not from "OMG... I'm cutting up my wedding dress!" (Ok, maybe just a little bit of the latter...)
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| Yes, I am posing in front of a firetruck on my wedding day... |
Obviously, I'm in the early stages here, just gathering my thoughts before grabbing the scissors. If you have any experience in this process or advice to offer, please share!!! I've got until Easter (April), so there's plenty of time to do it right!
19 comments:
Wow, what an amazing project!! I don't have any experience in working with this kind of project, but I will be watching closely, it sounds amazing!! And I agree, she will want her own wedding dress. My family tried to get me to wear my grandmother's wedding dress...OK, the woman was 4'11" and weighed 90 pounds. I was really hoping to have a dress I could fit into rather than drape across my shoulders like a cape....
Wow, what a beautiful weeding photo and your dress is beautiful. I made my weeding dress many moons ago and 2-years later my sister got married in my dress. If I had to do it all over again, I would save my dress and do exactly what you are getting ready to do, make your daughter's first communication dress. Just cutt the pattern out, then get a marker and wax paper and copy the pattern. This way you can clearly see how to get around the lace. I think you should include the beading if you can. I like the white version of the Vogue pattern.
What a beautiful dress and a stunning bride you were Kristine....
Try to cut the dress so that maybe Danielle might consider.......a cocktail version of your wedding dress? Then you will have a communion dress AND the possibility of a wedding dress.
Not using the dress for her communion dress will put incredible pressure on her to CHOOSE your dress when she is older.......
Have fun. I LOVED making the communion dress for my girls (not from a wedding dress) and they each wore it 7 years apart. A great sentimental sewing project!
Kristine - your wedding photos are absolutely beautiful and I think it's an awesome idea to make your daughter's communion dress from your wedding dress. The significance and the images are just precious.
Personally I love the lace trim on the bottom of your dress and think it would be amazing on the bottom of the communion dress. Besides that I have nothing to offer but I will be cheering you from the sidelines.
How exciting!! I agree with you that this is a great way to share the wedding dress with her without the pressure of "You-must-wear-my-wedding-dress". I love the idea of using the lace bodice for a little jacket. I think it will feel more like it came from your dress then, if you use bits from each piece. My mother made my wedding dress and used scraps to replicate (sort of) the style for a christening dress for my daughter. It is so sweet to me that our dresses "match".
What a gorgeous dess and you looked fantastic in it! This is a beautiful way to pass your dress onto your daughter.I Think the lace would be pretty at the bottom of the dress and then again on the sleevees and accented on the bodice. Whatever you do I"m sure it will be beautiful!
That is an awesome use of your wedding dress! My daughter had no desire to wear my wedding dress. We were married in the 70's and it was more hippy, gauzy, Gunne Sax style) And it was too small for her anyway! She tried to put it on and came out to show her Dad. She asked "Look familiar?" He was clueless...it was the 70's, you know! I cut it up into squares , added some beautiful lace and embroidery for hankies for Sara, all of her bridesmaids and all the Moms! Can't wait to see your progress on the Communion dress.
It's a great idea! I think you are right, times and fashions change and your daughter will probably want her own dress when the time comes...or have a different body shape or something. She will appreciate this and it will make her first communion all the more special.
My friend got married in October. She wanted to wear her mother's wedding dress but it was too damaged. So she took parts of the dress and veil and incorporated them into her wedding dress. The cap on her veil was from her mother's dress, the sash on her dress came from her mother's and she used part of a sleeve to wrap around the bouquet of flowers she carried. This way she had her own dress but part of her mother's was with her.
What a lovely project! I agree with Carolyn about the lace at the bottom of your gown. And I am totally with you on the idea of re-making the dress for this occasion. A wedding dress is just for that one day, and this stretches it to be even more meaningful - to you! and YOU are the one who counts when it comes to this decision. If a person is blessed with the creativity to make her daughter's 1st Holy communion dress, what a gift! And what a lovely bride you were. Just stunning!
What a pretty dress and what a nice way to share it with your daughter. Good luck on your project, looking forward to seeing it come to fruition.
I agree that she probably will want to choose her own dress and maybe incorporate part of yours into hers (I've even heard of people taking a little patch of lace from a grandmother or mother's dress and sewing it on the new dress as their "something old"). Using the dress for first communion is lovely! (And great photos too)
OMG...what a wonderful legacy to share with your daughter. I agree...she would probably want her own wedding dress, but the new dress will be something she could share with her own daughter. I think it's a beautiful idea and I look forward to seeing the end result. Have fun!!!
I have zero experience relating to any of this, but I like your idea!
I would have a very hard time doing what you're doing, as I made my own gown! I'd rather save the dress and refashion it for my daughter's wedding. BUT, I can certainly see that this would be an amazing dress for your daughter with so much significance. I have made this dress twice, but not the jacket. It is pretty easy, but gives a gorgeous result.
What an exciting project. I know you will get this all figured out wonderfully. You definitely don't want to pressure her into wearing your dress one day. Your best use, IMO, is a gorgeous First Communion dress. An heirloom child's garment such as this gown will definitely be passed on to the next generation, so the legacy will be there with much more opportunity for future use than as a wedding dress. As far as the design, maybe some sketching could be in order. How about if you enlarged the technical pattern drawings and used the outline to work out various design options? It will be a delight to follow this project.
Oh, you are a stunning bride and really don't look a day older today. Beautiful photos and gown.
Don't cut the dress up. Wrap it in blue tissue and bring it out in another 20 years for your daughter's own wedding. It is too beautiful to cut.
Your wedding dress is so stunning, I would hate to cut it! But I also love the idea of using at least part of it for your daughter's First Communion dress. What a dilemma! I had two boys (and didn't want to cut up my dress), so I took parts of my veil lace and attached it to their Baptism gowns. Could you possibly remove the lace hem from your gown and use it on hers? Then if she decides to wear your dress, you can simply re-attach the lace. Either way, you are giving her an amazing gift! Blessings on her special day!
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