Vogue 8766 with Some Modifications

This is my first attempt at a trial for a wedding dress pattern.  I found some seriously cheap fabric (like a dollar a yard), so I thought I would give Vogue 8766 a shot as a possible pattern.

 

I made it out of two layers.  One was a white satin and the other was a see-through material with some pretty black flowers.  The original pattern has a round neckline at the front, but I decided to make mine square.

And I also have a nice piece of lace that has a beautiful edge that I want to show, so I have to make either pleats or gathers, so against my better judgement, I made gathers.  Which is basically just taking a rectangle of fabric for the skirt. And once again, I hate gathered skirts.  

 

I had to put a large gros grain ribbon on the waist just to make it look ok.  If The ribbon wasn't there, it was just too puffy right around the only feature I usually want to highlight - my waist.  I drown in the fabric and it feels uncomfortable.

 I wanted the ribbon to be fairly tight and smooth, so I made the band with some heavy-weight velcro instead of tying it, then made the bow separately and made it attach with more velcro.  In hindsight, maybe just a simple sash would have worked, but it was a fun project and the bow always stays perfect.

The bottom line

This is not the pattern I will use for my nice lace.  I want to show off the edge of the edge, but gathers aren't going to be a solution.  I don't really love this dress.  Back to the drawing board.  I love the waist seems of a circle skirt, but that won't work for the edge.  Pleats may have to be a solution.

I did manage to wear the address for some photos we took for our wedding Web site.  Not really engagement photos, but something for people to see as the RSVP.  A friend of ours is a photographer and I was lucky enough to find out she wanted to try out a new lens.  These photos are taken in downtown Phoenix.  Message me if you need a wonderful photographer - I especially love what she did in the last photo.