Dear Handmade Wedding Series readers: if you’re into the idea of making your own wedding gown or bridesmaid dresses, you're in for a world of challenges and ultimately — hopefully — exactly what you want!  But where to start?

Well, there's one place in NYC that some of you may be familiar with (if you watch Project Runway): Mood Fabric!
Prepare to be overwhelmed!  Before you venture out to your local fabric store, do a little brainstorming. We asked Burdastyle, an online sewing community where people share open-source sewing patterns, for a good starting place.  Benedikta from Burdastyle recommends this pattern: the Cate Dress. There are a bunch of patterns for ladies who want to  make their own bridesmaids dresses. She says patterns are easily adaptable to have a shorter skirts or alternate kinds of fabric. The Burdastyle community is there to give you advice, too!



“This simple yet elegant dressy dress is befitting for any evening event you attend or host. The guests will be charmed by not only your radiant personality, but also by your sparkling dress! Make it especially delectable by choosing a sheer fabric with sequins or lace and lining it in a luxurious silk charmeuse.”

Benedikta also sketched her idea for how the Cate dress could be adapted to be a white bridal gown.

She added a bit of a train sweeping down the back, which could be in lace or silk charmeuse.

Another important point: if you and your partner are two brides, there's an added benefit to going handmade. You can customize what you wear by having some elements go together without having to buy the same dress. Many same sex couples don't want to be too matchy matchy. One of you can also go with the classic tuxedo look. Here's a particularly adorable one from neneee:

One thing newbie sewers often need help with is picking appropriate fabric. There's nothing like going down to the fabric store and touching the fabric and seeing how it drapes.  But there are some things to keep in an eye out for when doing your research.

I spoke with Brooklyn dress designer MinnaK about popular fabrics for bridal dresses.  A good thing to decide early on is whether you want something flowy or more structured. 

Here are some fabrics to get you started:
Chiffon: sheer with a matte finish.
Duchesse Satin: a more affordable silk satin, sometimes blended with rayon.
Organza: sheer, crisp in texture, and often used as a top layer.
Satin: very soft and drapey.
Silk: more expensive. And gorgeous.
Silk Charmeuse: soft and silky with a nice subtle gloss to it.
Taffeta: a stiffer fabric with some stucture, known for its interesting sheen and iridesence.
Tulle: the netting fabric made famous by ballerina tutus.

There are other fun things you can do, like play with textures or beaded fabric, like these:


Lace is much sought after, but the good stuff is usually imported from France and EXPENSIVE. Ask for the price by the yard. Lace can sometimes get up to $100 per yard!





You can also try adapting a vintage dress or finding a vintage pattern. Posh Girl Vintage (www.poshgirlvintage.com) is a “couture to street fashion” website with a gorgeously curated offering of vintage prom dresses and bridal gowns. You could get a vintage dress and adapt it to be more formal if that’s what you’re going for.

SkivvyLuLuVintage has a bunch of vintage dresses that could work for weddings.
Brigitte of Posh Girl Vintage notes, "Sometimes [the brides] tell me they alter them or add a cap sleeve but most of the time they want it original." Or just rock the original vintage style! She adds, “many women want vintage wedding dresses… Women are using all kinds of party dresses as wedding gowns… I get a lot of comments that it's eco friendly, too.” However, you have to be willing to dig, dig, dig:  “Sizes are very difficult. People were smaller in the 50's, so sizes are limited most of the time.”

There are so many interesting shapes and textures when looking at vintage designs, and you definitely won’t look like other brides with out-of-the-box dresses.

Colorada, a dress maker in her own right, offered a few links to wedding related clothing or possibly bridesmaid dresses, mother of the bride, etc.

bonzie's whole shop has that neo-Victorian style.


AllieJDesigns' tutus can be sweet or punk rock. Depends on how you accessorize.


I'm a fan of MinnaK's Valencia dress in silk geogette.


JustVic's Ines dress would be perfect for bridesmaids, and she'd probably lengthen it for you for a custom wedding dress.

Wouldn't LaMadeleine's dress be adorable as a bridesmaid's dress? Colorada points out that "she has several custom and a design your own listings."


Janebonbon offers really pretty plus sized dresses and a custom wedding dress, too. I'm loving the special flowers and added details she does!


srbdesigns's A-line dress would work well as a bridesmaid's dress in a retro 60s-inpsired wedding.
Big thanks to MinnaK, Burdastyle, and Colorada. Good luck on the hunt, dear readers!

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