This was the question I asked myself after my wonderful Simon asked me to marry him at the end of last year in the gardens of the beautiful Haddon Hall. To begin with it felt like a great idea; I'd been sewing for years and this was a chance to create something I was really proud of. I'd only recently learnt to create my first ever bodice block and had made my very own dress using some colourful leftover fabrics in my stash and some lovely shimmery golden taffeta that my late grandma had previously used for curtains. I tried to gloss over the fact that the sleeves had turned out a little odd and that I was still quite inexperienced at pattern drafting, and threw myself into looking at inspiration.
Having set my mind on making my dress, I went to my weekly sewing club at Sew with Holly and told my tutor what I had planned. Thankfully, she pulled me down from the edge and told me to think carefully before I undertook such a project, and after a bit of hesitation I decided to abandon the idea. She was right of course; I don't yet have the experience for that kind of project and it would have been too much anxiety to put myself under at a time when wedding planning stresses would already be running high! Initially I was disappointed; I had always imagined that I would make my own dress, and I wanted to feel that sense of accomplishment and make something truly beautiful for our special day, but this was soon replaced with determination. If I couldn't make my dress, then I was going to make sure that something handmade would be part of the day.
The Dress
On the day I decided on my wedding dress, I already had an idea in my mind. I didn't want a traditional dress; I wanted a dress with magic, fantasy and colour to match my personality, something that made me feel natural and beautiful, and I wanted to stun Simon when I walked down the aisle! I had two favourite dresses but mum and I both knew there was only one dress that said "this is Nat". I chose the Johnny dress by Madison James at The Dressing Rooms Bridal. With its plunge neckline, capped sleeves, copper details and gorgeous pink flowers flowing down the bodice and train, I instantly fell in love. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on (apart from Simon of course!).
The dress was so incredible but I knew that with a wedding in November, with an open back and short sleeves, I could be quite cold on the day, particularly for any outdoor photographs. I set about designing some accessories to keep me warm. I wanted something elegant that tied in well with the dress, so I opted for a dainty half cape and decided to embroider it in the same colours as the flowers on the dress. TDR kindly sent me some samples of the flowers and I visited my favourite local haberdashery, Stepalong, to find the right colours of embroidery thread to exactly match. The staff pulled out the samples books and helped me to find the perfect colours.
Photography by Bohemian Rose
Designing the Cape
The next time I went to sewing club I'm sure I confused my friends with my furious scribbling and mathematics, as I wanted to make sure the cape fit absolutely perfectly around my shoulders. I settled for a 3/4 circle with rounded front corners, stand up collar and cut outs over the shoulders to bring the fabric in to the neckline. I drafted the pattern on paper and made a toile in calico before settling on the final design.
Now I needed to decide on fabrics! I visited a Oh So Crafty in Kidderminster and was helped by a lovely lady to find the perfect fabrics. It was important to me to choose natural fibres that would stand the test of time as I wanted to be able to wear it again after the wedding. I chose a green boiled wool to go with the leaves on the dress and a floral cotton lawn for the lining to match.
For the construction of the cape I got some helpful advice from my tutor at Sew with Holly. I first sewed the shoulder seams together on both the outer and the lining and constructed the collar. Then I took a break from the sewing to design the embroidery pattern, which I wanted to sit across the collar bones. I used the embroidery from the dress as reference and created a simple floral line drawing. I transferred the drawing to the boiled wool using tissue pinned to the material, which I could then use tweezers to tease away after embroidering. This allowed me to position the embroidery in exactly the right place. I used stem stitch, satin stitch for the petals, french knots for the centre of the flower, and then I added milky white beads to act as dew on the flowers, using the seed stitch.
To finish the construction of the cape, I sewed around the entire outer edge of the cape with the lining and outer facing each other, leaving a small hole for me to turn the cape the right way around, and inserted the stand up collar between the two pieces. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment when I finished and pressed the cape and finally tried it on, after months of keeping it a secret from my husband to be! Considering it was my first attempt at outerwear and I designed it myself, I was incredibly proud of my efforts, and it truly felt luxurious to wear. All that was left was to add a clasp. I had ordered a beautiful Green Man themed cloak clasp from Avalon Cloaks on Etsy but on arrival it was much larger than I had imagined and wasn't quite what I needed for the cape, so I decided to hold it back for another project. Instead I opted for a more dainty rose gold coloured clasp from Stepalong, adding matching seed beads to tie it in with the embroidery.
Photography by Bohemian Rose
Designing the Accessories
It was still a few months away from the wedding and during a stressful period at work and with the wedding planning, I needed something to throw myself into outside of the office. Since I had some time left, I decided to make some matching accessories to go with the cape. I had designed and made a number of knitted gloves before and fingerless gloves are a staple of my wardrobe because of my circulation condition. I decided to make a pair of fingerless gloves and a bag to go with my cape, using the same fabrics and embroidery to tie it all together.
The gloves were a simple design; I embroidered the flowers then created two tubes in the boiled wool, sewing a seam at the side and leaving plenty of space for the thumb holes. I then used an invisible hand embroidery stitch to stitch the seam allowances inside the glove. I had intended to also include a lining the same colour as the lining of the cape, but unfortunately after cutting the pieces I realised that I had not included any positive ease (rooky error!) and this meant that the gloves were too tight with the lining. I pulled the lining back out but was able to still use the outer glove because the boiled wool had just enough stretch to pull over my hands. I liked that they were tight on my hands and they felt very elegant.
For the bag design, I felt quite inspired by the cloak clasp I had originally bought for the cape from Avalon Cloaks. I love the green man depiction and the connection with nature after spending most of last year growing a kitchen garden with Simon. I took some of the leaves from the floral embroidery design from the cape and made a new design for the bag. I drafted a bag shape with two semicircles of fabric, with the clasp framed in the centre of the bag. I am not one for a clutch bag and have to carry my medical equipment with me, so I made the bag a satchel style with a long strap and enough storage space for my supplies.
It was quite an undertaking to complete the accessories without being detected by Simon; I had to ban him from one of the wardrobes and I spent many a covert session at Sew with Holly sewing on weeknight evenings or holed up in my craft studio with the door shut! It was all worth it in the end.
Photography by Bohemian Rose
The Wedding Day
When I finally got to put all of my accessories on with my wedding dress it was an indescribable feeling. It felt so special to express myself on such an important day and to show my love through something I had made with my hands. It is the biggest craft achievement of my life so far and I can't wait to make more beautiful creations to share with the world. My outfit got lots of lovely compliments, particularly from the sewing club, who knew how much time and effort had gone into making it, and it was a wonderful surprise for Simon.
Photography by Bohemian Rose
Was it Worth It?
A thousand times yes! Did I make my wedding dress? No. But I made some gorgeous accessories to compliment my dress and I avoided the stress that comes with making your own dress. It was an incredibly proud moment to wear it on my wedding day, and even better, I can continue to wear it for years to come. Whether you decide to make your wedding dress is up to you. If your level of experience means it's something you'd regret not making and you're up for the challenge, just go for it! But if you're like me and it's too much, there might be something you can do to contribute to the day in some other way. Alongside making the cape, Simon designed the wedding cake for the cake maker and we both made the wedding favours, save the dates, invitations, table plan, guest book and wedding schedules, and these handmade element truly made the day feel like ours.
Do you intend to make your own wedding dress or accessories? Would anyone like to see me release the patterns for the cape and gloves? Let me know what you think in the comments, I'd love to hear your ideas!
I am planning to release a pattern for the wedding bag over the next few months - if you sew and would like to help me make this dream come true, sign up to become a voluntary pattern tester!
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