We started with looking at commercial patterns to help me with sizing since everyone was a different size. There were no patterns that were the exact same as the inspiration but I found Simplicity 8289 with a bodice that was pretty close (she actually liked it better) and I could make the handkerchief hem skirt on my own to add on to it.
The fabric for the dress is a beautiful ornate lace overtop of a plain navy cotton and lined with the same navy cotton, to keep the dress lightweight and cool to wear in the heat of summer. With the lace on top you can’t even tell that it’s just a simple cotton underneath.
I offered the girls 2 different styles of straps so they could pick which they were most comfortable wearing and adjusted some of the patterns to bring up the neckline slightly on some of the dresses. I started with making the bodice for each dress and then had the girls come for a fitting. Once the bodices were fitted and adjustments were made I could make the skirts to attach. Now because I wanted to use the lace edge for the hem the dresses couldn’t be hemmed afterwards so length measurements were taken during the fitting and individual skirt patterns were made for each dress. One last final fitting to make sure the dresses were good to go and they were all ready for the wedding day!
The girls all loved their dresses and said they will get lots of use out of them because they don’t look like your typical bridesmaid dress. I had so much fun creating and customizing these dresses.
Nicole is SOOO talented!
I met Nicole in college and was amazed at what she was able to create back then!
In July, I got married and I had the Privilege of having Nicole make our girls dresss by hand!
BEAUTIFUL!
They turned out absolutely stunning, and everyone looked fabulous!!!! So many compliments on them
Can’t thank you enough Nicole!!!!!
Xoxo