Back to Work on Wedding Dress #2

With Val's wedding dress finished (I'll be posting some formal photographs shortly), it's time to return to Christina's dress; her wedding takes place at the end of October.

You likely already know that Christina's dress is comprised of a stiff, boned, corset worn over a full-length circle skirt.  Did I mention that this gown will be made in ivory silk taffeta (which I found at a great price at It's a Material World, the fabric store on 39th Street with the eternal "Closing This Friday" signs in the window)?  One thing about sewing bridal gowns: you learn about all these different kinds of supplies -- button-loop tape, covered buttons -- you never knew existed before, and become accustomed to working with fabrics like lace and taffeta that you previously avoided (for the most part).

For Christina's gown, I'd originally purchased plastic boning (the kind that comes already inserted in a narrow fabric channel), at Steinlauf & Stoller.  I used it for Christina's corset muslin (below) and it's okay, but I wanted stronger boning yet something I could easily trim to the desired length without needing metal pliers.  Kenneth King recommended heavy zip ties available for purchase at Home Depot and that's exactly what I got.  (I still bought my fabric channels at Steinlauf & Stoller.)

Above you can see the thin plastic boning as well as the thicker zip ties, plus horse hair braid and bra cups.

These 3/8" wide zip ties are from Home Depot.

My taffeta is underlined with sturdy cotton velveteen I had in my stash, a home dec weight.  I wanted something firm yet thick.  When stressed, silk taffeta seams can pull out; the velveteen cushions the silk so the seams don't pull.  Furthermore, the velveteen hides the imprint of the boning.  (The boning is attached to the seam allowance, so we're really talking two layers of velveteen between the boning and my fabric.)

In this sample, the nap of the velvet faces out; in the final corset, it faces in.

Boning channel with boning inserted.  Seam allowances will be catch stitched down (to the velveteen layer).

Christina has already tried on the corset without the boning in place, loosely pinned in back, just for fit.   With the boning (and lacing), the seams will be more rigid and the fit will be more corset-like (natch).

Today I attached my boning channels and inserted my boning.  I still have to close up my channels, catch stitch my seam allowances, cut my lining, have my grommets made (at Steinlauf & Stoller) and much more.  But I feel like I'm making good progress.

Christina's gown is completely different from Val's so the learning curve is different, which I love.  Val's dress was flowy; Christina's dress is much more constructed.  I've used boning in the past but I've never constructed a corset before -- I'm enjoying it.

I'll probably also be making Christina a little lace or beaded shrug.  Something like this....

Or this (I'm kind of fond of that ruffle):

But only after the gown is done.  Which -- I'm hoping -- will be in the next week.

And that's it.  I have a fitting scheduled with Christina on Sunday, so I'll have much more to tell in the week ahead.

Have a great day, everybody!