Groom's Vest Snafu

So here I am wondering what I could do with a little bit of ivory satin left over from my mother's wedding gown, after using most of what was usable, to create a new wedding dress for my daughter.

My mother's 1939 ivory satin wedding gown - my 1979 white eyelet dress - Tracy's redesigned dress using both

A vest for the groom! Perfect. He was going to be wearing a long sleeved white shirt and white jeans for his attire and the ivory vest would be a great addition. I had just enough to make the front of the vest and used a natural linen for the back and lining. 

The vest fit him nicely and he looked so good. I had just one more detail to complete my project. Buttonholes. I've never liked making buttonholes so I made the decision to take the vest to a dry cleaners, rather than make them myself. Bad Decision.

It is Done!

The wedding gown is finished and it fits perfectly! Now, let's bring on the wedding.

I did have a mini-meltdown a day or so ago when I was doing some adjusting and wondering if I could really pull this off. I even called a professional seamstress, who specialized in wedding gowns, to inquire about her saving the dress. She was not too interested but did offer to take a look if I could not make it work. However, I decided to keep at it myself and my efforts paid off.

How exciting for my daughter to wear a wedding gown that was totally redesigned - and includes my wedding dress and her grandmother's wedding gown. Oh, if only my mother could be here to see it. She would be so proud of her granddaughter's imagination and creativity since she came up with the idea. She would also be very proud that I was able to pull it off.

Wedding Dress Update

I have made some progress with the wedding dress, but with the big day just a month away I need to step it up and finish it. I also need to make the groom a vest and the bride requested a wrap for when the night air gets chilly . . . so sewing will be my main focus for the next few days. As promised, I have included a few photos that show just how much fabric was in my mother's gown. And another full length photo of my white eyelet dress that I made (with matching hat!!)

My white eyelet handmade wedding dress, 1979.

My mother in her gorgeous ivory satin wedding gown in 1939

The pic before I added a ruffle all around, front and back

The back of the new dress is my mom's original button and loop section from her dress . . . but cut a lot lower. I hand sewed each button back on. There were lots of them and they were coming loose.

My daughter is not sure about the ruffle in the bodice, above, but I like it (it came from the two little shoulder "pads" from my mom's dress - they were not what we know today as shoulder pads (padded!), but it was just enough fabric to give the dress a bit of height in her sleeve. I guess I will loose it, since the bride doesn't like it.

My Biggest Sewing Project Ever

The most important sewing project I have ever tackled is underway. I am redesigning my wedding dress and my mother's wedding gown into a new dress for my daughter. The wedding is in July . . . just weeks from now.

I made my dress in white cotton eyelet in the late 70s. It was not a difficult pattern to follow and not too challenging for me at the time. My mother's dress was made from ivory satin and was created in the late 30s. It is an amazing gown, but no one in the family was ever as small as my mom was when she got married (a 17" waist) so it has never been worn in a wedding again.

My eyelet wedding dress (and my mom) in the late 1970s. 

My mother's late 1930s wedding