Bridal Lace

[Gyongyhajulany]

Hello. I am attempting to sew my own wedding dress but I have some uncertainties I would like some advice on. The style I am going for is a sheath or fit and flare with a structured bodice and thin straps. The plan is for it to be full lace, but I haven't had much experience with embroidered non stretch lace. How much ease would be needed to account for the tight fit around the hips? Also, since adding darts in the bodice would likely mess with the lace pattern I will likely just applique the pattern onto the bodice, but I assume it will need some sort of netting/ tulle underneath, right? Any other tips/ tricks for working with bridal lace is appreciated!
Thank you for any help!

[Iminei]

We do have a Bridal Queen on here @charlotte  who may be able to help you ... Her wedding dress, handmade, is incredible !!!

[Missie]

Hi @Gyongyhajulany .  That is a lovely project.  If if is non-stretch you would treat it like any woven fabric and use the same ease.  Generally you would allow 5cm for ease.  Are you making your own pattern for the dress?

With regards to the lace, you would thread trace the darts onto the lace, then cut around the lace motifs, overlap them (matching the dart lines) and sew around the edge of the newly cut and placed motifs.  If you have the lace already, if would be good to see it to advise properly/further.

Also be good to see a picture of what you are aiming for with the dress as a whole.

[charlotte]

I assume you will be making a toile. Use a nice stable fabric for this (I always like a calico) and this will let you perfect the fit and get the right amount of ease.

I highly recommend Alison Smith's Craftsy class on working with lace, which goes through all different types of lace.

Lace is usually fairly transparent, so I am assuming you will have some sort of under-layer? I hand-stitched lace motifs to my bodice, which had a silk layer underlined with cotton lawn, then a layer of tulle over the top and I stitched the lace on through all these layers.  This made it nice and stable. The illusion back and neckline, which were just tulle, were pulled down by the weight of the lace, and I had to add a layer of silk organza at a later stage to support it.

I had to hand stitch due to the beading on my lace, but it is possible to stitch the lace on by machine. I did a machine stitched 'invisible' seam, overlapping the lace motifs and following the motif lines on my mum's mother of the bride dress, and this might work for applying the motifs, depending on the lace you choose.

Looking forward to hearing how you get on!

[Gyongyhajulany]

Thank you for your tips and advice, very much appreciated!
I'm currently working on a draft of the bodice based on a bustier pattern I've used before, just modified the cups a bit.
Yes it will indeed have a lining underneath the lace :p in still thinking of what fabric to use for that.. I'm not a big fan of the shiny-ness of satin so thinking of lightweight alternatives (hopefully it will be a summer wedding).

[Gyongyhajulany]

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[Missie]

Thank you for your tips and advice, very much appreciated!
I'm currently working on a draft of the bodice based on a bustier pattern I've used before, just modified the cups a bit.
Yes it will indeed have a lining underneath the lace :p in still thinking of what fabric to use for that.. I'm not a big fan of the shiny-ness of satin so thinking of lightweight alternatives (hopefully it will be a summer wedding).

Silk satins tend to be less shiny that the man-made versions.  My personal preference is silk satin crepe (for dresses which are flowy) you can use either side so a slighty shiny side (which will be disguised by the lace) or the matt (crepe) side.  It is a beautiful fabric to work with, but does need to be treated with care (eg only pinning in the seam allowances) to avoid marking it.