Francesca and her wedding dress alterations- from off the peg to exactly what she wanted.
A friend of mine, Francesca came to me with a dress she bought from an online stockist and was unhappy with the fit and quality of material the dress was made in, so I looked at what wedding dress alterations I could provide.
She wanted to buy online to save money and have some alterations done as the wedding was very low-key due to covid keeping the numbers of attendees down, and it being her second wedding, she wanted something different from her previous dress.
It was all a bit of a rush as we’d only had 6-weeks to adjust the dress and not knowing when we would be put into another lockdown was a bit of a worry, so I cracked on full steam ahead.
Trying on the wedding dress for alterations
Francesca popped it on and we looked at it together after the first lockdown finished.
She has got a long torso so the dress proportions looked wrong so I had to elongate the bodice piece by adding a 4-inch fabric piece to lower the waistband this made it more flattering for her figure.
What to do with the skirt?
I made alterations to the skirt from a fuller A-line to a slimmer shape. The extra fabric hung heavily at the side seam and this spoilt the look of the dress. I took off the gathered net skirt and remade the overskirt with 3 layers of tulle to give the dress a softer floatier design.
I cut the tulle for the skirt in a full circle to give her fullness around the hem without adding gathers in the waistband. The skirt was attached to the lower waistband panel and hung beautifully.
Buying extra fabrics needed
I purchased the tulle from a stockist I use trade 80 they always provide good quality fabrics that is really nice to work with.
I altered the bodice part of the dress by taking up the shoulder seams and taking in the bust panels this made the dress fit Francesca better around the bust.
Francesca wanted to discuss adding detail to the changed waist panel and sent me some ideas she had looked for online and I sent her some ideas that I had, but in the end, it was decided that it looked better without anything.
Click here to read about another client of mine who wanted her own bespoke ball gown for a recent Christmas party.