How I Brought a Bride's Vision To Life, Designing Her Traditional Marriage Dress with Dramatic Sleeves

Hello lovely friends on Hive, wishing everyone a blessed new week.

My last week was indeed a very productive one, though stressful at a point, thank God for the weekend rest, I feel more energized and ready to give my best in all I do this new week.

I wrote about how I worked on designing 7 different outfits for 7 ladies which included a teen who is now my apprentice, my pregnant cousin, the bride, the bride's mum, and other friends, it is a thing of joy to be useful in my society, creating a solution through my talent and also putting a smile and that feeling of confidence in ladies around me.

Today, I will be sharing with us the making process of the bride's outfit, without being told, with the finished look of the style I designed for her, you can easily tell she is a lively and fun person. I remember when she reached out to me trying to express what she wanted in her dress, from the fabric selection, the color, and more emphasis on wanting dramatic sleeves, because of how that extra details to the sleeves can take a simple-looking dress more steps higher, it's her desire, so trust me to fulfill that wish.

Sourcing for the fabric in the color of her choice was a bit tasking because it isn't a common color but thankfully we found this beauty, after what seemed like a hundred shops, my aim is always satisfaction, so I usually don't mind the stress at all, as long as I make my ladies happy.

Cutting And Sewing Process

• I started by drafting the upper side of the dress using an off-the-shoulder bustier pattern, it's not so off as she also asked for no cleavage exposure

• Next, the base of the dress was drafted using a straight skirt pattern and an extra wrap skirt in front

• Here I already joined the patterns and also joined the upper side of the dress to the lower skirt part to form the complete dress

• To achieve this sleeve, I made use of a three-in-one pattern, which includes a basic sleeve, a puffy sleeve, and a flare pattern.

• I gathered the puffy sleeve to the elbow area of the basic sleeve and also around the armhole.

• And sewed the flare around the hem of the basic sleeve, and that made this dramatic-looking sleeve.

Thanks to the ingenious construction of the sleeves everyone will understand the level of craftsmanship that is in a dress of a highly qualified dressmaker. That is why minor details are important, they can turn a beautiful dress into a masterpiece.

The important moment came, of course, it's the time the bride fitted her finished gown. When she saw the dress on my mannequin, her reaction was what a designer always look out for , that look of excitement and joy. Watching her smile and gleam with confidence in the dress most especially that it was made from scratch after hours of searching for the fabric down to the construction of the sleeves in detail made all the troubles worthwhile.

Being able to comprehend and execute all that the bride wants but in addition to giving my expert advice, persistence in sourcing materials and also being very particular about her choice are all what combines to bring the success of this look.

I am enjoying my work as a fashion designer to the fullest. It is fulfilling to be able to embody the ideas of a client and assist her in making the most special day come true.

This is all for now and thank you for giving me this opportunity to share this experience with you. It has been my aim that this work gives a glimpse into the aspect of bespoke dress making and motivates everyone especially the designers and lovers of fashion.

Thank you for reading ❤❤