The Ultimate DIY Project

Hi all, Katie here!


Yesterday I was on the phone with my friend (who was recently engaged) and we were chatting about getting together next weekend, and about how the wedding planning was going. She seemed a little overwhelmed by the process, and I told her I really wanted her to have fun with it and not get too stressed out. I asked if there was anything I could perhaps help out with while she was in town visiting me for a few days and got excited when I thought of taking her dress shopping! “We could go dress shopping”, I offered. She paused for a second and said, “Well I was actually thinking about making my own dress…”

I have to admit I was a bit surprised. I have heard of making your own invitations, decorations, food, etc. to cut down on costs of a wedding, but making your own dress?? Isn’t that, like, hard? My friend readily admitted that making her own gown would be very dependent on how much time she had (considering she will be a first year medical resident next year), and on what kind of dress she was considering making. She is a sewer, and likes to make her own clothes, but to make her own wedding dress will certainly be the ultimate do-it-yourself project!

Intrigued by this novel idea, I turned to the internet to investigate. A Google search of “making your own wedding dress” returned more hits about designing your own wedding dress for a professional to make, than actually providing information on how to make your own dress. I did find a few websites, though, on actually sewing your own gown. These websites generally recommended the following course of action:

1) Pick a pattern – Generally a good idea to pick patterns that are within your skill level

2) Pick a fabric

3) Decide if you want to do any modifications to your design

4) Cut the fabric from the patterns you decide on

5) Sew the dress and alter, alter, alter!

Here are a few examples of homemade wedding dresses:

Love, love, love this one.

This one too, I'd totally wear this!

More traditional example.

I can’t wait to see how her dress looks of her special day. My friend has a very unique and creative eye, and both she and her mother are expert sewers. I am sure it will be both one-of-a-kind and beautiful!

Is there anyone out there that has considered making, or has made, their own wedding gown? I would love to hear more about the process (ie how long it took, is it really cheaper, etc), so feel free to leave your story in the comments section!