DIY Bridesmaid Dresses

DIY Bridesmaid Dresses

September 26th, 2010 @ 12:55 pm by Mrs. Brooch
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I Find Wedding Inspiration Everywhere

You know how when you’re engaged and you see something in the store or online that totally encompasses everything you want your wedding to be? Your dress to be? Your flowers to look like? Favors? Cake? Your inner bride starts doing backflips, and you think, “Eureka! This is it!”

Yeah, that happens to me almost every day. I can literally be walking through the grocery store and think, “Oooh! Cherries! Those would be awesome favors!” Or walking through the flea market, see handkerchiefs and think, “Should I buy these? Oh my gosh! We could use those!”

I’ve Always Got Our Wedding On The Brain

I wish I had the kind of money to buy everything I see that I love and think we could use for our wedding, but I just don’t have that kind of dough. So what do I do? I take a picture.

I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t take pictures with my phone!

Take this cute dress, for instance. I saw it at Forever 21 while I was shopping for an outfit for myself this weekend. I thought “This would be such a cute bridesmaid dress!” Then, of course, I realize that my girls might not agree. I realize I’m at Forever 21, the dress is pretty short, and the sizes run really small. I still wanted a picture, though.

Then I got to thinking. I wish I was brave enough to let my BMs pick whatever dresses they want and do the whole mismatched thing. I really, really like that look. I’ve had my heart set on it for a while, but then I started to get a little gun shy.

Be A Brave Bride

It’s not because I think my BMs won’t pick nice dresses. Each of my friends (seriously) has immaculate taste and a sense of style I envy. It’s just that I’m afraid it will look weird. Too modern for our families. Too out of the box. I need to get over what other people think, though, right? I need to be a brave bride, need to do what I want. ‘Cause at the end of the day, there’s no denying how much I love this style.

How cool is this wedding party? I love it. I absolutely love it.

Source

Taking the Easy (or Not) Way Out

The next best thing to mismatched dresses would be the same dress in different styles. It’s a trend that’s been gaining popularity over the last year, and designers like Two Birds are exploding on the market. It’s what I like to call the Easy Way Out. Brides are able to indulge in the urge to have mismatched, fashionable ‘maids, and BMs pick how they’ll wear their dresses. It’s the perfect middle ground, right? Wrong.

Problem with Two Birds is that the dresses are really expensive, at least for my group. While I can tell my friends that the dress converts into 11 different styles and they’re getting it all for the price of one gown, it still doesn’t seem right. So. Back to the basics? Not quite.

Thank God for Bride Bloggers

The clouds parted and the sun came up when I stumbled across these images. Obviously the color, being olive, caught my attention:

Source

Thinking Two Birds again, right? I thought the same thing. Those cool convertible dresses in green! Yippee!

Nope.

Try DIY.

DIY?

Dresses?

Convertible Dresses?

This Bride’s Got Balls

Don’t ask me how I stumbled across such an amazingly talented bride blogger. These things, I swear, are divinely driven. Lisa Welge is a Sacramento wedding photographer and obviously a DIY’er extraordinaire. While searching Google for images of convertible dresses, I came across the above photos and her post right here. Once I stopped hyperventilating, I realized the post was from back in 2009.

Wait, whaaaa? That must mean there are pictures of her ‘maids in these dresses on her wedding day!! Ding ding ding ding ding!!! I quickly (almost frantically) searched her website. Show me the dresses on her friends, I thought. Please, God!

Ah!! Yet another eureka moment for the record!

Absolutely stunning and with such special, personalized touches, no doubt.

This Might Be The Solution To My Problem

Or I might be one ambitious sewer! The thing is, I have a sewing machine. I’m actually learning to sew. I got it for my birthday last year, and I’ve wanted so badly to use it to create something (anything!) for our wedding. I know this is a big undertaking, but could this be a sign? How cool would it be to be able to make my BM dresses? My friends wouldn’t have to spend a dime (Lisa said it cost less than $60 to make each dress), and I’d get to be a brave bride!

I started to think such a thing was totally preposterous, but then I saw a trail of breadcrumbs.

The source of all the DIY goodness…

The How To (If You Dare)

Presenting the Infinity Dress and full tutorial right here from Rostitchery…

Source

Isn’t she cute? Do you think I could make them into long dresses? I wonder what material I should use. I’m going to give this project some serious thought and consideration. I need to review the instructions and recruit a more skilled sewer for help.

Am I taking on too much? What big DIY projects did you do? Are you thinking of having mismatched BM dresses?

Bonus

Here’s a great post on The Cinderella Project about this topic.

Tags: arlington, bridesmaid-dress, diy |

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27 Responses to “DIY Bridesmaid Dresses”

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Member

summerbvt (message) 239 posts, Helper bee

I too stumbled across the same blogs and was fascinated by the DIY convertible dress! The two-birds dresses are gorgeous by expensive. When I started looking for fabric, that’s when it got complicated. Ideally you need 4-way stretch jersey and it was just too hard to find nearby, but I didn’t really have the time to keep ordering fabric swatches from online stores. So I ended up abandoning the DIY. However, there is an alternative if you haven’t found them yet…. Victorias Secret makes affordable convertible dresses, too! I actually ordered one of theirs in black just to test it out and I LOVED it… if I wasn’t paying for a wedding I would have kept it and it would have become the ultimate in little black dresses! My only problem was that they didn’t have the colors I was looking for at the time… bummer.
The available colors change during the season, so right now they are darker but come spring and summer they have lighter colors:
http://www.victoriassecret.com/ss/Satellite?ProductID=1265311466984&c=Page&cid=1283342347856&pagename=vsdWrapper

Because it is jersey material the hem is unfinished (and looks totally normal that way) so if you needed to take some of the length off it is an easy fix! Happy dress hunting! : )

9/26/10 @ 1:14 pm (reply)

Bee

Mrs. Hot Wings (message) 2,213 posts, Buzzing bee

OMG.. I totally saw those same blogs and actually tried this. I actually bought material and tried to make a sample one for myself and wasn’t pleased with the fact that I wasn’t able to cut very straight lines and the nice slinky jersey material I fell in love with was so uber expensive. You are totally brave if you decide to go this route. I got scared after making just one.

9/26/10 @ 1:30 pm (reply)

Member

arenyth (message) 1,484 posts, Bumble bee

Did you know they sell convertible dresses on etsy? I found this blog a while back too and it’s on my backup, but the prices for these on etsy are in a much more normal range for BM dresses, around $90-120.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/53860132/infinity-bridesmaid-dress-made-to-order?ref=sr_gallery_16&ga_search_query=convertible+dress&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=&includes0=tags&includes1=title

http://www.etsy.com/listing/57197987/convertible-infinity-bridesmaid-wrap?ref=sr_gallery_15&ga_search_query=infinity+dress&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=&includes0=tags&includes1=title

9/26/10 @ 1:32 pm (reply)

Member

jackie-o (message) 2,389 posts, Buzzing bee

I heart the convertible dresses, I think this is totally the way to go - - I am bias though, my gals are wearing the Twobirds dresses in the ball gown length

9/26/10 @ 1:52 pm (reply)

Member

FutureSteelFox (message) 155 posts, Blushing bee

We had the same idea! Reading the blogs it sounded so easy, and for some one (my mother) with some sewing skills it is. But after trying a test we discovered that we would spend a lot more on fabric than we originally thought. That’s the kicker, finding the right fabric in the right color at the right price. So… We’re ordering them from Etsy seller katesy (the first link in arenyth’s reply). We’ve emailed back and forth and I feel really good about it. We’re actually saving money vs. making them ourselves.

9/26/10 @ 2:09 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Hippo (message) 1,008 posts, Bumble bee

I was going to mention Victoria Secret’s convertible dresses too…. summerbvt beat me to it!

9/26/10 @ 2:30 pm (reply)

Member

helenberrycrunch (message) 3,690 posts, Sugar bee

I actually made one for myself, and I totally recommend the jersey fabric. If you’ve sewn before, the actual sewing part is easy peasy, but remember that a stretchy fabric sews a little differently than one that has no give.

If you have questions, feel free to pm me.

9/26/10 @ 2:52 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Brooch (message) 1,721 posts, Bumble bee

@helenberrycrunch: Thanks! If I take this on, I’ll need help!!

9/26/10 @ 3:24 pm (reply)

Member

Knubbsy-Wubbsy (message) 2,395 posts, Buzzing bee

I definitely considered making my own convertible dresses for my three girls- however 2 out of the 3 NEED good bras (even though one of them would insist otherwise) and the dresses really don’t allow for them. Then I considered sewing all the dresses myself after drafting a pattern I liked and realized I just didn’t have the time. So they are finding their own dresses in clover, plum or hunter.

9/26/10 @ 3:35 pm (reply)

10.

Member

tetorger (message) 138 posts, Blushing bee

Just in case you get too bogged down for the DIY, I found this dress style at an awesome price at edressme.com. It is what my BMs will be wearing

http://www.edressme.com/vvl001-grey.html

9/26/10 @ 4:09 pm (reply)

11.

Member

fromcharleston (message) 651 posts, Busy bee

the material should definitely be cotton jersey!

9/26/10 @ 6:53 pm (reply)

12.

Member

mssmiley (message) 139 posts, Blushing bee

it’s so funny. i actualy saw the forever 21 dresses months ago and “bridesmaid dress” crossed my mind. but yes, they are quite short. then last week i saw them on clearance for something crazy like $12. I gave them a second thought, but again, realized my bridesmaids and I are all nearly 30. hahaha they were def. super cue though!!!!

9/26/10 @ 8:50 pm (reply)

13.

Member

HELLOLVR (message) 49 posts, Newbee

ross is also a good place to find really cute cocktail style BM dresses. they have a decent variety of colors, and alot of nice styles if you don’t want anything uniformed.

9/27/10 @ 12:17 am (reply)

14.

Bee

Miss Glasses (message) 2,741 posts, Sugar bee

I find inspiration everywhere too! I’m constantly like “Hmmm, how can I turn this into a wedding thing?” I am throwing all these modern wedding trends at my mom (cupcakes, modern readings, dress styles) and she really doesn’t get it, but I am fighting her

9/27/10 @ 12:48 am (reply)

15.

Bee

Miss Brooch (message) 1,721 posts, Bumble bee

@tetorger: Those are really cute!! Thanks!!

9/27/10 @ 9:32 am (reply)

16.

Member

beccaod (message) 46 posts, Newbee

Just used DIY convertible dresses for my 6 bridesmaids and they turned out great! We ended up making them with a very lightweight polyester interlock that turned out beautifully in a dark purple that were floor length. I was so pleased and all my girls, in many different shapes and sizes loved them too. They were even able to use strapless bras with them if they wanted depending on how they wrapped them.

I could give you extra details on the exact fabric and pattern that we used if you decide you want to make them. I also made three for myself (blue, teal and white) out of a different fabric.

9/27/10 @ 10:20 am (reply)

17.

Guest

Ally

I actually made these dresses for my bridesmaids. Having never sewn before in my life, it took me a couple days to cut out, hem, and sew the dresses together. It took my mother in law half a day or so. I used a stretch knit cotton for my girls’ dresses and it worked out perfect; jersey’s more expensive but it’s manageable. I ended up paying less than $100 for all the material for 4 dresses.

You could totally make these long. I ended up making concentric circles for the “pattern” - I used the girls’ waist circumference, and calculated the radius (oh geometry…). Then I measured from their waist to the knee (or wherever you want), added that to the radius and made one really big circle. Then just make a second pass around that circle and mark off where the waist-radius was. If you go to-the-ground long, you might have to do half-skirts and sew the halves together.

Sorry, that got long. Good luck!

9/27/10 @ 1:43 pm (reply)

18.

Member

jordynrose (message) 6,351 posts, Bee Keeper

Great alternative!

9/27/10 @ 10:08 pm (reply)

19.

Guest

Back to the Bridesmaids… | Weddingbee

[...] me catch you up to speed: here, here, here, and here. I’m all over the map. As you can see, I like everything. Love long, short, [...]

11/6/10 @ 6:00 pm (reply)

20.

Member

becauseilovehim (message) 113 posts, Blushing bee

I do not know if you are still considering these dresses. My Grandma is helping me make mine which will be long. It took us (mainly her) a while to figure out how to make them long them she decided just to make them a tube. So she cut the length from directly under the bust to the floor then sewed a straight seem in the side. Instead of doing a waistband she but in elastic to give the fabric structure. The straps are 20in wide with a 6-7 inch over lap I think. The only pick I have is of my SIL who is 13 and her mother would kill me if i posted it. My gran did say it is difficult to sew the stretch fabric (thus I was/ am not allowed to) she is afraid I will hurt her baby I think, I am the official model and pin holder which is fine she is a much better seamstress. We used a rayon stretch (4.99 a yard) so they are going to end up about 15-50 each because the only thread that matched was the pricey kind. I am sure you have figured this out or moved on but just my experience to someone else that stumbles across this.

2/5/11 @ 3:53 am (reply)

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