Member Feature: Creating a Non-Traditional Wedding Dress

Here at the National Sewing Circle, we always love to see what our members are working on. With such a wide variety of sewers in our community, it’s exciting to see all the fun projects being made! Marcia Gold sent us these photos of a non-traditional wedding dress she created for a friend, and you can read her about her design process and experience sewing the dress below!

I volunteered to create a non-traditional wedding dress for a friend who is also a stage performer. She wanted a wedding dress that was eclectic and could be worn for her wedding but also on stage for a performance. As a singer and a college student, she did not have the means to purchase such a dress, so she asked me what I might be able to do for her.

We went through my fabric stash to look and what might work. Eventually, she settled on these coordinating fabrics, mainly because the green of the fabric matched her eyes. I then began to sketch out what the dress would look like using her ideas and my sewing experience.

Two pieces of fabric Fashion sketches

I took her measurements, as I live in California and my young friend lives in Texas! Using her measurements, I began creating the wedding dress. Because the dress fabric is sheer, I used a stretch metallic gold knit for an underskirt and the lining of the front of the top.

Gold metallic fabric

As the top of the dress is shorter than the top of the skirt, the underskirt has a high waistband so skin doesn’t show, more appropriate for a wedding. Additionally, the skirt and sleeves were pleated, with 1-inch pleats. (Though as a performer on stage, that may not be necessary with a pair of nude panties.)

The whole dress consisted of 3 pieces: the top, the skirt, and the underskirt.

Long skirt Puffy sleeve crop top Back of a puff sleeve top

The image above is of the back of the top without the chains that hold it together.

The chains could not be attached until my friend tried it on (see below).

Back open on a top with chains across

I did the final sewing by hand the day before her wedding to connect the gold chains at the back of the top.

This last photo is my friend wearing the dress. She loved it and it looked amazing on her!!

Woman posing in a two piece dress

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21 Responses to “Member Feature: Creating a Non-Traditional Wedding Dress”

  1. susan griffin-byrne

    What a beautiful dress! You really came through for an odd request-- wedding and stage. Great job.

  2. Pattie

    The dress is absolutely beautiful! Your friend looks so lovely! You are so talented!

  3. Karen W

    What a beautiful job you did! What a wonderful idea to do a non-traditional wedding dress & your simple design is so elegant! (I would need a bit of bust support, so the back would need re-working, for me.) I may have some similar fabrics in my stash that needs re-thinking, since I am no longer belly dancing!

  4. Susan Kienitz

    Absolutely beautiful. You did a fantastic job. Good luck.

  5. Sandra Scanlan

    Absolutely beautiful

  6. Monica Barnes

    Beautiful dress. Did you intend to design a Lehenga Choli, or is this a coincidence? For those not familiar with Indian clothing, a lenga (skirt) and choli (crop top or blouse) with a dupata (shawl) is a very traditional Indian woman's outfit and in silk would be suitable for a formal occasion like a wedding. The most traditional color for a bride would be red, but what you have made would attract favorable comments on a guest if completed with a shawl.

  7. Mary

    ‬ Stunning. Where did you get the fabric for dress?

  8. C

    Oh Wow! You did such a great job. The dress looks wonderful and I am sure your friend was thrilled.

  9. Renee

    What a beautiful dress! Your friend looks stunning in your creation. What a lovely gift and execution of your idea. Thank you for sharing.

  10. Dvinder

    Very nice