This weekend two of my closest friends married each other. And I bawled my eyes out.
It was the perfect day and I’m so happy for them, even though I’m a teeny bit jealous of their amazing honeymoon plans.
For the occasion I wanted the perfect dress. When I saw the new Gertie pattern Butterick 6167 I thought it was just gorgeous. Sadly it hadn’t been released in the UK when I fell in love with it. BUT WAIT… Sewing Superhero Sonja from Ginger Makes got hold of a copy and posted it over for me!!! How sweet is that!?
I bought 2m of Liberty Carline poplin from an ebay seller called Fellabird Fabrics while I waited for the postman to come a knocking. This is a smaller version of carline, in a beautiful pink.
The dress features a gathered shelf bust detail, boning, spaghetti straps and a full skirt. The bodice is self lined and I used polyester lining for the skirt. Interestingly the dress is cut on the cross grain!
I thinned out the straps and took a whopping 6cm off the hem. Plus I added a huge hem ruffle (twice the width of the skirt) to the lining to act as a fake petticoat and boost the shape.
It’s a pretty good pattern if you’re interested in learning how to bone a bodice and sew a lapped zipper. I confess I didn’t really need to learn those things but I appreciate that they’re included.
The other joy of the wedding was that it was my honour to make the ties and pocket squares for the Groom, groomsmen and page boys.
Look at these handsome men! When I introduced Mark to my University friend Nicola I never thought it would turn out so well. Mark, Alex and Matt have been in my life for 15 years and I love that they’ve welcomed Jimi like they’ve known him that long as well. He made a very handsome usher.
I know the men look dashing but come on, are those not the cutest kids you’ve ever seen?
I made 7 men’s ties, 7 pocket squares and 2 “fake” ties that fastened with velcro. I drafted patterns from existing ties and googled “sew your own pocket square”. The fake ties were the hardest to wrap my brain around.
I’m half-tempted to make a pdf of the kid’s tie and make it available as a free download. It’s kind of the thing I’d have been happy to find when I was prepping to make these so maybe someone out there would find it useful?
So that was my Easter Saturday! Did you have a fun long weekend?
37 Comments
Love it! Your pattern/fabric pairing is perfect and it’s super cute on you.
Thank you! I can’t wait to see your version
Dress looks stunning!
Aww thank you!
Oh my gosh, the dress is PERFECT! You look amazing! Looks like a beautiful wedding, too, and your pocket squares and ties look so dashing on the fellas!
Thank you! It’s all thanks to you really, making it possible! It was such a good day, I’ll never forget it
Gah! You look adorable! And everyone looks dashing 😀
Thank you! I think Jimi looked most dashing but I might be a wee bit bias
Magnifique dress! This fabric + pattern = a perfect match. Bravo!
Thanks so much! I love Liberty prints, and this one just shouted out to be paired with this pattern.
I’d like the tie tutorial!
Cool! I’ll try and get it scanned and sorted in the next few weeks.
How lovely, both your dress and the fact that your two friends got married!
Thank you! It was a wonderful day, I’ll never forget it.
Such a beautiful dress, and an all round beautiful post! And I for one would very much appreciate the fake tie tutorial/pattern – it’s really kind of you to suggest doing that!
Thanks so much. I’ll do my best to get a tutorial up soon.
So pretty! What a special occasion to pull out all the stops for
Thank you! It had to be done. It was the perfect day!
All so lovely. Well done!
Thanks so much! Great work partnering up with Gertie. This pattern is top notch.
What a gorgeous bodice – you look really lovely in it. Congratulations on your matchmaking skills too!
Thanks so much! I try not to take too much credit, since they did all the hard work but did enjoy playing cupid 🙂
Amy this is a truly killer dress on you! That bodice! I think the things you chose to sew for the wedding are all such great ways to do something hand made for a wedding! What a lucky friend you have!
Aww thanks Fiona. I think this one would really suit you too. I’m so proud of those ties, even though they gave me hand cramp heehee
Pretty dress, and nice friend! I use sewingpatterns.com if I want to get a pattern before it is released down under (reasonable shipping to Aus and they are always on sale) or if they are out of stock of any pattern anywhere else as they arrive a lot quicker than any fabric store can order them in to me.
Oh I do love sewingpatterns.com but mostly for their download patterns. I didn’t realise the delivery was so good too! Thanks for the tip
A very clever daughter! Xxx
Too kind mamma! x
You look gorgeous! That’s a perfect spring wedding dress. Love all the ties etc too!
Thanks so much! A special dress for a special day. And although I love the ties I’m happy to go a long time without ever sewing one again hahaha!
Perfect dress, the shape, the colours, the print. You look fab. Looks like you had an amazing time at the wedding and all those ties and squares are rather fab too. What a good friend you are.
Thanks for the lovely comments. I really love this dress. It was the cherry on top of an awesome day
oooo have this pattern in stash ( well sharing with my friend!) so in her stash at mo cant wait to have a go at it – love your version
Thank you! Oooh I suggest you break it out for spring!
I just bought that pattern myself. Do you find that the pattern runs true to size or does it run a bit large, just like other Butterick patterns?
Also, what cup size did you make the bust part in? I’m debating whether to use a B or a C cup.