Happily Ever After: Upcycling your Wedding Dress

     You had the most beautiful wedding dress and where is it sitting now? Most likely it is sitting in a box in your closet. The phrase you commonly hear with bridesmaids in regards to their dresses is "the best part is you can shorten your dress and wear later." Why shouldn't this phrase also be applicable to the bride? Upcycle your wedding dress into something you can wear for dressy events, such as other weddings, banquets, or a night out. There are many ways you can do this, by shortening the dress, using the sparkling bodice, adding different fabric for the skirt of the dress or using it behind the lace, printing/dyeing, and many more. Your level of creativity is unlimited and this will allow to create own design.
    Here are some different ways:

Photo by Bob Elbert 

                                    Stitch This: Wedding Dress Edition

 A few years ago, I had the opportunity to participate in the Iowa State Stitch This, a 16-hour sewing competition with strict rules and a format, much like the popular design show, Project Runway. Teams of four were given a wedding dress and had to create a design that incorporated at least 75% of the dress.  Each team was given a certain period of time for design and planning, where we could look at the dress, but couldn't do any cutting. After the time had passed, we were given permission to start deconstructing the dress and start sewing. The neat part was that we were under complete observation of the public and they could ask us questions about our designs or the competition. Judges came around to ask questions, looked at our progress, and evaluated our teamwork. When it came time for the show, we told the stylists how we wanted our model stylized and she got to walk in the runway show.

    My team, The Fab Four, (SEE BELOW) decided to go with a Kentucky Derby theme, where we used the technique of keeping the bodice, but incorporating a blue satin fabric into the skirt and accessorized with a handmade wide-brim hat featuring blue satin fabric roses.     Wedding dresses are very expensive and with reconstructing your dress, you will be able to wear it many more times. There are many different tutorials and ideas available on Pinterest or blogs. The compliments you will receive along with the number of times you can wear it, will allow the dress to pay for itself.

MY TEAM!

Before

After