Choosing fabric for gowns

After writing my last entry on downtown Los Angeles's Jewelry / Diamond District, I realized that I've seen a lot of questions on fabric floating around the internet for brides-to-be. I've been sewing for over 10 years, so analyzing fabrics as well as cruising around LA's fabric district was easy for me. So I thought I'd write a two part series on (1) fabric for people ambitious enough to make/commission their own bridal or bridesmaids gowns and (2) LA's fabric district! For my wedding, I used fabrics to decorate the archway & aisle, and for the bridesmaid gowns.

So, here goes:

Part 1: Sewing / commissioning clothes for your wedding

You will be in for extreme sticker shock when shopping for your bridal and bridesmaids gowns. $400 is "cheap" for a bride, and from there it soars up easily into the thousands. And for bridesmaids, chances are you're looking at about $130 or so, even for dresses that are pretty simple.

Ways to save money on this are:
(1) Buying matching dresses from a normal retail store- however you'll be extremely limited on colors. So if you're looking to match your color scheme, good luck! We went with aqua for the dresses, and were not able to find anything suitable. You can also go with a color "hue" and have your girls buy their own dresses, but make sure you look up pictures of this happening at other weddings to see if it's something you like or not. (It wasn't for me.)

(2) Commissioning a PROFESSIONAL. This does not include a best friend, parent, grandparent, relative, or anyone else you personally know. Only professionals will be able to deliver on-time and without a lot of micro-management on your part. Make sure you find someone reliable whom you know can deliver and will do multiple fittings on your bridesmaids.

(3) MAKE your own gowns. This will drive your cost down considerably; for example, we were looking at gowns that were about $130 BEFORE alterations. After deciding to make the dresses ourselves, the price ended up being about $20-30 each for fabric, patterns, and notions (zippers, thread, etc).

If you're going with the third route, you need to be hyper aware of the fact that it's going to be stressful. Even with 3 out of 5 of my bridesmaids being experienced seamstresses, there was still last minute sewing up until the morning of the wedding. It just takes time, and with everything else that needs to get done for the wedding, it's a lot of additional work. Prior to this, I would recommend having your bridesmaids try on a bunch of pre-made gowns in order to see what styles work on them best.

That being said, it's time to choose fabrics! Here's a quick rundown of a few "bridal" fabrics:



1) Chiffon: Sheer, soft layer that drapes nicely. There are different qualities to chiffon, with some being better woven or softer than others. Make sure you drape the chiffon over the lining fabric and see it in natural light, indoor light, and in photographs before picking your fabric.
- Good: Pretty, fits well in a wedding setting
- Bad: Frays easily, needs to be sewn with particular attention to seams since it's see-through. Seams can also cause the fabric to tear if not sewn properly. Requires a lining layer.

2) Satin: Pretty, all-purpose fabric. Ranges from extremely shiny to totally matte and everything inbetween. There are a LOT of different types of satin, so make sure your fabric texture and weight matches the style of the dress (e.g. don't choose a heavy fabric for light, poofy, airy dresses)
- Good: Bridal satin (super thick, high quality satin)
- Bad: Crepe-back satin (this is satin backed with crepe, which makes it very slippery and more challenging to sew. It's also worse at holding a shape), baroque satin (so shiny that it looks cheap, also needs a lot of ironing).

3) Taffeta: Plasticy, thick fabric used in a lot of gowns. Not as soft to the touch, but popular and pretty solid.

4) Organza: I don't have a lot of experience with organza, but to me it's like the rich man's version of chiffon. Light, airy, see-through, it drapes beautifully and is soft to the touch.

A lot of your decision should hinge on:
(1) Sewing expertise - don't pick something slippery, thin, see-through, tight-fitting, or challenging if you aren't experienced! The flaws will show, and you want everyone to look great on your wedding day.
(2) Body type - Pick something with a flattering fit for your bridesmaids. Where the hems fall and how they emphasize each girl's body is very important!
(3) Weather - is it going to be hot or cold out? Pick a style that won't leave your bridesmaids freezing or sweating!

For short gowns without a lot of gathering, you can get away with 3-4 yards easily per layer, but in general just follow the fabric recommendations on the back of your pattern. DO NOT FORGET to check the fabric width - generally everything is either 45" or 60". This makes a HUGE difference! And while you're at it, buy lots of extra no longer at the store!

Lastly, as for patterns, Simplicity, McCalls, Vogue, and Butterick are all readily available at fabric stores and have a good variety of styles to choose from. If you live near a JoAnn's, make sure to hit up the store when they're having their 99 cent pattern sales (nearly every month). Otherwise they'll run you $10-15 EACH!

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What did we end up doing for my wedding? We chose the following dresses, with an aqua satin underneath a aqua chiffon overlay, and red chiffon wraps/accents:



And this is what they ended up looking like!





My maid of honor's dress (third from the left) is the only one purchased out of the group. Like I said, you'll fall victim to the trap of not getting things done on time. Luckily she was the MOH and so could have something slightly different!

Next up, a guide to downtown LA's fabric district!