CONCEPT TO CREATION: ELIN&#39;S GOWN

This is the first post of a new series where you can follow me as we look at several gowns made from start to finish. We'll kick it off by looking at Elin's gown from our initial consultation to the excitement of her wedding day. It made me so happy to see Elin married in such an enchanted setting in a gown of my creation. The back drop of the rustic old Kalmar castle in Sweden seemed a perfect match for the vintage chic of the 'Mira' Gown she chose.

We started from this sketch planning the ballerina length skirt out of six yards of silk chiffon over a full crinoline underskirt. This Chantilly lace was chosen in ivory for the bodice

Elin's gown was fashioned out of yards of fragile ivory silk chiffon and delicate lace. While most custom gowns crafted by a designer take anywhere from four to six months to complete, Elin needed her gown in two months. Despite the time crunch, we still had enough room for collaboration with decisions regarding fabric, silhouette and style. This was, as most custom gowns are: typically 80-90% handmade. Hand made means machines do some work like the side seams, cross seams, etc. There are however stitches on these one-of-a-kind gowns only expert handwork can touch in order to produce that exquisite finish

With a great deal of hand work, the bodice here is nearly complete. With all linings and boning in place, buttonhole looping has been added to the center back as silk covered buttons are sewn on.