What to do With a Bridesmaid's Dress?
I have two bridesmaid dresses and I know I am never going to wear again, despite certain ads that try to convince me otherwise. I've thought for years that I should make something out of them - that those expensive dresses shouldn't go to waste sitting in a closet never to see the light of day again. I thought that maybe they would make nice pillows to give to the bride in question, but pillows didn't seem special enough and my pillows always seem lumpy anyway. Then I got into quilting and thought that I would one day make a lap quilt out of all my bridesmaid dresses.
Well, it's three years later, I only have two dresses and they are scarlet and lavender. Short of petitioning my friends for all of their bridesmaid dresses, that lap quilt just isn't going to happen. Although I do like the idea of making a quilt and passing it along every month or so to a different bridesmaid so that she can claim that she used the dress again. And everyone could take pictures with the quilt to show to all their friends who complain about not using those dresses again.
That is a project for another day. For now, I've decided to take the plunge and actually do something with one of my dresses. The first step is stripping it for parts:
Now that I've actually dismantled the dress I'm hesitant to do anything with it. My first idea was to make a small wall-hanging that is a sort of wedding announcement commemorating the day. It would have the bride and groom's name, the date of their wedding and a nice scripture quote all embroidered by hand. The bridesmaid dress would serve as the borders to the wall hanging. My other idea is much more elaborate and may be beyond my skills, but would be an excellent way to expand my quilting abilities. It would be another wall-hanging, but an art quilt. It would be an actual bridesmaid done all in fabric, holding a bouquet of silk ribbon embroidered flowers. She would be viewed mostly from the back, but with her face in profile. My biggest problem here is that I'm no artist, and would need to use a model to get all of the proportions right. I'm hoping that my sister will pose for some pictures this weekend. Maybe she'll even give me a bridesmaid dress ;).
Well, it's three years later, I only have two dresses and they are scarlet and lavender. Short of petitioning my friends for all of their bridesmaid dresses, that lap quilt just isn't going to happen. Although I do like the idea of making a quilt and passing it along every month or so to a different bridesmaid so that she can claim that she used the dress again. And everyone could take pictures with the quilt to show to all their friends who complain about not using those dresses again.
That is a project for another day. For now, I've decided to take the plunge and actually do something with one of my dresses. The first step is stripping it for parts:
Now that I've actually dismantled the dress I'm hesitant to do anything with it. My first idea was to make a small wall-hanging that is a sort of wedding announcement commemorating the day. It would have the bride and groom's name, the date of their wedding and a nice scripture quote all embroidered by hand. The bridesmaid dress would serve as the borders to the wall hanging. My other idea is much more elaborate and may be beyond my skills, but would be an excellent way to expand my quilting abilities. It would be another wall-hanging, but an art quilt. It would be an actual bridesmaid done all in fabric, holding a bouquet of silk ribbon embroidered flowers. She would be viewed mostly from the back, but with her face in profile. My biggest problem here is that I'm no artist, and would need to use a model to get all of the proportions right. I'm hoping that my sister will pose for some pictures this weekend. Maybe she'll even give me a bridesmaid dress ;).
posted by Kate at 7:31 AM
2 Comments:
I don't know if you've already done something with this/these dresses. And I don't know if you are really sold on the ideas that you have had. I just thought I'd let you know about something I did with some of my bridesmaid dresses. The one I had for when my dad remarried I made some play dress up clothes for my niece with. She loved it and it was more real to her than some that you can buy in the stores. Now I was also in my best friend's wedding. And that dress was HUGE. It was very full and lots and lots of fabric and a gorgeous shade of purple. They got pregnant right after the honeymoon and found out they were having a girl, so right near their first anniversary was her baby shower. I gave her a bedding set for her little girl made out of the bridesmaid dress. She loved it so much. I made a canopy for her crib/toddler bed. I made a dust ruffle for the toddler bed. I edged a pillow case and made a throw pillow and I also incorporated the fabric into a baby quilt. It all matched. I did have to buy other fabric to go with it. But I made pretty much all the things with ruffles on the outside which were made with the bridesmaid dress. She loved it so much. She cried. So I don't know if the people you wore the dress for are considering children or anything but it would be something to consider. And I do realize that purple or pinks wouldn't work great for girls but colors like greens, burgandy, and such could be mixed with more manly colors and still be wonderful for a boy or neutral. Just an idea. Best luck with whatever you decide!
Thanks for the ideas - those sound fabulous! I have the feeling that I won't be doing anything with the dress for quite a while ;).
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