Rachel Lamb Bridal Design

On the practical side, this week has been spent: pattern cutting, altering toiles, layering and sewing lace dress pieces and removing the beads from the seam allowances, snapping needles on the beads in the seam allowances that escaped removal, admiring the motifs. All while listening to (and occasionally getting slightly irritated by) Stephen Fry , but I think he'd understand.

I've wanted to show you this dress for ages, because I really enjoyed making it! It felt like a real  creative collaboration between myself and the bride Sarah's family - especially her mum, who deserves a medal for going over and above the call of duty in the crochet department! I only have pictures of the later stages of the dress manufacture and the wedding, but the dress idea started from Sarah's mother's wedding dress which was from the 1970's and very of its time; it had quite a vintage hippy vibe to it, very free-flowing and made of cotton with embroidered areas, sleeves and flowery trim. I wish I had a picture to show you. Anyway, Sarah wanted to emulate the feel of that dress but with a modern feel which was more 'her'.  This picture (above) of Sarah in an early fitting, shows her wearing the calico toile, which is perhaps closest in feel and look to her mother's dress, but without the embellishment. (That's my hand poking