Renee Ramona Fabric Artisan

07/07/2026

PART 2 — I had to do a part 2 to my original post about this dress. There is much more to the story. The bride had surgery late spring-ish so we were waiting as long as possible to do the alterations for her wedding. Totally doable. It was a few weeks before the wedding when I had my accident and broke my wrist. As the Lord would have it, in His kindness, I had worked all day hand sewing- reapplying lace along the hem. For some reason I just kept at it—went as far as I could that day. Then I went outside late afternoon to trim tree branches 🌳 with my ladder 🪜, which ended up collapsing and down I went. I had finished the dress, but I had not yet made the sleeves, or sewn in the bustle. God was so kind that the dress was finished. I contacted my youngest daughter (Augusta Nofsinger - joyful creations) and told her I needed help to finish this dress. She came over and put the bustle in. 🫶🏻☺️ She also helped me begin the sleeves, the tube part, which is delicate sewing, putting in a narrow French seam and sewing in the elastic. THEN as I sat, post wrist surgery, just staring at the sleeves trying to think HOW I was ever going to finish them with 1 hand— I was about to contact the bride and tell her that I didn’t think I was going to be able to make them when, that Wednesday night at church, a young gal ( Elsie Reliford) said to me, “Mrs. P, I have time tomorrow afternoon and I’d like to come over and help you with whatever you need.” I gasped and in wonder at the Lord’s goodness said, “You could be my arms!” And she was. She put the tulle sleeves on which enabled me to see them symmetrically and she cut pieces of lace as instructed (I cannot operate a scissors) and I pinned them on which was the most tremendous help, and so enjoyable to do together. (See the pic of her standing behind the dress.) And then final fitting day came and 1 more thing needed to be sewn. My oldest daughter was in town caring for me and although she does not sew, she sewed in 2 snaps along the cuff of the sleeves. She did it! Last pic is the bride, Kendal and myself. Thank you, Lord, for helping me finish well and do a good job with the help You sent! And thanks to the kind understanding shown to me by the handful of brides I had to cancel. EVERY ONE was gracious and understanding.

07/06/2026

Here is my Spanish teacher ‘petite’ bride. Bonita!
In pic #2 you can see the dress in the salon. Altering needed to be done in the heavily beaded bodice, as well as shortening the dress quite a bit. The sleeves that came with the dress were not the bride’s vision. She wanted unattached long sleeves which were custom made for her. One of the benefits of being shorter in stature is that we had plenty of extra lace to make the sleeves and also custom decorate a pair of white Vans for the after party. It was a pure pleasure working with you Brianna!

06/30/2026

Introducing the mother of the “bubbly bride.” I don’t have an image of the first fitting with this dress. I took it up at the shoulders and in at the sides a bit. The neckline was way too high for her torso, so i lowered it a bit to soften and look more natural. The dress came with a big bow. I can’t remember where the bow was originally intended to be, but the MOB didn’t like it. She had bought many bling embellishments and we played around with them and the final pics are what we ended up with and what spoke to her. We made the bow bigger and asymmetrical having a longer loop hanging down in front, added a bling belt- a bling motif on the hip as well as a bling knot on the bow.
I LOVE 💕 customizing dresses to a woman’s individual bodies, style and preferences. And this gal loved her sparkle ✨

06/29/2026

This is my “bubbly bride!” She was so incredibly fun. While she was changing into her dress at each fitting, she would “squeal” with delight. I could hear her as I was awaiting her entrance into my sewing room. That made me smile from ear to ear.
The first pic is her in the bridal salon. We made a couple of small design changes along with basic alterations. She wanted a bit more of a dip to make the neckline closer to a modified sweetheart neckline. We added some pleated chiffon draping over the shoulders to make the dress fit the church’s guidelines. We also reduced the sharp edges where the sleeves attached to compliment the softer look. In pic #4 you can see the detached lace during the alteration process.
I usually fail to take “in process” pic, so I am glad I have a few on this dress to better show the transformation.

06/08/2026

I’m currently out of commission for alterations. Broke my wrist, surgery next Monday.
* It was not a sewing accident. Haha

06/07/2026

This beautiful bride was married yesterday. What a joy to help her and hear her story. Congratulations Catherine! ( the last picture was PRE alterations)

05/30/2026

This beautiful bride was married last weekend. I usually forget to take “in-process” pics but I happen to have one so you can see at least part of the process of what’s involved in alterations. In the pic at the bridal store you can see that the bodice is sheer. The bride wanted the dress lined and the sleeves altered a bit. I lined the dress with a “sweetheart” shaped lining adding a softness and making this lining look like the dress came that way.
She is glowing isn’t she!

05/19/2026

Finally posting a few of the prom dresses that I altered this season

12/14/2025

I DID end up with one more wedding dress before Christmas! What a delight to help with this winter bride. Isn’t she just glowing!

12/09/2025