08/10/2026
Meet Sophie and Jess.
I met them at Seattle Wedding Show .
Sophie was having no luck finding a dress, and really connected with my sustainable redesign services. She resonated with the concepts of sourcing a dress second-hand and making it her own. I directed Sophie towards Brides for a Cause and what she should look for in a good dress to redesign: find a dress with the silhouette or style that suits you, fabric/textile that you like, and make sure it has a train, for extra fabric to re-use!
In our first fitting, a few things were clear-
The bust needed reshaping, and the dress overall was too big, which are great problems to have when re-making! We also determined the grey mesh underlay meant to pop the unique lace design was actually making the gown appear dingy. So we got rid of it.
I went to work separating the bodice from the skirt, removing the grey mesh, redrafting a new bodice pattern, cutting off the train to determine the piecing of the new pattern pieces - and wouldn’t you know it. The pattern pieces aligned perfectly within the cut-off train shape of the lace! It was a synchronous sewing situation, my happy place where the creative magic happens and the new design really starts to gel.
Jess’s dress was easy-peasy, as this Amazonian queen found her dress at one of my fave’s, PRETTY PARLOR and it only needed hemming.
The gals needed these dresses to dance the night away, so hems were important to get just right.
The final fitting we went all out!
Liz set us up with bottle service and snacks from W**e Shop Vashon , a guest was invited and we did the final tweaking to Sophia’s dress, deciding on a corset-style back closure.
Ok, so this is where I really geek out and can’t help myself, but I ended up using the trim of Jess’s hem to construct the lacing of Sophie’s dress, because “Jess always has Sophie’s back”.
And then I made a garter for Sophie to give Jess that was made from the lace cuttings of Sophie’s dress. I know, I’m cheesy and I can’t help it!
A Love like their’s makes you do funny things.
I really REALLY enjoyed these women,
And I am so grateful they traveled from Seattle for these incredible fittings at my Sew Studio.