Old Wedding Dress
 

Today my DH and I were cleaning out our pole barn and came across my Mom's wedding dress. I remember moving it from their garage to our pole barn when my Dad passed about 5 years ago. My parents had put it in an old Navy trunk and it was in their garage for 35 years and we had it in our barn for 5. The dress was worn by my Mom in their wedding 68 years ago. It is a satin dress with beading at the botice. I would like to make something with the dress, but I'm not sure what. Does anyone in this fantastic group have any ideas for making a quilt out of it? What should I do to the dress before using it? i.e. cleaning it?

how about a nice pillow out of it. if you're giving to all relatives. I make 4" jointed bears. (I'll share pattern with you if you want. pm me) maybe dryclean b4 using. good luck and show us what you're doing.

I'm curious about what you could make too. It is kind of passe now, but a shadow memory box or album about your parents could include their wedding picture with a nice section of the fabric.

You could also do a wall hanging memory quilt along the same lines of a shadow memory box.

A display quilt for the wall or bed. Depending of the amount of fabric and condition, you could add other fabrics like chiffon, organza, laces, and even cotton. Make blocks like crazy patch, turning 20, fabric origami blocks, include beading, lace motifs, and decorative stitches using embroidery and crochet threads. If you google embellished crazy patchwork I'm sure you will find heaps. Much embellishment can be done by machine if you don't hand work. Good Luck

You could make an angel for the top of your Christmas tree from the satin and add some lace and beading to it from the dress. There would be more than enough fabric for more than one. Each sibling might like one.

Some years back there was a wonderful exhibit at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show of quilts made from wedding dresses. (The exhibit was inside the clock store at Sisters, not out in the open.) If you google "wedding dress quilts" and look at images you can get a lot of ideas, but I think it could be challenging to work with the satin fabric.

I will goggle wedding dress quilts. I agree, it may be challenging to work with satin. I am leaning towards teddy bears, which will still be a challenge! Thanks for the info.

I made a kingsized quilt with the train of a wedding dress appliqued down the middle of a cream very wide backing. I also made some flower vases and flowers out of some of the other parts of the dress that went on both sides and some across the top. Then I majorly quilted feathers, pearls, etc on the rest. I did use wool batting. But her train was already embellished (much more so that then top).

It was tough, but turned out beautifully. My sister uses it as a coverlet on her bed as decoration only.

I used to have a wedding dress business, and satin is challenging to work with, pins leave holes and it slides all over, it does embroider very well though both by machine and by hand. You could cut a panel and embroider parents wedding details either make a pillow/cushion/wall hanging or than add borders to make a quilt/coverlet.

Because of the age and storage conditions that the dress has endured, the fabric and thread may be pretty fragile. It won't be long that all will be 100 years old! First of all, I'd have it cleaned to see how well it survives. Making something that will have little actual use or handling would be my recommendation. Perhaps small pillows (as in ring bearer pillows?), Christmas stockings, make a smaller version to dress a display doll, etc? I especially liked the idea of an angel tree-topper. Maybe the dress needs to be put back into a box and taken out occasionally to be appreciated rather than cut into pieces. Depends on its condition at this point. There may be another family member who will want to wear Grandma's dress? A museum who can use it for a special display?