an afternoon with my bride

To keep everybody in the loop, my name is Dona Lynn and I design and construct special occasion wear for babies and brides. I started blogging to document the process of the projects I am working on from their vision to their completion!

A few days ago I spent a lovely afternoon with Kathleen, my latest bride. Our first appointment was a shopping trip, trying on many beautiful gowns, (she looked gorgeous in every one of them!) inspiring us with design details, silhouettes and fabrics. While she waited patiently, I sketched and created samples of designs for her to choose from.

So the day finally arrived to present Kathleen with my ideas.....

I narrowed down the silhouette to a fit and flare. Below are two sketches, both have high necklines with a sporty racer back made of Venice lace. The bodice is fitted to below the hip and covered in a montage of laces (this will be an artistic blend of embroidered organza, Venice and scheffilli laces). The skirts are a choice of layered peplums or a more traditional A line skirt gathered into the bodice.
And here are the sketches.....

 

 

A problem I try to solve is the understanding of how different fabrics create totally different looks to a design. What I like to do is create samples of the sketches in  various fabrics to give my brides a better visual of how her gown could look based on materials she chooses. Below are some pics of theses samples...

 

 

sketch #1with dupioni satin as the skirt

 

sketch #1 using organza.....

 

sketch #2 with a tulle skirt.

 

sketch #2 with a skirt of scheffilli lace on net....

 

As you can see, the textiles are like the Ying to the design's Yang! Decisions, decisions......

 

After much thought and contemplation, Kathleen finalized the design of her wedding gown, (along with the guidance and support of her loving mother). So without any further adue...........................

 

The winning design is.........................

 

Sketch #1; a beautiful fit and flare of elegant laces topping off layers of  flowy  peplums made of light and airy organza.

 

 

we are considering a train of lace gathered into an organza bow.

 

 

I am so excited to dive into this project. Kathleen and I are sharing a vision of how she wants to look on her special day. Keep checking my posts for updates on our progress.

To see some of my completed gowns please visit my website donalynndesigns.com

Thanks for reading! Be creative, be confident and be kind!

 

 

 

 

babies,babies,babies

Well spring has sprung! And the new babies are getting Christened  this may be the first time ever that I have had three outfits to make at once (plus a wedding gown!). Baby#1will be baptized at the Easter vigil, very exciting! Baby #2, my precious Grand Nephew  has his big day scheduled for April 27, he is such a blessing! And baby #3 won't be until June, lot's of time there! Baby #3 is my first Christening gown project that found me through my website donalynndesigns.com super excited about that! More about baby #3 project to come, stay tuned, it is going to be something worth blogging about!

So as I wait on confirmation of my design options for my bride, I am making Christening outfits. The outfit for baby #1has been chosen. It will be a long traditional gown of Swiss Batiste in a natural color. Making the gown a first generation heirloom, it will have pieces of the mom's wedding gown incorporated into the design.

Sketches for design options...

 

 

 

Sorry the pics are hard to see, hopefully you can make out the concepts.

 

To end your suspense....

The gown design chosen is sketch #2 for baby #1!

 

Design chosen................check

Fabric ordered.................check

 

All's left to do is sew!

 

For more info about Dona Lynn designs or to see pics of completed projects, please visit me at donalynndesigns.com