Tuesday, October 9, 2012

I Cut Up My Bridesmaid Dress



      ***This is a project I did over 2 years ago BTB (before the blog). The pictures are bad and were not at all intended for blog world. I'm sorry I don't have more pictures of the steps to make this into a better tutorial. It's very special to me, though, so I wanted to share it with you all. Please feel free to ask any questions if you would like to make your own. I'd be happy to help in any way I can! ***


                First, let me introduce you to one of my favorite couples, Heather and Jason.
                         (Isn't she one of the most beautiful brides you've ever seen?!)

 I sat beside Heather on the first day of beauty school and talked her ear off. She wondered if I would ever shut up.  LOL  What?!  I had first day jitters! We became housemates (with our other good friend, Jenn) and the three of us had fantastic adventures going to Dunkin Donuts at 1 in the morning and watching Newlyweds on MTV (remember Nick and Jessica?   wow, how long ago was that?!)

Heather was a bridesmaid when I got married in 2007 and I was a bridesmaid in her wedding in 2009.


A few months down the road Heather and Jason found out they were expecting a baby girl. As soon as I got off the phone with her, inspiration struck me.

You see, I was just starting to get into sewing and at that time had just finished making a quilt for my oldest daughter, and one for my mom. I was a quilting maniac.

                                                 So I did something ballsy.......
                      


                                        I cut up my bridesmaid dress from her wedding.
 
                                               
My idea was to use the fabric from my dress as blocks in a quilt for their baby girl.

I had never done anything like that and was seriously sweating it. I felt like I had Tim Gunn over my shoulder saying "Make it work, Angela".

No one wants to let Tim Gunn down.

I purchased a few other fabrics in soft, baby, flannel then cut them in squares.


I sewed them together in rows, then attached the rows together. 
    
After adding batting in the middle, and a big piece of baby flannel for the backing, I quilt a simple grid pattern on it, then added binding.

To add a touch of sweetness, I free-motioned hearts on some random squares.

                                      
I gave Heather the quilt at her baby shower. I was nervous she wouldn't recognize the squares from the dress, so in her card, I enclosed the pictures you see above. (She later told me she was confused by the cut up dress picture and momentarily panicked and thought I was "friend-breaking-up" with her!   

Then she saw the quilt and absolutely loved it.

Can you believe I missed watching her open it because I was in the bathroom?! I was 8 months pregnant with my second at her shower, so I was peeing every 15 minutes or so.       TMI?

                                     
The quilt is far from perfect, but it's made with lots of love.

I LOVE  that her daughter, Layla (now 2!), will always have a piece of her mommy and daddy's special day.

                          Thanks for stopping by, I hope you come back and visit soon!
                                                               <3
This project has been added to the linky party over at
and
 
                        
One Artsy Mama
and
Miss Information
 

27 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness this brought tears to my eyes it is sooo sweet! Such a brilliant idea and so unique. Thanks for linking up with the Tuesday Baby Link Up!

Kim Bird said...

Okay, this is the cutest idea anyone has ever though of! It is so thoughtful and a great keepsake. Amazing. Maybe I should hang on to my bridesmaid dresses!
Great post

Anonymous said...

what a wonderful project! I really like the idea of using the dress for her daughter blanket! that is really lovely!

Unknown said...

What a great idea! I remember when you talked about making this. It's really so creative and makes a wonderful gift!

Mindy Harris said...

i LOVE that idea!
found u through the naptime review mom's monday mingle and now follow!

Charise @ I Thought I Knew Mama said...

What a fun idea! So creative.

Thanks for linking up at The Tuesday Baby Link Up! Hope to see you there again next week!

Thaleia {Something2Offer} said...

Super cute idea! That pink is so pretty.

Jennifer Hoffman said...

Best baby shower gift ever! Love it!

Thanks for participating in the Tuesday Baby Link up!

Lindsay said...

WOW! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea!!! Hmmm.... I might have to do this for my friends who are expecting!

Terra Heck said...

That's a very special and unique gift idea.

Rosalie said...

This is so neat! My daughter was recently in a friend's wedding and she pinned this on Pinterest for me to see. I just have one question. Was the fabric from the dress kind of slinky or silky? If so, did you have to do anything special with it to give it some stability, or did it work fine just as it was? Thanks!

CoffeeandCream said...

Rosalie, The dress wasn't too silky, but since I backed it with baby flannel it ended up having enough stability :-) If you make one, please send me a picture or post it too my facebook page. I would LOVE to see it :-)

Rosalie said...

Thanks for the info. I'd have to take a closer look at the dress to see if the fabric will work. The bride isn't even expecting.......yet. So when the time comes, if it all works out, I'll be sure and post a picture. It would make my daughter so happy to use the dress that she will never wear again in such a creative way! Thanks for the great idea!

CZYK Publishing said...

What a great idea! I can't wait to use it!

Believe in the impossible said...

I have tons of bridesmaid dresses now I have a practical use for them

Suzy B said...

AWESOME. That is all. ;)

mb said...

Wow! Thank you so much posting this. My best friend is pregnant with her first and I was also a brides maid. The dress is shorter and shiner but I am going to attempt this. Thanks again for posting this!!!

JoyHeath said...

Thank you so much for this idea! I was the maid of honor when my best friend got married and I can't want to do this (with lots of help) for her and her husband when they have a baby! This is the sweetest idea ever!

Brenda said...

Just a bridesmaid dress? Gave me an idea for my mother of the bride dress. My daughter will love it.

sarap8 said...

I am interested in making this for a friend. Was the dress you used Chiffon?

LisaW said...

Such a beautiful and thoughtful gift! Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

What a great idea! I love to quilt and have made many "memory" quilts when a loved one passes away. My father in law just went to heaven on New Years Eve and I am planning on making all the grandkids quilts out of his flannel shirts. But now I will have to try this idea too. I have a jade green dress from my sisters wedding and a purple one from my friends wedding. Neither is expecting YET but I know they plan to be soon. Plus the bridesmaids dresses are their favorite colors and thats why they picked them in the first place! Inspiring. Thank you so much.

Anonymous said...

Awesome!! The dress looks like you could turn it into a coctail short style :) then donate to a organization for helping girls with prom dresses like my friend has started in Ohio :)

Anonymous said...

ah love this idea! But my mom made my bridsmades dress, and I couldn't bear cutting that up! I'm sure there's some scraps leftover though that would work! :)

Anonymous said...

Could you please tell me your finished size and square size? I'm considering being ballsy myself. Unfortunately I've never made a quilt before. Thanks for the amazing idea. I love sentimental things and this is the best I've ever seen.

Rachael said...

So sweet! What an awesome idea and you are a terrific friend!

Carolzonie said...

what a wonderful idea!!!! love love love it! I would think some fusible interfacing would help stabilize it (i make tee shirt quilts) and find it easier to cut the squares when there's stabilizer, just a thought...what a precious memory quilt though!

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