These days, I am not so fond of my upper arms and so decided to add a stole to accessorise my wedding dress. Please see my previous blog Sewing My Own Wedding dress. Here is how I made my own wedding stole.
Thankfully I already had Vogue 7161 in my pattern stash.
I was intending to make “view B”, but decided (on the advice of a good friend) that it would cover too much of the front of the dress and intended feature belt. In the end, I opted to make “view A”, as it did not overwhelm the dress and would make it so much easier to carry a bouquet. I also felt that the understated design complemented the dress perfectly.
THE FABRIC
I purchasing a completely plain heavy ivory satin that was said to be made by or for Dolce & Gabbana. I can only assume that it was end-of-line or surplus to requirements, since it was just £6.50 /$8 per metre. It has a wonderful drape and luxurious feel.
Ironically for such a simple pattern, I found this stole challenging to make!
The shawl is actually a decreasing curve, and for some reason each panel is made up of two sections, asymmetrically joined. I can only think that this is designed to save on fabric quantities.
HOW I MADE MY WEDDING STOLE
I found the stole frustratingly difficult to make!
The pattern instructions called for the stole to be interfaced. The interfacing that I was able to purchase locally would not bond with the fabric evenly, and so I had to discard this suggestion. In the end, I chose instead to use a netting to give body and support to the stole.
The seams caused the fabric to constantly move. This made it difficult to line-up the front and back sections when it came to bag lining the stole. If I ever make this stole again, I would definitely join the pattern pieces together, and cut out the fabric as one continuous piece.
I opted-out of the button hole. The place that it was positioned, for me, did not allow for the stole to sit correctly. I chose instead to use a large press-stud fixing, that would allow me greater flexibility in draping the stole.
Finally I placed a decorative button over the area where the stud was positioned, giving the effect of a broach.
CONCLUSION
This is an elegant and understated stole.
Its only downfall is the fabric join on each face. Unfortunately the join sits centrally on the back of the stole and so for me ruins the back view. I obviously stood with my back to guests throughout my wedding ceremony and so the join was fully on view. This was far from ideal and to me is a design fault.
If this stole is going to be for a special occasion, then I suggest that you go the extra mile. I highly recommend that you cut the fabric panels as one piece (or at least for the outer panel) and keep the back view unbroken. It will certainly make the shawl easier to make and give a far better finish.
Happy sewing.
Michele x
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