Dress the Bride Competition – Jean Ridgley’s Entry

Maid to be a beautiful bride – a real Cinderella story!

Jean Ridgley from Lincolnshire took her inspiration for the dress her daughter wore to her own wedding 14 years ago and we think the result is stunning!

I did not have a suitable doll on which to put my wedding dress so I used my maid doll, Clara (I will have to get a replacement next time I visit The Dolls House Emporium shop in Ripley!) which I stripped down to be able to start from scratch – as you will see from the photos!

To make the dress, I used spare satin material from my granddaughters christening gown, which I made ten years ago, together with some embellished net.  I cut the pattern out of paper before cutting the material, which I then sewed together and fitted to the doll to make the base of my dress.  I added a train, which I trimmed with net and flowers.

I used small pearl beads as buttons, her necklace, headdress and ear rings.  The ring was made out of a stone from an old necklace.  I attached a ribbon to the lucky horseshoe and hung it on my bride’s hand, and made the bouquet from bits and bobs from my scrap box.

You can not see it in these pictures, but she also has on her fancy underwear and a lucky blue garter!

I really enjoyed making this dress and I spent no money at all as I just used items from my very big (and ever growing!) scrap box.  However, I now have to make two more brides for my granddaughters who want a doll like their grandmas!