Rachel Lamb Bridal Design

It's good to be back at work and to get back into a routine again. This week I started work on a pattern for a wedding gown for one of my new brides. Often, to the outsider, the making of the patterns can be forgotten in this process, but after taking measurements, it's the first thing that happens! Initial draft to measurements I enjoy making patterns, it feels quite old-fashioned (and probably is) in this day and age, to be drafting a pattern using paper and pencil. But that is what I do for each and every person I make something for. Whether that be a simple shift dress or an elaborate bridal gown. Adding shaping and style lines This goes some way towards what I term 'Bespoke'. 'Couture' also comes into it, but I shy away from that word because I think it is often misused within the bridal industry. (Things are called Couture when they are anything but...) In my opinion, it is having something designed and made for you, however simple, t...

As the title says, Emily sample dress is now finished. It's actually a two piece outfit - the lace top can be removed and the belt worn with the strapless dress underneath. I was all set to continue photographing the under-dress when the battery went on my camera, so those pics will have to wait for a bit. I decided to lightly bead the neckline of the strapless dress underneath - last week I wasn't sure. I hope you can just about see the beading on the dress through the lace. The dress is made from ivory silk Dupion, which is a pure silk and reasonably crisp, but it could be made in a variety of fabrics for a shinier, smoother or floppier look if you prefer. A different shade to the under-dress could perhaps also work with the ivory lace too. This dress is for my Collection. Which means it's there for you to try on and order as a made to measure design or to use as a starting point for a Bespoke design of your own. As with all my designs, you can ...

  It's been a busy few months of adaptation work wise. I'm someone who has always felt comfortable with entire open days of practical work time that enable me to really get my teeth into finishing something big reasonably quickly. With family around - school days and holidays, this isn't really feasible these days, so I've been practicing working within the time I actually have available. Sounds obvious doesn't it? But it's something that up until recently, didn't come easy to me. I really do have to practice it! However, recently my brain has started to slot things into place - prioritise - and it's becoming easier. What has happened is that shorter periods of time have enabled me to get on with some of the smaller projects I always have on the go and never finish, such as the headbands above. They are work in progress. These have been on the cards for a while as alternatives to headdresses or tiaras. I will find someone with a beautiful head...

Remember this dress I showed a picture of at the toile stage? Well it's slowly progressing! Above was the toile (prototype) made from calico. Yes, I pinned all those pieces on something that it's then necessary to take apart again. Below is a picture of the real silk dress in progress. Today I started beading those squares onto the main body of the dress. Phew! I really enjoy this sort of day, working on something where I'm sitting still and doing a repetitive task like this can be very relaxing and leaves my mind free to wander. But I think the idea of doing this sort of work does weird things to my brain: First thing in the morning, I optimistically think such things as 'Yes, I'm sure I'll have half the dress done by sunset'. The sun is not yet set, but it is fading, and I'm about 1ft up from the hem at the back... and I'm not hanging about! It's important that I get the timings right, as this is a sample dress and needs to be...

  Really excited about this dress. It's currently being made as a new collection dress and I can't wait to show you when it's finished.

I recently made myself an A-line skirt. I made it using pink corduroy that I found in John Lewis fabric department. When I was in the shop it looked more red than it actually is, at home and in daylight I find it's a fairly dazzling pink! But that's OK. I'm often asked if I make my own clothes and I wish I could say 'Why yes, all of them!' but sadly, lack of (non wedding dress making, relaxing) time is the issue. I drafted the pattern myself and made it using the simplest methods I could, as speed is of the essence for me when making anything for myself, otherwise it runs the risk of being consigned to 'a cupboard' and forgotten, not unlike my knitting ;) I'm 5' nothing, so I often find getting skirts and trousers a trial because: a) I don't want to take them up. b) There is often a decorative trim at the hem that, although lovely, I would have to either cut off or unpick somehow and move, and that's not likely to happen. c) T...

Earlier in the year there was a large, bright orange thing in the sky, I think it was called 'sun' and we felt lovely and warm when those rare things called 'rays' came out of the 'sun' and touched our skin? These pictures prove that at some point this year the sun did shine in my work studio, enough for me to take some pictures there without the fetching orange glow of the overhead lightbulb. Before I go on though, re my last post - thanks for all your kind messages of all types, they were so thoughtful and supportive. I was concerned a bit about posting about the situation, but now I'm glad I did, and if you have been trying to make contact, I hope it helped explain my absence. This dress was made for Jo back in the early part of the year. You may recall seeing a snap of this in a work in progress post a while ago - I couldn't resist showing a peek of it then. It was for a small and intimate ceremony. No fuss. I love...

On the practical side, this week has been spent: pattern cutting, altering toiles, layering and sewing lace dress pieces and removing the beads from the seam allowances, snapping needles on the beads in the seam allowances that escaped removal, admiring the motifs. All while listening to (and occasionally getting slightly irritated by) Stephen Fry , but I think he'd understand.

I'm not altogether sure what that phrase really means, but I think it means that if you are a bus driver, you don't get much of a holiday because you'll be driving people (and yourself) around, while on said holiday...? I often get asked if I make my own clothes, and usually disappoint by wistfully shaking my head and saying no. I just don't seem to have the time, and as I make more complicated outfits for a living, the idea of making my own clothes seems like less of a hobby and more like more work. Like a 'bus-woman's holiday'! But still, I do plan the clothes I'd like to make for myself (a personal capsule collection appears each year in my sketchbook) but invariably doesn't get made. This is daft really, because one of my major gripes and one of the reasons why made to measure and bespoke clothes appeal so much to me, is that I can't find clothes to fit! Or, clothes that I want to wear - where is a simple garment when you need one?? Any...