Alterations and beading?

Jenny5150 Posted: Jul 14, 2003 10:33 PM

Alterations and beading?

Has anybody had any serious alterations with heavy beading/detail? How did it come out?

I just tried on my gown and it needs to be shortend by 2 inches. The whole gown is heavily bead, so I'm a bit concerned about how it will turn out.

Olgaki Posted: Jul 14, 2003 10:37 PM

Re: Alterations and beading?

Jenny - I was about to order the extra length on my gown and they warned me - beading at the bottom is not done easily. Luckily, when I tried it on with a 1 inch heel it just scraped the bottom perfectly. They told me that they COULDN'T shorten it. What did the store say when you ordered it?

Jenny5150 Posted: Jul 14, 2003 10:44 PM

Re: Alterations and beading?

They didn't expect me to need any shortening. I'm 6'1' and intended to wear at least a 2' inch heel. I tried it on with my 2 3/4' heels and it's definitely too long. I didn't speak to a seamstress. The girl who helped me was very young (aka no clue) and informed that she doesn't know how they do it, but it's done.

I start alterations on the 23rd. I'm praying they can do something about it w/o loosing all the detail.

Here's a pic of the bottom of my gown so you can get an idea of the bead work:

Ok...I'm officialy freaking!!!

Jenny5150 Posted: Jul 14, 2003 11:06 PM

Re: Alterations and beading?

nobody had alterations and beadwork?

I'm screwed!

Olgaki Posted: Jul 14, 2003 11:09 PM

Re: Alterations and beading?

If you don't feel the store can do a good job - I have heard of girls having some amazing alterations with other fancy dresses (not wedding gowns). You might want to look around for expert seamstresses.

daisybride Posted: Jul 14, 2003 11:10 PM

Re: Alterations and beading?

Wendy Posted: Jul 14, 2003 11:59 PM

Re: Alterations and beading?

You have FM

Sunny Posted: Jul 15, 2003 12:08 AM

Re: Alterations and beading?

Maybe they can take it up at the waist?

EvenEdan Posted: Jul 15, 2003 12:18 AM

Re: Alterations and beading?

If they measured you incorrectly and it is way too long and alterations will jeopardize the look of the dress they need to get you another dress! This is their mistake. V&S had a dress that was all lace and beadwork on the bottom and her bridal salon told her the height measurement had to be be exact because the dress cannot be hemmed. Don't panic, if the store cannot alter it, they must get you an appropriate size, end of story!

TheAugustweddi Posted: Jul 15, 2003 12:25 AM

Re: Alterations and beading?

Your gown hem is only taken up in the front of the
dress the back and sides are not touched. I am not sure from the pic it looks like there is a lace trim is on the bottom front , if that is the case, then it can be hemmed.
If not then you should have had a hollow to hem measurement(which means your lenght should have been measured at the time of purchasing the gown with the correct heel)
Good luck-hope it works out

yabbobay Posted: Jul 15, 2003 12:59 AM

Re: Alterations and beading?

sometimes they can take it up from the waist...but if you have vertical panals...I don't think they can

so I think they need to take off the beading and reapply it after the hem is done...

Niecey Posted: Jul 15, 2003 08:32 AM

Re: Alterations and beading?

Can you contact the mfg? Whenever I had a lot of questions or concerns of similar nature I would email the mfg and they were wonderful (it would just take a day because they were in Australia).

I wish I could help. My dress was very detailed but the dress fit almost perfectly. The length was exact and I only needed slight alterations at the boobs.

NatalieS Posted: Jul 15, 2003 01:45 PM

Re: Alterations and beading?

Hey Jenny,

This was just a thought.... could you wear a higher heel? How tall is your fiance? If he is still a few inches taller than you, you might get away with wearing higher heels. Since your 6'1 I would never had thought the dress would be too long either. I think you should also contact the manufacturer. It seems the dress was made long so it can be altered otherwise what would all us short girls do!?!

Jenny5150 Posted: Jul 15, 2003 03:20 PM

Re: Alterations and beading?

To answer some of your questions:
TheAugustweddi - They did a hollow to hem measurement, but for whatever reason, it's off by 2 inches. They initially wrote 65', but then wrote a 7 over the 5 for a 67'. In hindsight, I should have measured myself just to make sure!

yabbobay - it's all vertical panels.

Niecey - Stephen Yearick doesn't have a website or email address. I found a phone number, but I don't know how they'll feel about a customer calling. Many times they will only deal with the bridal salon.

NatalieS - my FH is 5'10' and I'm already wearing close to a 3' heel. I think a 4' heel or higher is pushing it. I'm already the tallest one in the whole bridal party. Besides, I wear a size 12, so shoes can be impossible to find. The dress is made-to-measure, so it's based on the measurements they gave them...which just so happen to be 2 inches off on the length.

I called the salon today to explain to them my fears and to see if I should make an earlier appointment with a seamstress. The chick on the phone claims they do this kind of work all the time, that they have a fulltime staff qualified for this kind of work and that I have plenty of time (I told them my wedding is 9/6).

My mom sews a lot and says it can be done.

My FH insists they must know how to alter the gown and that he's sure they have come upon this problem before. He thinks I'm getting worked up over nothing.

There's not much more I can do until my appointment next week, so I guess I'll have to get it out of my mind.

Niecey Posted: Jul 15, 2003 03:25 PM

Re: Alterations and beading?

I am sure you will be fine! Your DH and family are probably correct. If it would make you feel better call the mfg. My mfg has a very limited website but had an email address and they were so pleasant and made me feel like they were happy to hear from me. They even made me send them pictures after the wedding. My SIL just bought a couture dress and she also called the mfg about a customization and they were also wonderful to her. Just explain you are trying to calm your fears..Your dress is very pretty by the way!!!! All the best to you!

Olgaki Posted: Jul 15, 2003 04:40 PM

Re: Alterations and beading?

Let us know how it goes - I have these worries because I have beadings too!

AtticaQT Posted: Jul 15, 2003 05:05 PM

Re: Alterations and beading?

My mom is a fashion designer and has done stuff like that before.....It can definitely be done, it may be more difficult and time consuming for the seamstress but it can be done. Dont worry yourself about it until your appointment. If they say they can do it I am sure they can. I hope everything works out ok! Let us know!

Editted to say: BTW - from the picture - the beadwork is gorgeous! Where did you get the dress from?

Kel Posted: Jul 15, 2003 07:14 PM

Re: Alterations and beading?

The dress does look gorgeous. I had a lot of bead work along the bottom of my dress .. and for whatever reason, they decided to raise the front of the hem after initially saying it was fine!

Anyway .. try not to stress about it. Have you spoken to a manager, just so you're dealing with an experienced person, who can hopefully set your mind at ease??

My advice, though .. make sure whatever alterations are done, wherever you suspect they will be working with the beading, make sure you check the beading. This is not to worry you .. this is just something to be aware of. When I picked up my dress .. I wasn't satisfied with the beading .. so the shop fixed it.

Jenny5150 Posted: Jul 15, 2003 09:01 PM

Re: Alterations and beading?

I called the salon and spoke with a seamstress. I explained my concern and she told me it could be done and not to worry...that I would not lose any of my detail. She's going to try and arrange to be my seamstress for my appointment next week.

We'll see how it goes. I'm trying to keep things in perspective...there's more things to life than a wedding gown dilemma.

AtticaQT: The gown is by Stephen Yearick. I stumbled upon it at Bridal Couture, but ended up purchasing it from Bridal Reflections.

Kel: Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely do a full inspection before I walk out with it!!!!