Gonna Fall In Love With Fabrics and Laces?

Fabrics dictate the flow and style of you wedding dress. Falling in love with a great piece of fabric and making it up in a pattern or design you adore can be disappointing, unless careful thought has gone into the decision of choosing the fabric for the style of gown.

When choosing the fabric for your bridal gown, you can indulge in the luxury and opulence of pure silk or go for the more reasonably priced synthetic versions.

For more fluid or flowing styles, softer or lighter weight fabrics are generally more suitable. Fabrics such as - chiffon, georgette, crepe, charmeuse or silk faille can give a delicate and feminine effect. If the look is more traditional or constructed it may be more appropriate to go for a sturdier weave or a heavier weight fabric, such as - duchess satin, silk duponi or shantung, taffeta, organza or brocade.

The most popular fabrics for dresses are listed below.

Charmeuse: an opaque, lightweight, soft satin that clings to the wearer and is less shiny than regular satin.

Brocade: a patterned fabric (jacquard) with a raised woven design giving an embossed effect to the fabric.

Chiffon: a delicate, transparent fabric with a very soft, feminine finish. This fluid fabric moves with the wearer and drapes well. Perfect as your veil or used in layers over other opaque fabrics. Silk chiffon is the luxury choice, for a more affordable option use the polyester chiffon.

Crepe Back Satin: a light to mid weight fabric with a smooth satin on one side and a crepe weave backing on the other. Ideal for brides seeking a dress with a satin shine.

Crepe: a flowing, sheer fabric with a pebbled texture.

Crepe de Chine: like the crepe back satin, but of a lighter weight and is softer to touch. The fabric has a higher luster than a crepe back satin wedding dress.

Duchesse satin: a blend of silk and rayon that is lighter and less expensive than silk satin. Resists wrinkles well.

Georgette: a sheer, lightweight fabric with a crepe surface.

Organza: flowing yet crisper than chiffon, this fabric is sheer and often used for multitiered skirts.

Silk Mikado: a lusterous, fine woven silk fabric that is heavier than regular silk.

Silk Duponi: a textured fabric is similar to shantung, although the woven nubbly texture is heavier and thicker than that of shantung. This is a beautiful fabric used commonly in wedding gowns.

Satin: a heavier, opaque fabric that is glossy on the front side and dull on the underside.

Shantung: woven to simulate the imperfections found in raw silk. This medium to heavy weight fabric has a homespun, nubbly texture and is lighter in weight than the doupioni. A stunning fabric often used in wedding dresses.

Silk: this fiber, made from the cocoon of silkworms, is luxurious, resilient, and strong.

Taffeta: a wonderfully crisp, smooth fabric that whispers as you move - is shot with a matte and slightly shiny finish. Best suited to fuller skirts with net petticoats.

Tulle: also known as Illusion and is similar to organza however stiffer and coarser. Commonly used in veils and eye catching when layered to form the skirt of a wedding dress. This fabric tears easily so best behaviour please until at least after the cake has been cut.

Velvet: a very soft, luxurious heavy fabric - very elegant and wears well with crepes, satins, furs or shantungs - suitable for winter wedding dresses. A wonderful fabric to use in bridal muffs, shrugs, wraps or as a trim on capes.

Laces

Alencon Lace (uh-lon-sahn): a fine French needlepoint lace of flowers and swirls on a sheer net background. The motifs are outlined with a heavier silky cord creating a raised edge. The true french alencon lace has what is know as a beard - a fringe of threads along the edges of the scallops. Less expensive copies don't have the fringe.

Battenberg Lace: a style of renaissance lace on a satin background, usually trimmed with beads, sequins or linen tape to form a clean scalloped edge.

Chantilly Lace: a delicate pattern of scrolls and floral designs on a fine mesh background outlined in a heavy silk thread. This silk is soft to touch.

Guipure Lace: one of the most elegant of all the laces. A heavy, raised lace with an open background usually in large floral leaf patterns. The heavy stitching is embroidered onto paper (aetx cloth) that is dissolved leaving the motifs to stand alone. Also known as Venise lace in the US. Guipure is a versatile popular choice amongst brides. It can be pieced to create a bodice or used in the train.