Advice on making a crystal sash for my wedding dress!

[minmin001]

I know I should post this on Bride World Wide but I figured I will get more traffic here.
Recently, I was invite to this girls craft night which basically four of us meet once a week and chat etc while doing some craft of our own. (making photo album, knitting etc.) I decide to take on the project of make a crystal sash for my wedding dress since it's very plain and the sash can be really expensive to buy.
I've never really crafted anything before, knowing we have many talented PSer here any advice will be wonderful!!
Thank you!!!

 

[pregcurious]

What type of crystals are you thinking about? I've done everything from making dresses to upholstering as a hobby.

 

[minmin001]

What type of crystals are you thinking about? I've done everything from making dresses to upholstering as a hobby.

I'm thinking about making something like this with ivory sash

 

[pregcurious]

The sash part is very easy to make if you have a sewing machine. Make sure the fabric has the heft and finish you want, and can withstand heat if you need to iron the sash for any reason at high heat. With the project like this, my biggest concern would be making sure that the sash lays flat. You can put in a width of flexible nylon webbing (only in the front of your waist behind the crystals) inside the sash after the crystals are applied; the webbing is used inside fabric belts to keep them stiff. You can also use iron-on interfacing. Just make sure the heat needed to iron on the interfacing is compatible with your fabric and does not melt it or alter its finish.

For the crystals, I would recommend you try to find a crystal applique, and attach it my hand with a needle and thin clear thread (meant for lingerie). (That is probably how they made the sash you posted.) I really like the applique below (http://www.amazon.com/Rhinestone-Applique-Small-Crystal-Center/dp/B004SZ36XG/ref=sr_1_2?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1323444604&sr=1-2). You could buy two of them (each is only 16 cm wide) and apply them in a mirror image to each other. This would create a tapered pattern similar to what you posted, which would make your waist appear smaller. The picture below would be the "left" side.

An alternative is rhinestones using a system like this: http://www.amazon.com/Kandi-Rhinestone-Applicator-Crystals-Rhinestuds/dp/B001W2FG86
I have never tried this.

You can use a glue gun to apply anything to fabric, but you have to be really careful about the glue application because the glue will not come off cleanly if you make a mistake. I would experiment with this first on a sample of your sash fabric. You can also hand sew beads, but this is extremely labor intensive. If you decide to go either of these routes, write back and I will give you more instructions. I would buy a sash myself before going this route unless you really enjoy hand sewing.

 

[luv2sparkle]

I agree with pregcurious. I would sew the crystals on by hand. The most important thing will be your stabilizer inside the sash if it is a tube or on the back if it is not. Otherwise they will be pulling and want to fall forward. I would go to retail and examine closely how they are made and try to copy that.

 

[minmin001]

The sash part is very easy to make if you have a sewing machine. Make sure the fabric has the heft and finish you want, and can withstand heat if you need to iron the sash for any reason at high heat. With the project like this, my biggest concern would be making sure that the sash lays flat. You can put in a width of flexible nylon webbing (only in the front of your waist behind the crystals) inside the sash after the crystals are applied; the webbing is used inside fabric belts to keep them stiff. You can also use iron-on interfacing. Just make sure the heat needed to iron on the interfacing is compatible with your fabric and does not melt it or alter its finish.

For the crystals, I would recommend you try to find a crystal applique, and attach it my hand with a needle and thin clear thread (meant for lingerie). (That is probably how they made the sash you posted.) I really like the applique below (http://www.amazon.com/Rhinestone-Applique-Small-Crystal-Center/dp/B004SZ36XG/ref=sr_1_2?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1323444604&sr=1-2). You could buy two of them (each is only 16 cm wide) and apply them in a mirror image to each other. This would create a tapered pattern similar to what you posted, which would make your waist appear smaller. The picture below would be the "left" side.

An alternative is rhinestones using a system like this: http://www.amazon.com/Kandi-Rhinestone-Applicator-Crystals-Rhinestuds/dp/B001W2FG86
I have never tried this.

You can use a glue gun to apply anything to fabric, but you have to be really careful about the glue application because the glue will not come off cleanly if you make a mistake. I would experiment with this first on a sample of your sash fabric. You can also hand sew beads, but this is extremely labor intensive. If you decide to go either of these routes, write back and I will give you more instructions. I would buy a sash myself before going this route unless you really enjoy hand sewing.

Thank you so much for the input. I want to hand sew it since I will have a very long period of time to work on this so it's a long term project.