Plus Size Satin Bridal Gown with Leg Slit

This gown is cut in sizes 18 to 24 and nothing else, which means it was drafted at this size rather than graded up from a sample cut for a size 4. The Plus Size Satin Bridal Gown with Leg Slit therefore puts its seams where they belong on the body it was made for, and that is a structural difference rather than a marketing one.

Drafted Here, Not Graded Up

Grading takes one pattern and scales it. It works reasonably at one or two sizes of distance and progressively less well after that, because a body does not simply get larger in every direction at the same rate.

A run that starts at 18 has no small sample behind it. The waist seam, the bust shaping and the point the skirt releases from were all placed for this range, which is why a gown like this sits differently from a straight-size design offered in an extended fit.

The Cummerbund Band Does the Shaping

Bodice and skirt are gathered into a smooth band at the waist, wide enough to read as a cummerbund. That band is doing the work a corset would do on another gown, and it does it without boning.

Gathering into a band has a second effect worth knowing. It sets where the fullness of the skirt begins, so the skirt reads as full from a defined point rather than drifting outward from the ribs. Satin then carries that fullness to the floor in one long fall.

Receptions and Second Dresses

Off white satin with a plunging V at the front and another at the back puts this at a reception, a courthouse ceremony, an engagement party or a second look after a traditional gown.

Read the neckline against your venue before you order. A V that plunges front and back, with a thigh-high slit as well, is more than some ceremonies and some families will take. That is a question to settle in advance rather than in the aisle, and it has nothing to do with whether the gown is beautiful.

Four Bands One Shade

Four numeric bands are cut, in the single off white colorway.

Every figure above is in inches and is taken on the body rather than on the finished garment, so measure the fullest part of the bust, the narrowest part of the waist an inch or two above the navel, and the fullest part of the hips.

The waist figure is the one to read first, because everything on this gown is gathered into that band and a band in the wrong place cannot be moved without rebuilding the join. Where the waist and the bust point at different sizes, take the larger and have the bodice adjusted above the band, which is straightforward work on a gathered seam.

Support, Slits and Fittings

What can be worn under a plunging V front and back? Adhesive cups, and nothing else will work. There is no band position that both necklines leave covered, and a plunge this deep at the back removes the option a low-back converter would normally give you.

Can the front neckline be raised? A seamstress can add a modesty panel in matching satin, which lifts the effective depth without altering the seam. It is a common bridal alteration and it is reversible, so the gown can be worn either way.

Can the slit be closed? Yes, and it is a plain seam. Sewing it up to a lower point takes minutes and does not touch the hem or the drape of the skirt, so a strict venue is never a reason to leave the gown behind.

How far ahead should alterations be booked? Several weeks. Satin marks under a pin and shows a reworked seam, so it is a fabric that rewards an unhurried fitting rather than a rushed one the week before.