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Looking for the perfect wedding dress? Why not design it yourself? Brides today have more choices than ever before when they are picking a wedding dress. Many of the old rules have been tossed out. For example, dresses aren't always white, they're not always big and poufy and they don't have to include trains that go on for miles. A bride can feel free to choose a wedding dress that fits her body type and personality.

Are you looking for romantic or racy? Will your gown be out of a fairy tale or a fashion magazine? To truly have a gown that is yours and yours alone, consider making your wedding dress yourself. According to couture seamstress JoAnn Musso, brides should not be intimidated by the thought of making their wedding dress. "The skills needed to make a wedding dress are all ones a home sewer has used before," she says. "Set in sleeves are set in sleeves. Don't let the fact that they're on a wedding dress make them seem more difficult than they are," she says.

Musso, who lives and work in Dallas, makes custom wedding dresses as part of her couture business. While she firmly believes every bride should have the dress of her dreams, Musso feels it is also her duty to help a bride select a dress that will be flattering. "The bride will have this dress for the rest of her life to remember her wedding day," she says.

Dress silhouettes break down into four basic shapes: A-line, which is narrower at the top, flaring gently wider toward the bottom, works well on most figure types, and is good for disguising bottom-heavy figures. A sheath dress features a figure-hugging silhouette with a defined waist, and flatters well-toned bodies. The mermaid dress is close fitting through the bodice, down through the hips and to about mid or lower calf where the skirt flares out; it is not an easy style to wear or to move in. Finally, a ballgown is fitted at the bodice; with a very full skirt, which can hide, many figure flaws.

Visit a bridal shop and try on different styles of gowns. This will help you determine what looks best on you and will give you a feel for the latest trends. Maybe you like the bodice of one gown, the embroidery on another and the fabric on a third dress. The beauty of making your own dress means you can pick and choose exactly the elements you want to include in your perfect gown.

Starting with the right sewing machine is important. "Today's computerized sewing and embroidery systems make even a project like a wedding dress much easier than it used to be," says Gayle Hillert, vice president of education at Bernina of America, a premiere sewing machine company. "For example, Bernina accessory feet make sewing fine fabrics easy and there are a variety available, like hemming, pintucking and edgestitching feet that enable home sewers to add couture elements quickly and successfully.

Many fabric stores have bridal or special occasion sections with appropriate fabrics and notions. If you don't find what you're looking for locally, there is a wealth of fabric resources on the Internet. Musso reminds brides that natural fabrics like silk (a popular bridal gown choice) wrinkle easily. If that's a concern for you, consider looking at manmade fabrics or blends.

You may want to make a muslin version of your dress for fitting purposes. This also gives you a chance to do a "dry run" on the sewing. If you have questions about the construction of the dress, you can work that out on the muslin, too. There are many books available on sewing your own gown that can answer questions and provide tips and "tricks of the trade" as you go through the process.

The variety of embellishments available to provide the finishing touch for your wedding gown is almost unlimited. Beads, crystals, lace and embroidery are just some of the options you can use to add a personal touch to your masterpiece. Embroidery is especially popular this season, and with the right sewing machine, it can be easy to add this special touch to your wedding gown.

Bernina's artista sewing systems are good all purpose machines. The new artista deco 330 is a stand-alone embroidery machine that lets sewers create embroidery with speed, beauty and ease -- up to 650 quality stitches per minute. The easy-touch screen allows you to edit on screen and offers drag-and-drop capabilities. The user-friendly threading system, complete with thread monitoring, ensures that you won't be wasting valuable time keeping your machine threaded. When you're ready to stitch, the 5.5-inch by 7.9-inch design area gives you ample room for larger designs.

The most important piece of advice that Musso has for a bride who is making her own dress is to start early! "If you don't give yourself enough time, it can cause a great deal of anxiety and pressure." And with all the other details you'll be dealing with, making your own gown can become overwhelming.

Courtesy of ARA Content