Normally, I like to start any project with a hot, steamy cup of tea and honey--this time I chose chamomile and mint as my schedule has been kind of ridiculous this fall with the upcoming Little Women opera; the tea is very relaxing and soothes the vocal folds.
After setting my dress form, I dug out my original mock-up and mapped out the measurements I needed. The basic pattern, as with all of my dresses and designs, was layed out only in my head. I needed a circle skirt and slightly lowered boatneck bodice as the base of the dress, and from there I would add the swayed chiffon bodice, sash and skirt pieces. One of the neatest little sewing notions that was given to me about a year ago has helped me immensely; the Clover Chaco Pen. That little pen is actually full of tailor's chalk and has a flat head with a rolling metal dispenser that makes it incredibly easy to mark curved and straight lines that run along the ruler. I highly recommend purchasing one.
As you can see, my apartment does become a bit cluttered during a project. At this point I was about 4 hours in and the dress was coming along very nicely.
After working through a weekend Choral retreat, I was further behind than I wanted to be, but I finished at last! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but there are some things that I'm going to want to change about my designs in the future.
