I am afraid I have had to write part 2 and 3 of this blog both on the same night. Having been away on holiday for 3 weeks, I had no time to write part 2 sooner. At this point, I had already worked on the dress for approximately 15 hours.
First I removed all the pieces I had pinned onto the skirt. This was a little traumatic as I quite liked the overall effect but it had to be done in order to progress properly. Now the bodice was complete, I decided to add a long zip in the back. This is the zip from the original blue dress. I liked it as it was already decorated with sequins. Adding the zip at this stage was helpful as it can be time consuming having to pin the bodice onto the mannequin each time it is removed and replaced (many, many times!) The zip assists in holding the bodice on quite firmly.
Next, I hand pleated the blue and green skirt pieces around the waist giving a little fullness in this area and attached them to the v-shaped waist on the bodice. I extended the zip down through the skirt.I was not happy with the way the front of the skirt hung where the blue and green fabrics joined so I added a v-shaped piece of another fabric between them.
At this stage, the skirt looks very uninspiring in my opinion - time to continue my favourite pastime...... experimenting with different colours, textures, shapes and pinning fabric scraps together!!
I considered bringing the hanky hem scraps up above the v-shaped waistline but once I had pinned a few pieces there, I realised it would not work visually. With the hanky hem spilling down from the waist, it gave me the opportunity to emphasise the V-shape by adding a lace or decorative trimming. I pinned many different ones on before making my final decision (surprise, surprise). Now with the layers being added, I am happy the dress is beginning to become more shapely and visually interesting. There is still a long way to go though!
Total hours work today - 4.
