I started this project on Tuesday and finished it on Friday night. Tuesday's progress was mostly looking for inspiration for exactly what I was going to do. I started out knowing that I wanted to make a 1940's style/inspired dress, but I needed to make sure I knew exactly what that would look like. I looked and looked for hours and hours at pictures of dresses and patterns and this and that, which led me to looking at hair as well. I settled on three different dress styles that I really liked at least one part of, or another. So I got an idea of how to combine them, and drew up what it would look like. I was quite satisfied with what I came up with. 
My next task was to make sure I could make this dress at all. I went up to my storage box full of fabric and pulled out four different bed sheets. The texture of these fabrics is what I was most happy with when I pulled them out. And based on my aforementioned research, I also knew I wanted to make the dress in more than one of these fabrics. However, I only wanted to use a max of two fabrics, and I had four at my disposal. So I took my drawing into illustrator and looked at a few different options for how it would look with different colors and patterns where. I also took those options to the masses (meaning Facebook) and asked for input. The consensus was the green and floral combo, and I consented. On Wednesday after choosing the fabrics to use, I used my mad geometry skills and my pattern making guide book to make the pattern. While making the pattern, the dress started to evolve, and didn't stop evolving until I called it done. For starters; I decided against the side bust darts.
It wasn't until Thursday that I started laying my new pattern pieces out to cut the fabric. I was using my own measurements for this particular creation, and was not happy with it as it was coming together. The basic patterns need to be altered in some way to create a better fit that's not so wonky for my figure, but for the most part, it worked out ok.
The pleats gave me a terrible headache. Mostly because the fabric I chose didn't want to stay pleated. It took FOREVER to pin the pleats down. Even after I ironed them flat, they didn't want to stay. Oh well, they're still pleated where they connect to the bodice. Which was another thing that irritated me. The way the book had me elongate the bodice, made it so the front was significantly longer than the back. it took some creative hemming, and it's still not my favorite, but I got it to be tolerable. I did end up wasting a lot of time and resources thinking that I was going to make a separate skirt and blouse, which I ultimately decided against after all the peices were made. Now I have an extra green Yoke ready to go; all's it needs is the length and maybe a zipper. If I hadn't tried to fix my "mistakes" by making a separate skirt, I'd have been done much much earlier, and might have gotten a full nights sleep on Thursday. Regardless, I finally attached the skirt to the bodice on Friday, and was in the middle of making the belt when I decided to try it on because it was "mostly" finished, and now together. I was also trying to make sure the length of the belt was correct so I could make it's closure. I decided then that, on me, the belt looked absolutely awful. So I cleaned up my mess, cut loose threads and called it done. I think it turned out well enough for a first go. There's a hiccup on the neck line that's not good. The cuffs are rather tight. And the fit of the bodice is not quite as irritating as I thought it would be. Regardless; I wore the dress on Saturday, and wore my hair to match. Ta-dah! I got compliments from some of the girls at the place were Puese and I ate lunch. I'm not sure what my next week's project will be yet. I have an idea for another dress, but I think I want to do something a little smaller before I hop onto something so ambitious again. We'll see. 
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