At the outset, my best hopes were that I would merely be able to follow the instructions and produce a wearable item, but by methodically working through each step it actually came together relatively painlessly.
By far the most fascinating and novel part of the process was seeing how the darts shape the fabric to create the 3D curves needed, in a way that is obviously not required for constructing children's clothing. Of course I also recognise that this will be where the challenges lie, but for now I'll focus on the fascination and try not to think about the hair-tearing-out sessions ahead.
So, the end result is that I have a handmade dress...of sorts. Bed sheet chic - ooh la la!
I am now in a dilemma as to what to do next. It fits...kind of. In fact, it fits better than some dresses I've bought, but it's not right. I tweaked the darts at the back, but it's still a little wrinkled. I moved the shoulder seam as everything I ever buy is too long for me between bust and shoulder, and it was an improvement, but that adjustment has probably thrown the placement of the bust darts. It feels a bit wide overall between bust and shoulder, although according to my full bust and also high bust measurements I have cut out the correct size. An experienced dressmaker would probably identify another dozen issues, but these are the obvious ones to me.
Despite its faults, if it were made up in a nice fabric and finished properly I think it would be a wearable dress, which was all I initially hoped for, but I think I may have inadvertently moved the goal posts. I now want it to be a great dress, which is clearly an unrealistic expectation for a first attempt.
My options are to a) make it up in the nice fabric (a gorgeous blue floral Amy Butler number since you ask), call it my everyone-has-to-start-somewhere dress, wear it and love it; b) experiment with more/alternative adjustments with this or another toile or c) try my luck with a different pattern altogether.
I may revert to the safety of one of my many projects planned for the girls while I mull it over.
