Moving Forward

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of grief at life lost, celebration of new life, and a whole lot of living in between.  No matter how much we wish we could drag our feet at times, life keeps on charging forward.  So in the midst of a whirlwind what else can one do but create, create, create.

Thank you all so much for your lovely suggestions and helping me decide on my next creation.  I've decided to go with a deep-v maxi dress with a wrap bodice using the blue and white silk print.  The fabric is so beautiful I was nervous to cut into it until I had the perfect plan and I think this is it. 

I used Butterick pattern B5486 as a template because it had the wrap bodice I wanted.  Before cutting into my real fabric, I completed a toile to check the fit and look of the dress.  Thankfully I did a test run here because after trying on the toile I needed to make a ton of adjustments.

The dress is a faux-wrap with a zipper up the back.  I didn't insert a zipper in my mock-up and instead just basted the opening together and I could still slip the dress on.  Right there I knew I needed to take the bodice in a good two inches around my waist.  The neckline needed to be lowered about two inches; you can't tell on my flat-chested form, but the current neckline is practically a turtleneck.  And finally, the straps are way too wide.  After all the alterations, I can't wait to show you all the final result!