Unpublished by Alexandra Maceachern

I've been trying to make outfit five's dress but it's proving more difficult than I'd had thought. I've used the fitted jacket block as the top of the dress is designed very similar to this with the four back panels and two sleve panels for a more flattering fit. I've had to adjust the bottom of the top section as at the back the hem dips right down past the bum and to a sharp point so trying to get that to fit exactly as I want has been a challenge.. but I think I've done it. Next I need to make the skirt section pattern of the dress but will need Chihoko's help and she isn't in at the moment. To not waste the time waiting, I decided to start making some of the garments in final material.

I've started with outfit one's coat and dress, again trying to keep it orderly! The dress was incredibly easy and was made within a few hours, with only the slight change of adding a bar across the V neck as when it tried it on my mannequin and myself, it was just that little bit to wide, so this way the bar keeps it all in place. The coat has also been easy but very time consuming. I marked the pattern pieces of the main body and sleeves out of the final fabric which is a dark green woolen type material and then rather than cutting them out accurately, I left a very wide (approx. 3") gap. This was so that I could embroider the fabric before putting the coat together, but by leaving a gap it meant the fabric wouldn't tighten or stretch as I found happened when testing this technique out on a sample. I've done most of the coat embroidery now, just a couple of pieces left and then can put it all together.