adding the skirt.

This is the exciting part and the part that I've been avoiding for quite some time. It's always hard to cut into the fabric that you love, for fear that you'll make a mistake and ruin the fabric. It's especially hard when it's for the skirt portion of the dress because it takes up so much fabric! The bodice and sleeves require so much less fabric, so it's not as devastating if you have to cut a new piece. If I were truly meticulous and patient, I would have created a muslin pattern of the skirt first, to be sure everything worked correctly and looked right. However, those who know me know that patience is not one of my virtues. So instead, I just went for it---roughly following the pattern I used for the lining and hoped for the best!.
I cut the fabric on the bias, which means that I turned the fabric diagonally so the grain of the fabric is diagonal to the ground. This makes skirts hang so beautifully off your frame. The trick with bias cut is that seams along the hips and other curvaceous areas tend to look bumpy and odd. To avoid that, I wrapped it all the way around and only did a seam in the back. I went out on a limb here because I've never done that before and wasn't sure how it would work.

Luckily it worked beautifully. The dress hangs delicately off the hips and creates a beautiful sihlouette. The overall effect is very elegant. Annie doesn't have enough of a hip or bust to give you the full effect. (so the shape looks a little saggy in this picture--looks much better with a body to fill it out) One of these days I'll get a picture of it on me. My problem is that I'm often sewing into the wee hours of the morning when nobody is awake to take a picture. Perhaps I should invest in a tripod. In the back, I added some gathering to complement the gathering along the front bustline. That way, I can avoid any weird puckering in the back and avoid making the dress too fitted in the back. I added a slight train. I'm nearing the end, though I've still got a ways to go. For starters, my zipper broke so I need to replace it. While I love invisible zippers, they are significantly more delicate and easily broken than regular zippers. I've also got to finish my seams on the inside, add the lining to the skirt, stitch the bodice lining to the seams, hem it, add a hook and eye, and give it a nice press. I'm getting anxious to start a new project!