Making a dress pattern...a.k.a. what in the world am I doing?

So this particular dress journey started when the non chain fabric store by our house changed ownership, and I bought some really pretty silk faille on sale.

Definition of faille
: a somewhat shiny closely woven silk, rayon, or cotton fabric characterized by slight ribs in the weft

Silk refers to the fiber (obvious, I know) and faille refers to the treatment of the fiber, which fact fascinates me. I was optimistic enough to think (long, long ago in my teens...haha!) that I could do anything with any fabric, but it was obvious (and quickly) how wrong I was. I think now that fabric is like a tool and different fabric stiffness and silkiness or roughness requires different shapes to the pieces of the pattern.

Did you know that cutting a square piece on a 45 degree angle changes completely how it lays?

I started out making a skirt. A really simple skirt made completely from rectangles of fabric. I double box pleated the fabric to the waistband and made two long ribbons of fabric cut on an angle (known as "the bias") for decoration. I really like this fabric; it glows!

I had about a yard left of the fabric, and the more I was looking at this skirt, it seemed a pity not to make it a dress. The trick was that I wanted to make the stripes chevron, and 1 yard of fabric isn't a lot to match stripes with and make sleeves. I like sleeves. Why do so many winter dresses have either short skirts or no sleeves? It makes no sense to me!

I made pockets, too. Nice deep pockets. My main beef with modern dresses is their lack of pocketry and general shortness or low necklined-ness, polyester-ness and other such deficiencies! Perhaps if my pocketbook extended to more expensive designers I would not have these issues, but I digress.

Don't mention strapless. PLEase. So unbecoming. (prim font on, in bold)

I am not as strong in my bodice math as I am in my skirt math. Math in general, actually. I really need to retake math if I want to get better at patternmaking because geometry comes in handy if you are trying to cover something 3D in something practically 2D. Anyway, I cut some squares of fabric out of an old sheet and started pinning and trimming. I knew I wanted pleats instead of darts in the bodice (pleats are folds, darts are basically folds sewn in) because it's a lot easier. You're basically taking a square shape and pinching in fabric where there isn't body in the way so that when you go in at the waist so does the dress!

It fits me a bit differently than Molly the Mannequin, but I like the fit so far! I'll be writing more as I go. I don't want to download all at once, and I'll try to do a little more "pictures as I go" because that always helps me, instead of just pictures of the finished product.

I'm really excited about this dress! I have a lot of time to finish it, because the event I will probably wear it to is in March. I'd like to get it done before then, but I'm having to take more time than I'd like. This is mostly being sewn of an evening.

Thanks for reading!