After First Fitting

After the fitting I deconstructed the bodice and skirt so they were back to their original flat form. Now that i have the correct mass for the chest ruffle, I could use this piece as my pattern for cutting in top fabric. The fabric (a satin chiffon) is really delicate and sensitive, with the sheen of satin and the texture of thin transparent chiffon. It became somewhat of a challenge to securely and neatly cut and sew these ruffled items. I think of it as experience to take forward and as a practice.

With a mannequin arm I could now decipher the placement of the sleeve sections to correspond with the design.
I tried different ideas and concepts on how the sleeve would look. It gave me more of an incite on how fabric falls and is placed. It proved hard to find the perfect interpretation from the design.


My next job was to cut a high collar, using the stand I draped calico around the neck, on the bias for ease, and used the seams of the mannequin. this piece was then backed onto the satin chiffon top fabric using basting stitches and mark tacking. i prepared the bodice for the second fitting by hand sewing on the collar. for the collar ruffles I timesed the collar cercumferance by three, and cut it in the appropriate means by having the collar raised 3cm at the CF to 8cm at the CB.

After apllying the collar, I thought about placing the cuffs, and decided to wait untill the second fitting to place the cuffs.