RTW Knockoff Competition - Toille

Hi all,
Thanks for following along with me on this project. I am finding it has really reinvigorated me and I am enjoying the process immensely. Although day dreaming all day and trying to ponder construction issues is not very helpful when I'm trying to wrap up at work and hand over all my projects - but boy, is it fun!

Here is my toille with a description of the pattern changes I made after fitting it...

Fortunately all the issues are easy to fix so I will go straight into fabric this week.

On the front, I made an fba by slicing through the french dart and continuing to the centre front. Next I pivoted the pieces to add 1cm at the bust (note: my dart doesn't point towards the bust point but my trusty Readers Digest book seems to indicate that this method will work). My french dart is now enormous but trimming and grading later will take care of that. The dress was also a little snug at the waist so I added 1.5cm there, tapering to nothing just under the armhole and at the hip. I think this will balance the silhouette a little and get rid of the 'lump' of shaping at the side hip. The sleeves and neckline are fine and I am really pleased with how the front pleat looks.


On the back I made the same side alteration and, in addition, reshaped the centre back. Apparently I have an 'erect' figure (I have several ex-ballet teachers who would strongly disagree) so the upper back was too big. I took 1cm out of the seam above the waist and added 1cm below the waist to make a little extra room for my ample derriere. Interestingly this straightened out the centre back seam so putting in the zip will now be easier.

The only design feature I had to modify was the shaped hem. Mine will never be as extreme as the inspiration (my knees are definitely not my best feature), but I did want it a bit more obvious than this. I have now fiddled with the pattern to make the sloped portion a sharper angle.

Next I'll introduce the fabrics as write a little about how I'm planning to construct the dress. Stay tuned!