Darts, darts and more darts

April saw lots of work (mostly in one week) of taking up the skirt to lay flat. We picked up a sewing body form so Ivy doesn't have to stand still while I pin things up (and she can help). Mom was here for a week, so we were able to make some solid progress - and actually finish the flat skirt. We pinned the skirt inside out so as to make it work better so the pins were on the side to be seamed.

The waist was pretty rough as the pleats went in. When it was finished, i put a waist band in with a long drawstring. My thinking was that the drawstring gave us the most flexibility with sizing and can easily be hidden by the peplum and top ruffle (I'm thinking that the top ruffle will overlap the gap and be connected with a hook and eye at the top. Once I get the ruffles on starting from the bottom, we will see how it shapes up at the end.

After getting the skirt done, we marked it with a washable fabric marker at the level for each ruffle. We then measured the skirt at each level to calculate the amount of fabric needed.

I also had to switch the pattern for the top to McCalls 6035 to get the seams in the front. I figured I could do the peplum on my own, but these seams needed more pattern backup. The bodice is sewn out of white muslin and on the dress form, but I didn't photograph it yet. I also converted the pattern from front button to eventual back zip.