In which I experiance technical difficulties

well..... biological ones.

 My arms decided to mutiny again, (what? what? you want to finish something for a specfic occasion?   ahahahaah! non! this shall not beeee) (you should have read that with the evil sounding accent of your choice.   In my head its more or less cartoonish French)  (Random note:  I studied French for about 12 years, so most of my accents come out French, no matter what I am up to)

flamingo style

I think I was trying to fix the strap...

pouf!!!

So, it was time for some closet diving.    I made the ginkgo dress (look closely at the pattern) right after college.  At that time it was strapless and used only thick interfacing and a good, tight fit to hold itself up.    However, the pattern designers seem to have neglected to consider what would happen when it was washed ---  needless to say I added a bit more support.   However, its not the halter strap-- thats actually purely decorative, as I thought it threw the dress firmly into the 50s -- no the support actually comes from a fully boned bodice.    This being one of my early forays into boning, its sewed directly to the lining the the fabric... no channels, no nothing (well, the tips are covered to prevent poking) but, it works, and as I seem to wear it once every two years or so, it will do.      The new feature this time is the crinoline -- also made years ago to go with a completely different dress I've yet to post here, but I'm really into the puff -- it makes the dress seem more substantial.

The pattern for the dress is on a shelf in my childhood bedroom, so theoretically I could look it up if anyone is curious, but its only the base, ginkgo part of the dress.    I added the ruffle and cumberbund to make it a bit more interesting.    The crinoline is self drafted  -- just layers of netting added in ever taller layers on a standard A-line skirt.   

However, with good luck and cooperative biology, I may just get the purple dress finished by the May 30th cut off for Pattern Review's knock off contest.    Think happy thoughts.