Thank you for your lovely comments on my wardrobe. You all have great skills so I value your feedback. Here’s the write up I owe you. The check challenge is now finished and I’m hoping to wear it to our Christmas party. We’re having a lunch and you have to wear something Christmassy. This usually translates to wearing something loud and I think this toile fits the bill.

The pinning that you can see on the left was one of my OMG moments to get the lines to match at the waist. I also needed to get the bodice to sit right with the skirt properly. This took a few ‘sleeps’ to manage. The back bodice lines didn’t match at the centre back seam so I added pink bias tape to separate the lines. It was just an idea I had, so I gave it a go. The white twill tape at the neckline was what I used to get the zipper up, while it was in its unfinished stage.

If I make this again it will definitely be with a darker coloured soft fabric and I’ll add more to the depth to shoulder line so that I can wear a bra and not have the straps show. In case you’re wondering about the back skirt darts, I’ve since adjusted these because of what I saw when I took this photo and the changes are now on the pattern pieces.
By the way, a cousin who was a really keen sewer years ago called me last night to get advice on a dress that she’s making without a pattern. The fact that she called me really floored me. I really believe that sharing ideas and sewing regularly keeps our skills fresh.