here's something I've been working on recently. I plan to list this particular one in the shop as a one-off prototype when the braided trim comes in, and I'm working on making it appropriate for a larger scale release! I'd like to fix it so it has a side zip rather than a back zip, since I'm not a big fan of the "VM style middle of the shirring panel zipper" situation. however, since I'm not used to doing zippers yet, this was the best way to hide the amateur mistakes I made so the garment would still be wearable quality. It's also my first time doing corset lacing, and I, uh. Bluntly, it's kind of a mess. I think next time I'll install grommets instead of relying on my machine to produce neat buttonholes (on a similar note, i'm not a fan of how the strap button holes turned out, either). Maybe on a future release I'll add some kind of waist ribbon, too-- originally I tried to make one from scratch, but I didn't love how it came out, and eventually, i decided it was better to be Done and imperfect than to spend another 5 months trying to fix it. The lacing is some random lacing I found from an old dress i no longer own, and i think i would probably use a mint coloured ribbon on the final version (i may swap it out when I list it for sale)
this is made of the same rose fabric as my My Dear Rose Pintuck skirt, but I could probably make it out of other printed lawn type fabrics, or possibly burberry. I chose the fabric I did because I had a lot of it on hand.
I'd also like to add skirt lining, since I skipped out on that this time (the bodice is lined and hand-finished, but I was so tired of jacking with the zipper by this point I didn't want to even think about the logistics of adding skirt lining).
The sizing is on par with my usual work-- 100cm max bust, 88cm max waist-- but I'd like to find someone to commission to grade the bodice pattern for me. I imagine I could add to the shirring panel to some extent, but I don't know if that would be suitable for increasing the size more than, say, 10cm or so, and I'd like to make a plus size friendly version eventually. I DID make the straps extra long, though, so the button can be moved down for a taller figure.
The planned braid trim will go over the seams on the gathered skirt panel-- maybe some on the bodice as well? I'll do a mock up and decide. I'm thinking of mint braid for a little contrast. The bows are also hand-finished and detachable, but I just used whatever safety pins I had on hand, which wasn't ideal. It IS machine washable, aside from the bows, because I sealed up any raw edges with bias tape.
Flaws aside, though, I'm quite proud of this one, and it's a head and shoulders above my previous work in terms of construction quality.
