Bollywood Begins ...

Although I seem to struggle with the HP pants, I must say that their upper body patterns are perfect for me. So far, I have only done a cardigan and a zip jacket and attempted a coat (which I altered beyond all need thus relegating it to the UFO bin). The two unaltered jackets fit like a dream with only the personal desire for a bit more length to the pieces. So, following this trend, I started the Bollywood dress. I cut out a size 16 from the old Glamour Girl range (which is now the "new" 16) and went for a muslin with standard s.a. of 5/8" in the lining/mount only. I started with this part as it is the more fitted portion of the dress.

The only alterations I had to do are extremely minor! First off, I needed to remove some ease to the front V neck by taking a dart out of about 1/2" at about 2" above the bustline. Then, in order to be able to wear the bra of my choice, I am raising the base of the V back by about 2", extending the zipper to a 16" vice the 14" called for. That, folks, is all I did. I know that the fit is supposed to be "neat" around the waist, and it is at this point of the evening. However, this is also due to me using 5/8" s.a at the CB seams vice the 3/4" called for. That extra 1/4" combined with control top pantyhose will make this dress perfect! So, tomorrow I will start cutting out the dress muslin and see about the fit of the BollyBodice.

I have to say that the fit styling of the lining is amazing! The bodice is a slight princess line with little easing required for the bustline (did I mention no FBA? at all??) that is then stitched to a waist panel. The skirt is also two piece, having a yoke and a skirt piece. This unit is then stitched to the bodice panel. There is a lot of shaping in the waist/hip area due to the separate pieces. Tomorrow I will take a picture and post it right away (now that I have figured out how to post with Picasa!) to show how nice this lies. I feel very glam in just the muslin with the shape this gives me. I would almost use this as a dress on it's own in a nicer fabric ... very 40's glam to my mind.

To say that I am excited about the so far lack of work is an understatement. Now if only I can get their pants to fit out of the package!