My friend Megan has asked me to replace the bodice of a dress after what looks like a mishap with a blue marker at the dry cleaners. I want to document this particular project as it is one of the most challenging I've had in a long time.
So...here is the original dress. The bodice will be replaced with a polka dot print, seen here alongside the original skirt of the dress, which will remain the same. My first step was to take about 75 pictures of different angles, from the inside and outside of the dress, along with taking measurements of the entire dress...every seam, every dart and tuck, every edge. Lots of pictures...
Then I began ripping out seams-taking pictures along the way. I removed the bodice from the zipper and took apart the right side, leaving the left side intact as something to refer to should my pictures (now around 200 of them-paranoid anyone??) fail me. All pieces were labeled and ironed.
I then traced the pieces onto tracing paper and cut out the new fabric. Next is to sew the bodice back together. Ironically, I was completely freaking out on this project and terrified that I couldn't handle it until I had gotten to the point of having the right side of the bodice almost completely apart. 
Only at that point did I realize how simple the design is and that I'd done much more difficult things before. I think my biggest worry on this dress is just going to be figuring out how to complete the zipper portion without completely removing the zipper from the skirt and starting from scratch. Overall though, I am quite pleased with how this is looking so far. 
And because I've found that I must ALWAYS have a side-project to go to when I feel like cutting my main project to shreds, I am working on another stocking cap, this time for James. He wants it about half as long as Aidan's was and in blue and green instead of Christmas colors. I am MUCH happier with the uniformity of my ribbing around the crown this time. 
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