Update

It has been a busy few weeks and due to illness, reflecting on the blog took kind of a back seat. However have got back too it and catching up quickly with work Ive missed.

Starting to make the skirt proved to be a very lengthy process that took far longer than i thought it would.  It prove quite a challenge with the cutting and layering of it.  Everything needed to be very precise so i took longer with it so i could triple check it. 

The pattern i drafted was quite straight forward, i feel my skills in that area are getting stronger and stronger each time i do it.  I understand the terms used more now and am getting quicker with it. i have faith in my self to not keep checking over and over that I've got it right and have the growing knowledge of what looks right or wrong so can make decisions quickly and work efficiently.

After rather annoyingly having to refold of the netting before cutting out has definitely made me more aware of other people using studios, not to say before that i wasn't it has just made me super cautious as by someone not folding up the fabric right resulting in about 2 hours extra at my end. 

Cutting i really did take my time over.  My cutting skills have always been a weaker point of my construction skills so i was being extra careful so as not to get a jagged edge.  The reason being is that this will show as one layer overlaps the other.  I think that this project has improved these skills as i have to be neat with it so its very accurate.  i will take this experience into my future projects.

Sewing the pattern together took a very long time, having 45 panels to sew together can be very monotonous and luckily i decided to take breaks when i needed.  This did make it take longer but it also meant that i was refreshed to carry on another time.  It was very fiddly work which i found easier with plenty of pins.  It does rely upon a great deal of aesthetic eye as it does move around when sewing and it is important to be able to keep it equal width down the whole thing.  I feel i did this well, i think my aesthetic eye is quite good and found it easier to pin a little bit then use my hands to line it up as i go.  This did make it a bit quicker and i think next time i will do this from the start as i started to so this from the 3rd layer.
I feel that my stitching could have been neater, my sewing machine kept jumping and gathering up tightly so it was hard to undo.  Next time i will practise with a spare bit to get the correct tension as it gathered it up and stopped some parts of the net lying flat.  This doesn't show as much on the two top layers i had sorted the tension.

Gathering onto my basque i really enjoyed, i found it rewarding as it came together so quickly.  The hardest bit was trying to get the gathers in the right place and even as it is important to be symmetrical. I feel that i did quite a good job of this.  Looking at it now i do think i could have put a bit more around the front as it is quite a bit more see through so you can see the stitching underneath on the layers there. With more time i could have sorted it but as in the profession environment there is a deadline to work to.  I am happy with the results.

i feel that my basque is quite neat.  I wanted to make sure it looked professional as you will be able to see the basque and seams through the net.

i am now half way through levelling and with that finished i will start to paint my decorations.

i am finding this unit extremely helpful and am learning a Lot of processes that i have previously done.  Its also a huge learning curve and i feel if i could do it again in the future it would turn out different and i would be much quicker.