Amanda's update

Just in time for the Forum week which starts this coming Sunday I have the dress together at last! This project has been in the making over a long period of time. The theme this year has been Deconstruct/Reconstruct and I discovered that the deconstruct part of the work took quite a while. Preparing the composted cotton took a number of weeks, the initial composting period was about 6 weeks, then I had to wash and soak the fabric a number of times to get rid of the mould and the smell! After that came weeks of repair to the weak and badly deconstructed areas before the fabric was finally ready for printing. Then followed stitching of free-motion design onto parts of the skirt, the making of the pattern, making a mock-up and constructing the garment. Removing the silk for the bodice from the inside of the wardbobe was a careful job and it also had to be washed a couple of times before it was ready to be made into the bodice and embroidered. I may add some beading yet...