In this week’s session, I introduced a new dress project featuring a dramatic peg skirt with gathered volume. I demonstrated how to modify an existing twist dress pattern to create the peg skirt shape, and showed techniques for adding volume and gathering to achieve the desired silhouette. The session focused on draping the skirt portion, with plans to cover the sleeves and bodice in future sessions.

Demonstration steps:

1. Explained the design concept and showed sketches of the planned dress
2. Modified the existing twist dress pattern to create a wider skirt piece
3. Added extra padding to the dress form to create the desired hip shape
4. Draped the skirt piece on the dress form, pinning at center front and waist
5. Demonstrated gathering techniques using elastic to create volume at the sides
6. Adjusted and balanced the gathers to achieve the peg skirt shape

Questions & Answers:

• Q: Will we be adding boning to the lining?
• A: It’s optional – you can add some light boning for structure if desired, but it’s not necessary for this design. The lining will be fitted but the outer dress has a looser silhouette.

• Q: If you naturally have that volume, do we need to add additional to our dress form?
• A: If your dress form already has the shape you want, you don’t need to add extra padding. I’m exaggerating the shape on my form to achieve a more dramatic silhouette for this particular design.