Two Months Struggle Reap Golden Rewards

The title says it all. I have taken to challenging myself a little, trying to sew with non-stretch fabrics more often. I saw this beauty and I could not resist. So may designs went through my head and I don't think I ever really settled on one, which proved to make the bodice more challenging and a steeper learning curve than I was ready for. I also never inquired what fabric this was. I realized many mistakes later:

The easiest part of this entire project was the circle skirt. I drafted a full skirt as a 1/8th pattern, which made it way easier to cut out the skirt so it was long enough. I am a 6' Amazon, so there is never long enough fabric.

The bodice was a completely different challenge. I think partly it because I didn't know what I wanted so I didn't even know what pattern to draft. The bodice went through a lot of iterations, with various amounts of continuous failure. I draped loosely. I tried to settle on this lovely design with pleats. I kept pressing away at my bodices and the pleats kept not staying. Frustrations were very high but, like a dog with a bone, I persisted.

I slept on it several times and then decided to go with a princess bodice and build on top of it. I was unwavering in my desire for folds of some sort. The fabric I had was not malleable. It would not hold pleats in the manner I wanted. So I cut the fabric into strips. I fiddled around with their placement until I got something I liked and sewed everything down.