How I set about becoming the next Sarah Burton (or not).

At the beginning of May, I started a dress making course. My rationale was that I love clothes, why not learn to make my own? In my head, this was going to be so simple, and before I knew it, I was going to be the next Sarah Burton. Reality kicked in with a thump - this stuff is fiddly to start off with, particularly on a Monday night after a day at work.

Six weeks in, I now know what a bobbin is, I only have to ask once at the start of each class how to thread the needle through both top and bottom on the swish sewing machines and, mainly thanks to the extraordinary patience of the lovely teacher, I have the beginnings of what now resembles a dress.

I confess, I chose the material before the dress, but wait until you see the material, it's so pretty, you'll totally understand my reasoning. I will also own up to buying the pattern because not only did it say 'Tres Facile/Very Easy', it also had that iconic word 'Vogue' on it (I know, I know, I'm a marketeers dream). So, this is my pattern, and I'm making the mustard yellow dress - not in that material - to the left of the picture.

I'm making the dress in the most beautiful sage green material (it looks grey in the photos but it's a very pale green), with different coloured shoes printed all over it. £10 a metre in John Lewis and I fell in love with it the second I saw it:

As aforementioned, the teacher on the course has the patience of a saint, which means that as things stand, I now have a front of dress, complete with darts and gather:

And I now have the back of a dress, also darted and gathered, and ready for the zip to be sewn in:

I've really taken to the class now, although big name designers have nothing to fear! It's ever so relaxing to sit round a table after work and stitch and sew and chat and learn. I'll post the final result, hopefully me wearing the dress,  in a couple of weeks time, when the class finishes.