Creating my own calico dress pattern

As I have said many times before, I hate dress patterns. I think that is part of the fun of having a dressmakers manikin, that you can just drape, pin and fold and see what happens. With this in mind, I decided to make my own dress pattern out of calico. Something simple, that I could use with the 2-metre lengths of material that I had. A lot of patterns with more pieces require more material.
My reason for choosing calico: it will last longer than a paper pattern, and I could craft it all, pin it together and try it on like it was a real dress.
I started with one of my existing dresses and cut a rough pattern around it with some extra allowance for seams, fitting, cutting, etc.

I had three pieces: one front piece, and two for the back that left room for a zip down the middle. I'm not a fan of side zips on dresses.
I pinned it all together on the dressmakers manikin and created some shape up the sides.

I wanted to use princess seams in front, which are long rounded seams that add shaping or a tailored fit. You use them instead of darts in the bust as well.

I tried it on and fiddled with the fit until I was happy. I cut some more off the sides, made the neckline more rounded and made the arm holes bigger. 
And swore a lot, because I was wearing dozens of pins, on the inside, that kept scratching me.

When I was happy I marked the princess seams with permanent marker and took all the pins out. That way when I cut fabric using this pattern, there would be enough allowance in it for the seams.

Watch this space for a dress made using this pattern soon!