I'm Back!! A Cocktail Dress Project Update

Happy Blog Day! I'm sorry that there haven't been new blog posts in the past few weeks. I had a sinus infection that brought all Siouxsiequeue's work to a halt. Happily, thanks to my excellent doctor, I'm running at 100% again and am (finally) back to work, which brings us to the reason for today's blog, The Cocktail Dress Project!

Since I've been back to work, I have focused on the dress's bodice. As of today, I have completed the front of the bodice and most of the left side. I plan to leave the back of the dress open and bring up the collar to form a bit of a mock turtleneck. I've had to rework a couple of pieces since the last update, but overall I'm pretty pleased with how this project is taking shape.

This week I expect the workflow to be more of the same; our slogan is "One Ring at a Time" for a reason. :) I've ordered an additional half-pound of the violet-colored rings, which I believe will be all I need to complete the bodice and half a pound of the pewter-colored rings. The pewter rings will make up the dress's waist and serve as a transition color between the violet and black rings. I've also been mulling over ideas to help the color transitions be less blocky; more on that later, though.

I'd also like to take a moment to discuss the project stats and costs. The cost of my supplies has changed since the summer. I also wanted to identify how I came up with these figures.

Project weight, the total number of rings, and the cost of rings are pretty straight-forward calculations. I'm using 16 gauge 1/4" inner diameter anodized aluminum rings, of which there are approximately 227 rings per ounce, and each ring costs $0.02. Each week I use my postal scale to weigh the project. I also used a stopwatch to time how long it took me to add an ounce of rings to the project and multiplied that by my usual hourly rate. Finally, I add the cost of the rings and the price of my time to find the total project costs before applying my formula for finding the retail costs. It's a lot of math, but I've set up all the formulas in a spreadsheet, so I only have to input the weight.

With all of that in mind, here are this week's stats for The Cocktail Dress Project:

• Total Weight (in ounces): 15.4
• Number of Rings: 3496
• Total Number of Hours: 9
• Project Costs: $244.71
• Retail Project Costs: $611.77

I'll be back next week with a project update and my ideas for color transitions. Don't forget, I'd love to hear your comments or questions about the project so far!

See you then!

-Siouxsie