ok this proves im only 80% moron.
i was clicking wrong. and now i have um.... a lot of copies on my desktop.
this shall be my project over the xmas break

Have fun!  Take your time and enjoy the process.  I've been thinking I'd like to do it again sometime...  ^_^

Hey tig!  It looks llike I am going to have to make my pants at the same time as this dress--I just HAVE to sew along with you all!  But, as you know, I am going to MT for a week, so I won't be able to start until i get back

Count me in for this one!

cloefox!!     Guess what project I forgot to buy fabric for?  A certain Watanabe dress...

I'm thinking I'll use some fabric I already have - a sort of shiny grey nubby silk for the top and light grey-blue cotton for the bottom (the fabric for men's dress shirts).  But first it'll be time to make that muslin.  I'm off on vacation as well - see you all next week!

oh wow. It's my dream to make this jacket, and seeing as how summer vacations are here, I will. I have one big question, among others: If I have a 32" bust and 27.5" waist, would I still be able to fit into it? Or do I have to be the precise measurements of 32" (natch) and 26"?

...I think you would probably be okay but might need to close it slightly differently, e.g. fiddle with snap placement.  Much more 28" around the waist, and it seems like the jacket would just be too tight to be comfortable for anything more than a photograph.

wondering whats up with everyone else

I hit the fabric store hard last night - in fact we closed it out at 9 pm - and have such a fabric hangover today.    I must have bought at least 20 yards.  Ack.  Thank god for $1/yard sales!

Resultingly, I have made no progress on the dress because I'm cheating on it with other tentative project ideas.

As for what do to with the muslin after it's done?/  i always hang it up ( i like keeping samples of the work) and if I did a good job with the muslin, I'd decorate and use it as an actual garment.

Yeah, as long as you use nice enough fabric, you can just make it into another garment to wear.  That doesn't work so well when you use ugly old bedsheets (the way I do )!  But with a more pleasant fabric, that definitely works.

A muslin is like a test run of the garment to make sure it fits you.  It's important if you're picky about fit, because you can find problems before you start cutting up your nice fabric.  But muslins are a bit of a pain indeed, because it's "prep" work and you can't use it for anything afterward (although you can cut it up to make another muslin for another garment later on).

This is a good place to get a crash course on making a muslin: http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/PatternMod/Muslin.htm

Having said all that, I want to underscore that the muslin step of the process is completely optional.  Some people think it's necessary, others just start sewing their final fabric with abandon.  I actually made my Galliano jacket from the red satin from day one - I never cut or even pinned any sort of muslin!  But I'm a bit crazy.
If you want to make one, go for it - it's good practice and you can mess up as much as you like because no-one will see it.  Don't buy new fabric - use old curtains or bedsheets (this is what I do).  Also, you can do as much or as little alteration as you like.  A quick and dirty way to work with your muslin is to cut all the pieces, sew them together, try it on, and then just make a few notes about seams you want wider or smaller on the final garment.  Then just refer to the notes as you make the final one.
What I'm trying to convey is that you can get as complicated as you want with a muslin - but you can also just use it as a test run and simply try it on for reference.  Or you can sew by the seat of your pants and dive right in.

P.S.  Although I do hate muslins because I feel like I'm getting nowhere, I also get a sort of tortured enjoyment out of it, because even though it's a pain to make alterations and then transfer them back to the pattern, it can help quite a bit with fit, even if you just make a dart longer or similar.  It's like flossing - not much fun but enjoyable in a masochistic way, and then you feel good about it afterward.   

[sigh] I should really really make a test muslin of this first, but, well, muslins are ugly.

I hate making muslins too.  I know it's probably the most important part of making a garment, but I still find it tedious.    Why do you think I haven't started mine yet? 

     My main concern with this dress:  There are no explicit directions, just the pattern (right?).  Would you all say that it's pretty self-explanatory and easy?  I'm fearing the worst!

Don't fear!    That's the general theme with all of SHOWstudio's downloadable patterns.  The idea is to discover how the pattern comes together through your own experience with the pieces, rather than following numbered steps.  If you hop over to the Galliano Jacket Sewalong thread, you'll see that it's actually a lot of fun to decipher the puzzle, piece by piece.  Whenever you figure out a step, post a hint or suggestion, and that way we can all help each other without ruining the mystery! 

Seriously, don't be worried...just have fun with it & you'll learn tons about how patterns go together.  It's a great hands-on experience to get to solve it yourself instead of having somebody just tell you how.  I only wish they would post even more patterns!  (Did you hear that, SHOWstudio?  )

tigralon,
i can see your point for the galliano pattern since it had so many complicated pieces.  Taking the time to put the pattern together is a great way of getting to "know" the pattern pieces.  But from looking at the photo of the dress, i knew that there were only going to be  about 6 pattern pieces and they looked like basic shapes , so I decided to get it printed out at Kinkos instead. 

Yup, I don't think there's any right or wrong way.  I just wanted people to know that it could be a positive process to put it tgoether themselves, since on the surface it doesn't sound very exciting - "cut out pieces and tape them together."  Plus, I'm always trying to see how liittle money I can spend on my projects.   

Rargh. I'm in the midst of taping together the 3rd sheet of the pattern and it's just not lining up properly.

I remember from the Galliano pattern (and was reminded when I printed out this pattern) that the small margin on the page actually cuts off a bit of the pattern so you can't line up the lines exactly.  There will be a small space wherever two pages connect - it's less than the margin of the page, but it's there - you can find it if you look carefully.  (Am I making sense?)

I found with the last pattern that taking the time to print 8.5x11 sheets and then tape them all together turns out to be an extremely good way to familiarize yourself with the pattern.  True, it takes extra work, but in the process of lining up those pieces, you become intimately familiar with each part of the pattern.  I really enjoy it, which is why I'm voluntarily doing it again with this one.