Purple dress saga

I am proud to announce the birth of a beautiful purple formal dress. Only slight birth defeats that will only be noticed by the most scrupulous observer. The birth was long and arduous. It comprised a number of steps that few expectant mothers would be prepared to endure.

1) invisible zip inserted - too tight to do up. Tears, teenager tanti "Practice your @@##$ sewing on someone else..My formal is days away and I don't have an @@##$$#dress!"
2) applied black tape and handsewed zip onto this. Still tight and at risk of popping.
3) uppicked all of the above and tried unsuccessfully to use hook and eye tape. Pop, pop, pop - hopeless disaster both visually and practically.
4) sought professional advice - added two panels of the purple fabric to create a new area to apply the zip. Created a 1 cm channel of fabric on either side of the zip. Visually this looked good, but still a little tight.
5) unpicked other side seam and let out they .5cm. - and it fits!
6) complete handstitching of linings, stitching beaded waistband and machining the hems.
7) have a gin and tonic and swear never again.

Having fixed all this up, ready to get on with my paid work and my @@@###*** computer has broken down. No pictures until after the big night on Wednesday.

Thank you all for your supportive comments. I would not have completed without you all cheering from the sidelines. I have two years to recover before my younger DD's first formal.