Well I had taken a break from this plaid dress for a couple of reasons. First, I put the zipper in twice and the plaid material is a little slick so it was off. Second, I cut it too short so I had to figure out waht to do to make it long enough for me to wear in public. For the zip, I ended up hand picking the zipper and it turned out pretty good. First time I've done that and it was a 22 inch zipper. Second problem will be solved by adding a bias cut ruffle at the bottom. I cut one that is about 8 inches wide. I have it pinned right now. I need to even out the gathering so that it fits just right before stitching, but I think I like it pretty well. I have the dress belted on Shirley and added the bow tie. This material is a bit thick for the full bow so I just knotted it. Hopefully it will be finished soon. It seems to be medium weight suiting, so it will work for early spring too.