Side-Draped Sheath Design, First Draft

Now that I've finished sewing the dozens of designs for book #2, I decided I needed a new challenge in my life. One thing I've been drawn to lately is sheath designs--dresses with no waistline. Specifically, how to manipulate the pattern and add design details when you're dealing with things like double-ended darts. I saw a vintage dress with three pleats on the side hip, and decided to give it a go. 

Here's my first try at the dress, which also has a sweetheart neckline as a feature. 

I made the side pleats by slashing and spreading the flat pattern. But, I also had to shorten one of the double-ended darts to accommodate the pleats.

A pic of the dress on (yikes, this fabric is hard to photograph well!):

I 

It's much harder to get a smooth fit around the waistline once you've eliminated the waistline seam, since the curves of a seam at the waist add shaping to the garment. This resulted in some wrinkles around the torso.

Another fit note: I wanted a close fit around the armhole, but it ended up being a little too close. Easy enough to fix, though!

This is a first draft, and perhaps the last. I'm not sure why I got so obsessed with the idea of a side-draped dress with no waistline seam. The challenge, I suppose. However, I do love the neckline so I may make this again, sans pleats. (If you like the shape, it's very similar to the Sultry Sheath pattern in my first book, Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing!)