I used a similar pattern for my green gown and I made the back laced opening different for that one. I much prefer spiral lacing (it doesn’t shift as much), and it’s probably good that I wore a corset as weird movements caused the back to just gap open. If I could, I think I might remove the lacing strips and do a better job. The back-lacing style of these patterns drives me batty. I did go back by hand and stitched beside those seamlines to help hide a few spots where the fabric was degrading or where I had trouble. The new fix isn’t quite as good as I’d hoped (why is it I sometimes feel like I have more control when sewing by hand than fighting mounds of fabric on the machine?), but it’s a little better and hopefully a little stronger. I removed the sleeves, because I had done a terrible job putting the gussets in. I can’t go into too much detail about the original gown’s construction since it’s been far too long, but I didn’t know as much as I do now. My first few elven outfits are generic “inspired by” costumes. I also was not going for any specific, screen accurate Lord of the Rings/Hobbit costume. I decided, since I rarely wear it and do actually love the way the gown’s skirt drapes and flows, I might fix it up a little. I didn’t even own a serger at the time (and I sure wish I had been able to serge all the seam allowance edges, what a mess). This was actually a gown I had made many years ago. Patterns and Materials used (for Corset): – Matching blue embroidery floss (for eyelets).