60s Crochet; Juliette Dress

 Hi! (*^‿^*)

I got a big stash of yarn for Christmas, and as soon as I saw the kilometers of black wool, I knew I will finally make myself the 60s dress I have been dreaming about, but couldn´t find anywhere. I started looking for patterns, and wouldn´t you know? I found one for free.

I didn´t have much info for the pattern, just one scan and strong will. Luckily, Ravelry was there to help me. This dress proved to be popular here, so I could read about other people´s experiences with the pattern. I found out that I have wrong metrage, so I opted to crochet with smaller hook. 
I have been crocheting since about 10 years old, so I was pretty confident in pattern alternations. 

Well, that may have not been the best idea. This dress took me more than 6 months to finish. It was partly due to wrong metrage, wrong size hook and the fact that I had to do some parts more times, but also due to lack of motivation at some points. 
I really wanted to wear this when we had a garden party in my old high school. That was in May. Finishing this dress did not happen at the time, even though I only had to finish sleeves at that point. 
I also wasn´t sure how will this dress fit me, as I went up and down two sizes while working on this project. Oh, sweet freshman 10. Luckily, I´m mostly back to my former size. I also added corset lacing to the back, but I didn´t get to add the lace yet.

I feel like it´s last few rows that always take the longest, at least I keep telling myself this to feel better.

And now few oh-so-dramatic, oh-so-goth photos (I blinked the first time, something startled me on the third one but the second is on purpose :D.) 

I went for my natural (goth) way while styling this dress, but I want to do some more 60s inspired looks too. I have been pretty keen of Medieval Revival fashion of the era lately. 

So, what did I learn during this project? Next time, I will respect yarnage and hook size. 

What was your biggest DIY project up to date? And how long did it take you?