Pixels and Frankenpaterns

The original post with ideas forming about the dress I would make for my husband's grad dinner this year (his final year of residency!!) is here if you want a refresher.
At the urging of a sewing friend and with the encouragement of my husband, I chose to frankenpattern the bodice of McCall's 6647 and the skirt of McCall's 6698.
I found this amazing rayon challis at Fabric Mart.

My nails are freshly painted because I drive back to Jackson, MS in the morning for the ceremony/dinner that evening.  Because of my wet nails, I'm typing funny, so I'll do a complete review/sewing saga later with more pictures.

I sewed in an invisible zipper that is actually nearly invisible.

I hand-sewed almost the entire bodice interior and that was a LOT to do.

Random good news: I discovered I can wear a regular bra!  Hooray for no stick-on cups!

Suffice it to say, the involvement level of sewing this dress met or exceeded last year's dress.

Here it is, sprayed with water because I'm hoping the wrinkles will hang themselves out overnight.  I do NOT want to wrangle that on an ironing board.