Progress -

Silk arrived!  The dachshund color turned out to be far more orangey than I'd hoped - I overdyed with a bluish wine color and rinsed quickly (rit) and it is a big cooler now. 

I cut out two rectangles after ironing and straightening as much as I could - full width of the fabric by about 38" long.  I meant to do 40" but I cut at a bit of a cross grain in one area and had to shorten the whole thing.  Next step - sew french seams at the sides and do a tiny rolled hem at the bottom and fold over a wide casing at the top.  I plan to sew large buttonhole openings in the front of the casing.  Then - whenever I wash, I remove the elastic, repleat the whole skirt, and then re-insert the elastic that will have a decorative buckle attached in front, with some velvet or silk covering the front bit of elastic.  We'll see - this'd be a new type of construction for me!  After pleating and trying it all on, I'll assess whether I want to add cording with beads along the bottom edge for weight.  That's what was on the original Fortuny designs - sewn on by hand, presumably having to be removed for pleating. 

I ordered 3 yards of the brocade from the previous post.  And none of the silk velvet.  It was $39.99 per yard!  Nice width, but I decided to cut out the coat pattern first and at least baste it together - once that is all done I can reassess whether I want a plain border around all the edges.  We are going to NYC in two weeks and I can even stop in and grab a yard at Mood if I want to!  I did purchase a silk charmeuse that was on sale to use as the coat lining.

Now I need a pattern.  I want something really simple, with no darts, but may still want a bit of shaping somehow.  I have good luck with New Look and am eyeing the following kimono-style garments.  I want wide sleeves and I want the overall length about mid-upper thigh, but am not sold on cut on vs. set in sleeves.

6217 - I own this already and would want to lengthen it considerably.  Neckline has no curve from shoulders to hem, can't decide if this is desirable or not. Not sure if I could make sleeves longer (add a band?) or if I'd just be happy with the shorter sleeves.

6476: Set in sleeves, gently curved neckline.  Perhaps a little less voluminous than 6217.

6378:  Perhaps exactly the same as the previous one?  At least in the shoulders? It looks more voluminous at hem - I will need to spend some time checking the online garment measurements and stalking all these patterns on patternreview.  Will also drape the target fabric all over me once it arrives.  It's probably a teensy bit stiffer than ideal, but I was drawn to it because of the lack of contrast between the damask pattern and background - the others had far more contrast and screamed "upholstery" to me.