2D flat planes- my maquettes

So I've been playing about with card maquettes, trying to create a dress shape- like a ballgown. But I couldn't get the design right, because the pieces never fitted together properly, the design was flawed! Below is a small sketch showing what I was trying to do...

Here is another prototype that I created from grey board, but this didn't make the same shape as I'd previously created, and definitely doesn't look like a ballgown skirt!

Health and safety; cutting greyboard- you need to use a cutting mat, a sharp knife and wear a glove on the opposite hand to the hand your hold the knfe in. Keep fingers out of the way of the blade and try and cut away from yourself to avoid injury.

 

Below is the bodice / top for the garment maquette I am trying to create, in the same style as the above skirt. As you can see, this process also doesn't work for the top, so I need to trty something else to get a more curved shape rather than the pieces just being straight up, they need to be angled more.

 

So instead of wasting more time and greyboard trying to come up with a design that actually works, I resorted back to paper, angling the slots in the paper to create a slanted garmet, and below is what I came up with- THIS IS WHAT I WANTED! YAY! Thing is, obviously paper is more flexible than card, greyboard and cardboard, so the way I slotted them together would not be possible in a thicker material. So I had to come up with another plan of how to connect the pieces...hmm

 

IDEA- I've solved the problem! Have three pieces with the same slots, one at the top and one at the bottom, then have two other pieces, one with two slots at the top and the other with two slots at the bottom, so they can just slide on without having to be bent into place.