a mock up. if you are going to make a mock up, make sure to use fabrics with a similar weight to get a better idea of how it will drape.
once you have all your materials assembled, it’s time to cut your fabric! you can either pin your pattern pieces to the fabric, or use pattern weights. i’m personally a bigger fan of pattern weights, as they take less time, and leave your pattern pieces in better shape. an important thing to note here is cutting out the notches (the triangles on the edge of your pattern pieces) as those will help you in matching pattern pieces later. if you 