Creating a pattern without a pattern

I have just finished one of the most time consuming projects that I have attempted to date - putting together an official pattern for a dress that my mom and I designed. I had no idea how to go about doing it. I really had to stretch myself in order to actually complete it. I taught myself how to use new software along the way, as well as how to re-size a dress I originally constructed just for my three-year-old. The steps were so numerous that I told myself "I'm almost done!" at least ten times during the process, only to discover that I was still only halfway there. But I am finally done! And it's beautiful.