To find out how many total meters of cloth the dressmaker used, we need to perform the following steps:

1. Determine the amount of cloth removed from each color:
   Each cloth is 1/2 meter. The dressmaker removed 1/8 of each piece.

   $\text{Cloth removed per color} = \frac{1}{8} \times \frac{1}{2} = \frac{1}{16} \text{ meters}$

2. Calculate the remaining cloth for each color:
   The remaining cloth for each color is the original amount minus the amount removed.

   $\text{Remaining cloth per color} = \frac{1}{2} - \frac{1}{16} = \frac{8}{16} - \frac{1}{16} = \frac{7}{16} \text{ meters}$

3. Calculate the total amount of remaining cloth:
   Since there are three colors (red, blue, and white), the total amount of cloth used is:

   $\text{Total cloth used} = 3 \times \frac{7}{16} = \frac{21}{16} \text{ meters}$

4. Convert the fraction to a decimal or mixed number (optional):

   $\frac{21}{16} \text{ meters} = 1 \frac{5}{16} \text{ meters} = 1.3125 \text{ meters}$

So, the dressmaker used a total of 1.3125 meters of cloth.

Would you like more details or have any questions?

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Here are 5 related questions you might find useful:

1. What if the dressmaker had started with 3/4 meter of each color?
2. How much cloth would be left after making the costume?
3. How many costumes can the dressmaker make if each costume requires 1.3125 meters of cloth?
4. What fraction of the total cloth was removed during the process?
5. If the dressmaker used 2/3 of the total cloth, how much was left?

Tip: When working with fractions, it's helpful to find a common denominator when adding or subtracting them.