Princess Daisy, Weekend #2

I have underestimated the power of the gather. My ego has taken a sore hit. My instincts have failed me.

This is my progress to date on Princess Daisy:

Looks pretty great, right? Well, it's not terrible, but the picture above is something of an optical illusion. I spread out the skirt and made it look nice and full.

(HINT: It's really NOT nice and full)

This is what the dress looks like accompanied by the power of GRAVITY!!!!

Observe the severe lack of fullness and poofiness.

Here is what happened.

 

These are the skirt pieces. Number Twelve, featured on the left, is the front center panel. The pattern instructions call for one of these, cut on the fold. Ergo, Piece #12 is twice as wide as shown above. Piece Number Eleven is supposed to be cut out FOUR TIMES as shown per the pattern. FOUR!!! All five pieces are to be joined together and then gathered at the waist to make the skirt poofy, and then attached to the bodice.

Ungathered, Piece #12 and two cutouts of Piece #11 wrap around my waist one and a half times and I do not have a tiny waist. 

Surely, I thought, surely, doubling that even further would be WAY TOO MUCH FABRIC. I mean, after all, we're talking about a dress for a very petite three-year-old. 

In my hubris, I determined that the pattern must be wrong, or at least unnecessarily ambitious. I cut out only two of Piece #11 and moved on with life.

To bring it back around to my original point-- I have underestimated the power of the gather. Clearly, the skirt would not suffer the addition of two more #11's in the slightest.

A few points in my defense:

• I didn't have quite enough fabric for four #11's. I could have squeaked it out, but I would've had to sacrifice the lining of the bodice. 
• I brought my mother in for a 2nd opinion and she agreed with me.
• I really, really hate cutting out pieces. It's my least-favorite stage of sewing. Okay, that one's a pretty feeble defense, I know, but I think I bring it up because it didn't help in my objectivity in making this decision.

What really scares me is how much puckered fabric I would have had to fit under my fabric foot and needle had I done it the correct way. *shudder* Someday I'll come face to face with the poofy skirt again, and it might not be all that far off. I'd better be ready...

What am I going to do now, though? Well, don't have enough fabric, and even if I did, pulling apart the stitches that are holding the skirt and bodice together would probably strain my eyes right out of their sockets and make me more irritated than Lucy when I step on her tail by accident. Also, it's a play dress. My three-year-old niece will love it regardless, and it won't be quite THAT flat when she's wearing it.The dress will stay the way it is, and I'll come away with a valuable lesson learned.

Maybe I could make a hoop for it or something...?

The weekend wasn't a total lesson in humility, however. There were positive aspects, as well. A friend of mine came over yesterday and helped me to thread Sergio. I have been using him for his main function: raw edge serging!!!

Behold! The beauty! The tidiness! The lack of fraying!! Finally getting to see it in action has gladdened me immensely.

It's nice to know that I won't be dealing with the sight below in future costumes:

(This is the inside of my Inara shirt as of today. Yikes!!)

So yes, a most hearty welcome to Sergio and his contribution to the sewing family.

So, what remains on the very non-poofy Princess Daisy dress?

• The zipper
• The hem
• The orange ruffle trim
• The broach
• The crown (?) 

I have a date with all of these things next Saturday. See you on the other side!!