Princess Dress

I was so disappointed not to finish the dress on time to give to my granddaughter on the 24th.  I did have other gifts for her such as glitter pink nail polish,  a sequined belt, the pearl necklace, and some soft bamboo socks.  I brought the partially finished dress.

My sister thought I could sew the dress up in 3 hours after I had cut it out.  HAH!  We're talking a gathered cap sleeve with band,  gathered skirt to attach to the top of the dress and a gathered overskirt.  The bodice is lined and a zipper through the top and bottom.  The fabric is extremely ravelly.

I have been sick with a cold and sometimes sore throat for 2 weeks.  I kept thinking that the next day I'd wake up full of energy.   I just had to let myself sleep.

After putting in one sleeve wrong,  I decided to give up on finishing on time and take my time.  I  really felt if I rushed it I'd make more mistakes.  I wanted the gathers to be even.

So tonight I've been handstitching the  gathered skirt to the bodice, and then closed the back seam and hand basted in the zipper.   I've decided to make the overskirt optional and either attach it to clear elestic or a ribbon of some kind.   I felt two layers of gathered fabric would be bulky in the waist. 
I haven't figured out what to do about the ravelling.  I don't want the threads to catch in the zipper.  Fray check is stiff and I don't want the fabric stained.

Tomorrow I see my granddaughter again to babysit for New Year's Eve.  I'm glad I have worked on it today as I sure didn't want to take the chance it wasn't done tomorrow!

I'm excited to see the new kitten the kids got on Christmas!  My granddaughter had been campaigning for awhile.  She brought home a beautiful painting of a kitten with "possible names" listed on the back, as only a beginning kindergartner can write!  She told her parents "it was like a dream come true!".   I really got  a kick out of how excited my daughter and son in law were about it!

The dress was completed and delivered 12/31/11.  I brought a camera over to their house and forgot to take a photo of the completed dress.  I made a separate elasticized belt type thing with the over skirt but it was a little too big in the waist.  I did a ton of handstitching on the dress and I must say it looks beautiful.
I have the second one to make by the end of January for her birthday!