COMPLETE!

Complete and final product. I can't believe that it is all finished. I actually was done with it about a week ago. I didn't get a chance to update this. Therefore, the entire project took about 3 weeks. I got it done with plenty of time before Halloween. Again, my mom was a HUGE help in this process. She actually sewed the entire bodice for me when I was at work one day. She is very good at sewing and used to be in 4H and won ribbons on her sewing projects. So though I did a lot on the dress she did just as much to help me. Thanks Mom! ^_^ I couldn't have done it without you.

I hope that this helps those that are looking to make this dress in the future. I will put a pic of me in the completed dress and accessories when the time comes. I had a great time making this though. And it will last me for a while. Still can't believe it's done, but it is. ^_^

White Trim

All that is left is to make the white trim for the neck and the sleeves.



This part took a little creativity on my part. For the bodice, our directions called for interfacing for the front neck line. Therefore, a pattern was there for the interfacing. (Pattern piece that is above white trim) Using this pattern I was able to cut out the white trim that was a perfect match for the neck line. For the bumps I just 'drew' my own pattern at one shot. (I totally whinged it, you can too) Though Daisy's white trim actually wraps around her entire neck, due to the way the dress is, I decided to just place it on the front part.

I cut two pieces so that I can sew it inside out and turn it right side out and it would have a clean finish. I noticed with I turned it right side out, my bumps turned out a little pointy. If you iron it down and form it to a more circular pattern, the trim becomes more rounded like I wanted.



To attach the trim, I placed it on the front of the bodice and had extra sticking up so that I can fold it into the inside of the dress. Using an iron I was able to press it down so it will say in place so I can sew it. Most people would probably done this inside out, but the trim would have not folded the right way so I had to stay on the outside. It ended up not being that difficult so don't worry to much about it. It worked perfectly! I can't believe how close it is to her actual dress!

For the white trim for the sleeves:



Using the pattern for the yellow trim of the sleeves, (top of pic) I was able to make the white trim. Again, I made the bumps my self with no pattern. If your able to find something on the computer that will best represent the bumps for a reference I would suggest it. I was not a fan of having to whing it myself but it ended up working out just fine. Again, like the neck trim, when I sewed it together and turned it back right side out, the bumps were a little pointed. Again, use an iron to rounded to the shape you want.

Sewing the white sleeve trim on the the sleeves was a little easier than the neck trim.



Have the bumps facing toward the bodice and pin it around the sleeves. Sew it to the sleeves.



You will then fold the entire trim so that the bumps are facing away from the bodice and sew again, along the same sew line when you initially attached the sleeves. This will keep it folded out and in place. You may need to iron it down when you fold it out to stay in place for you to sew.


Finished sleeve trim.

Bodice attachments

Now that the bodice was complete it was time for the rest of the dress. The puffy sleeves and the orange skirt puffs. Basically we just followed the directions of the patterns to make the sleeves and the skirt puffs and how to attach them.



Puffy sleeves before attaching them to the bodice.


Puffy sleeves with regular trim. (Finished sleeve to be put on bodice)


Finished bodice with sleeves. The sleeves ended up being the perfect 'puff' that I was hoping for. ^_^


Orange skirt puffs attached to the bodice. Unfortunately, I feel that we cut the orange puffs bigger than they needed to be. Because I am not using a hoop skirt underneath, the orange puffs fall a little long on the sides. We also could have pulled the puffs to the middle of the bodice in front an in back to make them a little longer across the body. But our directions told us to place them where they are on the bodice. Due to frustration of the project, we weren't about to come up with our own way of attaching the bodice, so we just followed the directions. It still looks good though.

After the sleeves and skirt puffs it was time to attach the finished skirt to the finished bodice. We used 'sew on' Velcro in the back for fastening.



Finished dress with me wearing it! All that is left now is the white trim around the neck and the sleeves. Can't believe we were just about done!

Bodice

When it came to the bodice it was simply following the patterns instructions. However, we ended up realizing that the biggest size the pattern was made for was not going to be big enough for me. >.< (And the weight loss begins... lol) Making adjustments to the pattern, i.e. making it 3 sizes bigger, >.< we were able to complete the bodice with room to give.

I'll be honest. I normally wear a size 16-18 shirt. (I work at Lane Bryant and shop at lane Bryant, if you know that store, you know what I'm talking about.) I wear plus sizes. The pattern went up to a size 22 for the entire thing. Therefore, we figured that we should cut it just a bit bigger than the 22 size patter for a little wiggle room.

When we cut out the bodice patterns and pinned them together. I 'put' it on to see what we had to work with. It ended up be rather short at the bottom and didn't close in the back.... at all. Thank god I ended up with way too much yellow fabric. (Either I miscalculated or was over prepared)So we were back to square one on the bodice. We pulled the patterns back out and, using a fabric pen, marked out 3 sizes bigger from the patter. This requires a ruler to follow the pattern lines to make the pattern farther out.

HINT: If you ever have to make any pattern a size or so bigger here is how you do it. A pattern as at least 3 or 4 sizes for your to cut along. To make the pattern bigger than it is, first measure, in inches, how far apart each size line is at ever different part of the pattern. This will make your pattern equal sizes bigger. Do not think, "Oh, I need it 2 inches bigger," and mark along the patter 2 inches at every point. It will NOT look at all like the pattern. You need to see the difference between one size at all different points and mark from there. (This is where your high school algebra actually is applied!)

After we made the bodice 3 sizes bigger and a bit longer at the bottom, we pinned the bodice together and I 'put it on' again for sizing. SUCCESS! The bodice fits much better. Its not tight, could be pulled a bit tighter but we can make that decision at the end when we place the Velcro in the back.


Finished bodice. (Thanks mom for making it while I was at work ^_^)
(Told you I was a big person, lol)

Skirt

The skirt ended up not being too difficult. The only modification that was made here was the orange trimming on Daisy's dress. She has a double orange trim ruffle at the very bottom of her dress and a few inches above the bottom. Therefore, we had to add the extra trim a few inches above the bottom. How we sewed the bottom trim was the same for the top trim.


(Click on picture for a better close up)

First we hemmed the bottom part of each orange trim for the neat finish. Then we turned the trim upside down and sewed it to the yellow fabric. (see top trim for example) Then we folded it back over so the shinny side was showing and ironed it down for easy sewing. Then we sewed over the fold again to complete the trim. (see bottom trim for finished example.) Do this to both trims. This basically will let them flow with the dress or even stick out a little bit like they do in the reference picture.


One finished skirt panel with both orange trims sewed in place. You will have to do this 3 times total for the complete skirt.

Now, I will admit, lining up the trims were very, very difficult. My suggestion is just do your best. When it's all together and gathered up it ends up working out. I did have a part that was very off on one side but when I held up the final product it didn't looked messed up at all. I actually looked almost perfect. I was surprised.


The three finished panels lined up. As you can see it is not perfect, but pretty darn close.

After you have all 3 panels completed with their orange trims, the next step is the sewing of the panels together. Obviously, follow the directions of your patterns. However, when it comes to lining up, focus on lining up the orange trims as best as you can. You'll have a lot of give at the top so if it is a little off it is alright. You want the trims to be lined up as best as you can so it all flows.


All 3 panels sewed together. As you can see the skirt is HUGE! I am a big person and was surprised at how big this skirt is. But it will be gathered at the top and will look great. When I held it up to me as best as I can it looks awesome.

Side note: If you wanted to make her dress more poofy then I suggest a hoop skirt to have underneath it or any other device that will expand the fabric. I wanted this project to be more cost efficient then buying a Spirit costume for $50 to $60 for it to not fit me. So I decided against the hoop skirt. But it can definitely be used for this.


Final skirt. I pulled in it and gathered it at the top to make it more realistic of what it would look like on. Again, it looks amazing. I can't believe this is going so well. ^_^

Accessories

Today I focused heavily on the accessories. I actually finished almost all of them, other than her broach which is half way done at this point. But pictures will explain everything better so with out further delay...


This is the white clay that the Cosplay website suggested. This can be found at any craft store. I bought 2 of these at JoAnn Fabrics. They were on sale and only $1.50 or so.


With a rolling pin and a clean surface I broke some of the clay off and rolled it out in a small circle. Using a flower clip art image from Google as my pattern I used a sharp instrument to cut out the flower. You can use a knive, razor blade, or any crafting tools you my be in contact with.


The result.


Using the bouncy ball I cut in half i placed it on top of the flower to make her daisy jewelry. You need 3 of these size flowers. 2 for her earrings and one for the front of her crown.


Soon to be earrings.


Using the same Google image, only much larger, I cut out the flower part for her broach that will be rigged into a necklace.


In order for the clay to harden and maintain its shape you have to bake it. The directions are on the package of the clay, therefore, you must get modeling clay for this to work.

After the clay was baked, all I had to do was super glue the bouncy balls onto the flowers. Super glue or epoxy is your best choice. It dries fast and holds the best.


Using the super glue I glued small jewelry hoops to the back of the clay and toward the top. Using dangle earring pieces I looped them in the hoops and waited for the glue to dry. The jewerly pieces were obtained from Hobby Lobby (or at any craft store).


Earrings: Final product


Crown after painting it gold.


Crown: Final product


Using the other package of clay I molded the clay into a elongated ball. Then I cut the back off of it so it was thinner and had a flat back to place on the larger flower. Again, this has to be baked to keep its shape.


Broach: Semi-Final product.


Broach: Final product. I painted the 'gem' part of it and, though it may be hard to see, I have attached a jewelry hoop in the back with super glue and attached fishing line to make it a necklace. Since there is not place to attach it on the dress itself.

The last accessory for the day was the gloves. I am not as happy with them as I am with the others accessories. I used the white fabric and sewed them to make the bump detail. However, due to how small I had to make them it was very difficult to keep them neat and nice. Also, the material I made the detail out of is very different from the costume gloves I purchased. With not a whole lot of options I have to deal with it. As well as it was not easy to sew the detail on to the glove. It shows the seam and it is evident that the two materials are different. But it is just a Halloween costume and it will do. Here is what they look like:


And here are all the accessories:


The best part is all that is left is putting the dress together. ^_^

Cutting the Fabric

Now that I have obtained all the necessary materials, it's time to get to work. The first thing to do is to pull out all the patterns and cut them to your appropriate size. Due to, again, me not being that small of a person, I had some concerns that the actual size of the pieces would not exactly fit me. Therefore, I cut the patterns a little larger. "You can always sew it smaller than sew it bigger," my mom said. I'd also like to take the time to thank my mother as well. She was a big help to me and we worked hard together on this project. I wouldn't have done it with out her. Thanks Mom! ^_^

Because I was able to find a dress pattern with exactly the same design as Daisy's dress there isn't much need for modification. Therefore, all I had to do was just cut out the patterns.


The 'costume' fabric or satin fabric purchased at JoAnn Fabrics. Of course the colors were white, yellow, and orange. For my particular size I ended up buying about 6 1/2 yards of yellow, 3 yards of orange and 1/2 yard of white. All around it added up to about $27. This will be varied on sale prices, actual price of fabric, type of fabric, and your size. Just follow what the pattern tells you to get on the back, and always buy a bit more for safe measure, unless your a pro. (Unlike me, lol)


Skirt panel, sleeve, sleeve band, and skirt puff


Front and back part of bodice. Sorry its upside down >.<

This is where the only modification to the original pattern design comes into place. Daisy's dress has two ruffles at the bottom of her dress. Just look at her picture at the top of my blog. Because there is no actual pattern for this part, I used the bottom part of the skirt panel. Since the two orange ruffles would be a trim placed a few inches from the bottom of the skirt and the actual trim of the skirt, using the bottom part of the skirt pattern was a perfect match.

This shows where I cut off the bottom part of the pattern. (can see the fabric still attached)


On top is the bottom of the skirt pattern and cut it whole on the orange fabric. Then I folded the orange fabric so I could cut it in half long ways. (can see where it is cut and is two pieces)


See it worked perfectly. This will give the double layer affect at the bottom of her dress. I will sew the top orange strip directly to the yellow fabric, then fold it over, iron, then hem the bottom. This will give a clean trim and make the top part stick out a bit like in her picture. Same will be done at the very bottom to make a nice clean trim and her bottom ruffle.

I can't wait to see what it will look like! ^_^

The very last thing I did tonight was cut out the little ruffle part for her gloves.


This is the pattern that I obtained from the Cosplay Peach website. Again, she is brilliant. I sized it to my liking on my computer then printed it out. Then I pinned it to the white fabric and cut out 4 pieces of it. It was the perfect size for the gloves. It is only supposed to be a little detail so they are to be small. I will sew these together, turn it right side out, then sew it to the gloves as if it was always there. Due to different fabric types it may not look exactly perfect, but it is a costume and have to do what we can to get it almost perfect. I still think it's gonna look good.

The only other thing I have to cut out is the neck finishing. The pattern used for the glove detail is the same for the neck outlining. However, I have made it much bigger for bigger bumps. Though at this point, I have to wait on cutting out that part until the bodice is either almost done or completely done. I'm not sure on how big or small I want the bumps to look on the dress so that will be one of the last things I will do.

Again, I am getting even more and more excited as I work with my costume. I was concerned that we weren't going to be able to pull off the double bottom ruffle but as you can see in the picture, it should look pretty darn close. I can't believe I am pulling this off. Again, with lots and lots of help from my mother. =D That is all for now. The next steps is sewing and that will be a smaller step by step process.