Materials:

• Sparkle organza for the ruffles of the skirt – White, Light Pink, Flamingo Pink  (my nod to Shawna Trpcic)
• White cotton poplin for the skirt base and bodice lining
• White embroidered poly organza for the bodice
  • V2 – Embroidered ivory silk organza)
• Pink vintage silk sari for the sleeves, belt, and bow
  • V2 used a vintage pink dupatta

V1 Trims (Cat # are from M&J Trimming)

• 02115 – Pink 15mm Organdy for under the buttons
• 02125 – Pink 25mm Organdy for the edge of the peplum and sleeves
• 02138 – Pink 38mm Organdy for the ‘belt’ on the bodice
• 41524 – Pink Ruffle Organdy for the ruffles on the bodice
• 13037 – 13mm White Bridal Buttons
• Pink and green gaudy tassel trim (from Hobby Lobby)
• Pink chainette fringe – It was evenutally knotted, trimmed, glued, and the tassels were sewn on from above trim

V2 Trims (Cat # are from M&J Trimming)

• 02115 – Pink 15mm Organdy for under the buttons
• 02125 – Pink 25mm Organdy for the edge of peplum and sleeves (folded over hem then sewn)
• 41524 – Pink ruffle Organdy for the ruffles on the bodice
• 13037 – 13mm White Bridal Buttons (reused from v1)
• Pink and yellow tassel trim found on ebay – tassels cut off and sewn onto lattice trim.
• Pink lattice trim found on ebay – ends cut off, glued w/fabric glue, and tassels sewn on from above trim.

Notes:
– I chose organza for the ruffles because that is what I believe to have been used (see reference images). That is definitely not chiffon.
– I recommend draping a pattern for your skirt OVER the hoop and petticoat you intend to use under it. I have since gone and expanded the skirt since I acquired a new petticoat. It’s SO FLUFFY!
– I drafted the pattern for both versions of the bodice. The second bodice is a standard princess seam w/ peplum, similar to this free pattern here. Just alter the neckline to a V. The sleeve pattern was drafted as well, and you can find a great tutorial on Youtube.
– Sleeves are also lined in cotton poplin to give them some heft. For v1 I dyed the organza and overlayed it onto the sari. For v2, it was already embroidered so I omitted that step.

• The white ruched part of the bodice at the front is actually about twice as long as the lining, ruched, and then serged onto the lining fabric.
• Originally I had made a belt of the wide organdy ribbon doubled over and sewn into the bodice, but I hated the look. I went back and made a belt using the sari fabric with the lighter pink organza over it. It closes with velcro – I need to change that to a hook and eye for security.
• A serger is your best friend on this. Instead of folding over the ends and sewing them with a blind hem, I roll-hemmed the edges. I need them to be durable (I’ve worn this dress in the Dragon*Con parade) and easy to repair if needed. So far this is working out quite well!
  • Update: in 2014 I actually went back and folded over the hems and sewed them – the serging needed some repair after four years, so I just took care of it.
• The overskirt has about 50-60 yards of ruffles. There are EIGHT layers of ruffles: 2 White, 3 Light Pink, 3 Darker Pink. The top white “layer” is actually the peplum on the bodice.
• GET A RUFFLING FOOT! They will make the pleats on your ruffles even and then make it so much easier to sew onto the skirt. I actually ended up sewing on all of the layers by hand, but that didn’t hurt my feelings.
• Take. Your. Time. I cannot stress that enough. I got so fed up with this project it sat at about 80% for three weeks. I thankfully had a con coming up in 2010 that made me decide to go ahead and finish it.