"Elsa" by Maja's Heirlooms and Sew Beautiful #124

"Elsa" was featured in a cute article called "Gypsy Rose" in Sew Beautiful #124.  It was a cute dress and looked like an easy smock and sew.  The last few weeks have been a trial of seeing how difficult I can make something simple into something very time consuming.  

First, the smocking is great and easy.  I was able to quickly smock the bodice in between delivering kids to sports events.  

Next, I had these cute prints from Michael Miller fabrics that just sung together.  I have pulled them out dozens of times to use and could never get the right look.  I thought I had it with the solid brown smocked panel and the whirl of bright colors.  What I had was a CLASH of brown and bright colors.  The top skirt panel was a brown stripe with all the matching colors.  It clashed so badly, that I had to remove it.  The other colors just fought one another.  I just didn't want to trash it, so what could I do to save this dress.  

I added brown bias strips between the skirt layers to break up the print and make it bearable to the eyes. 

Now, let's talk about helping the next soul that decides to make this dress.  I made my daughter a size 8.  It swallows her around the chest and the armholes are large enough to almost see through the dress.  Since this is pull-on dress, you can't take it in too much and I don't want to fiddle with it anymore.  So, my daughter will wear a t-shirt/turtle neck under it.  Sew Beautiful doesn't give directions to alter the straight skirt to a layer skirt, so I added 1.5x of width on each panel.  It is not my favorite dress, but it is passable to wear in public now.

My daughter thinks it is beautiful, so I guess it is a winner!