Pink Ariel Walk Through Numero DOS!!!

Wow, can't believed I actually am writing the second one! And so quickly to! And, more to the point, AT THE RIGHT TIME! Mainly I will write one part, then ignore it until I get the project done and do a rush post. Lookit me, being all numerical and in order! Woot!!

Okay, as of right now the gown looks like this. (dont get excited, its still in pieces I just drape it up to keep myself interested.)

Okay, so heres what I did so far. 

I used the pink taffeta from Tutera and cut just enough out for my bodice and sleeves. After that I folded the rest in half and once again, and cut, on the fold, four rectangles. Then I cut a gradual curve from one end, to the top, so that in the end I had four D shaped fabric swatches, when all was said, done, and laid flat. Much like this from Cinderella. 

Then I took the flat end and roughly pleated it onto Blue.

Side note; this is DEFINITELY taffeta. It has body like JLo got body. 

Anyway, that done I sewed two Ds together, for the front and back. I used the taffeta for both the back and the front of the overskirt because of the idea behind this design. Basically, Im building it for twirl factor and if I skimp out on the overskirt it'll show. So after the over skirt is approved and sewn together, I take on the bodice. 

Aside from construction, sewing and fitting there are a few more things I need done with the bodice. It needs to be cut so the neckline is more scoop/boat and shows a little more shoulder. To actually get an off-the-shoulder thing going I'd need to mess with some hard core construction/destruction of the basic design... so Im not doing that lol. Im just gonna cut a smooth line from the point of the bust to the shoulder. Here are some photos of the lining and bodice as I sewed them. 

So far so good. Now, for the hard part. The sleeves. 

There are some basic ideals for going along with the sleeve shape. We have the slash idea. 

Photo from Jack and Ginger Co. 

This is a more historically accurate representation, which gives a lovely and personalized view while still maintaining the look of the true gown. (SO jealous of Jack and Ginger, lemme tell you. They've got ALL the princess dresses) 

Next is the cutout look, from Tracy's Costuming World: 

Tracy's Costuming World. 

Lovely, the pearls and shape her own while staying true to Ariels gown.  She cut the actual sleeve and sewed a patch of white satinlike material behind it, before sewing the shaped down and embellishing with those amazing pearls. Beautiful. 

Both ideas are sound and I tried to feel my way through how I was going to do mine. 

The sleeves for the pattern are big. (Im using Dorothys and Wicked Witches pouf sleeves by the by, because Glindas in the pattern are like... Ariel's Wedding Dress poufy.) 

They are also marked to be ruched up to fit the sleeve head. I figured if I ruched the outside and had a white satin inside I could coax a little pouf here and there through a few slashes in the sleeves. My big problem is that I only had enough fabric to cut out two sleeves. So I used a similar fabric to mock up. 

Didn't work out. Not NEAR enough pouf to be distributed evenly amongst the amount of slashes I wanted. So, second choice it was. I used some scraps to make some rudimentary shapes and pinned them on the sleeve. I took the time to ruch it too, because if Im inspired by the outline of the gown I get by draping it up, I will be more enthusiastic about finishing. 

I also pieced together the lower sleeve for enthusiasm purposes. 

WONDERFUL! So very excited now. I plan on getting some pearls or dodads like Tracy and embellishing them.

Satisfied with the sleeves I took the draping apart and ironed it all. Then I cut the bodice front and back to accommodate my design. 

Voila! Ariel So Far! 

(Side note: The skirt. Drindl failed me, sad to say, and I had to pick out a billion zigzag stitches and then iron it. Ugh. I still liked the look of the cartridge pleat though, so I found some dusky rose ribbon that was PAINFULLY poly, but strangely the exact shade of pink of the dress. I sewed it to the skirt fabric and cartridge pleated both it and the skirt at the same time, thus giving me the look I wanted with a waistline that would conquer my own. Yay! )