Molly's Costume Project - Darling Dress

At long last I can finally report that the dress portion of Molly's Abby Cadabby costume is now complete! And Molly loves it! Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree when I presented it to her the other morning. She was so excited to put it on and to proceed spinning around like a princess! Just like her Mama...
After completing the small petals I had to figure out how to attach them to each other like a chain. I measured the waist and neck lines and proceeded to overlap each petal, in various color order. In order to cover up the majority of the small visible stitches, the overlapping occurred left over right. I double checked my petal chain lengths by pinning my measuring tape to the ironing board. It worked beautifully!
It took several layers to finally come up with the final product, each layer stitched carefully one by one. It turns out I made more than enough of the periwinkle color and had quite a few left over. I'd much rather have too many than to have to return to the store for more fabric! Perhaps it will inspire another future project...
Once the petal chains were complete I could immediately attach the smaller one to the neckline of the dress. On the actual Abby dress it seems like those petals are somewhat folded down, probably for "comfort" or to reduce petals hitting the face. I took the iron and flattened them in half once they were attached. Easy cheesy.
The waistline was a different beast all together. I couldn't attach the bead chain to the petal chain with the sewing machine. I don't have that kind of equipment/attachment for the needle and bobbin. So, my only solution was to hand stitch the two together. It wasn't difficult at all. Just time consuming. I did the same for attaching the completed petal-bead chain to the waistline of the dress. I'll probably have to keep an eye on my hand stitches over time, just to make sure they're holding. But they should be secure!
To complete the outfit, I did some investigation of the bargain racks at department stores. Since we'll hopefully be in WA at the end of October (and definitely by December) the weather will be significantly cooler. I don't want to cover up all of my hard work with a jacket! So, I found a pair of light pink leggings and a onesie with long sleeves to wear underneath. This, of course, stays true to the character of Abby Cadabby who's fur is in fact light pink. Problem solved! I just needed to make sure the dress would still fit over them.
Here is Molly thoroughly enjoying her Abby Caddaby dress!