Construction Details:

WOW! Where to begin?? I was teaching myself how to sew with each piece that I worked with. Thank Godoka for YouTube and Google! The bloomers were my first project, and after they were constructed I covered them in 7 tiers of ruffled satin ribbon (to ensure an endless sea of ruffles!).
The hoopskirt has three rings of plastic tubing that are removable for easy storage. At first I made smaller rings, but I was advised that it SHOULD be difficult for me to get through doorways, so I made a new set. Ruffled satin ribbon is attached to the bottom.
The petticoat was the most time-consuming and expensive piece. It's made of 8 organza circle skirts with ruffled satin ribbon enveloping the bottom edge, then ironed down. Between every two circle skirts is a layer of gathered horsehair crinoline, and the top layer is peachskin with ruffled ribbon attached the same way as the other skirts. When it was finally finished, I jumped around the house in it for a good half hour. X3
The topskirt is white satin, with ruffled ribbon attached at the bottom. It was really fun gathering it around the hoopskirt, which is good because it took 5 tries to get it right.
The petal skirt pattern was a challenge to pattern, but I'm happy with how it turned out. After attaching red bias tape, I got it airbrushed, then hand-sewed the teardrop and marquis beads.
The bodice was quite scary at first, but after dissecting an old bridesmaid dress, I realized I had a perfect pattern right under my nose! The white ruffles around the top are hand-sewn on, and I installed the zipper so that it zipped to under my arm instead of my hip, so I had to make hidden clasps for the ruffle border, and made a snap for my sleeve to attach. Making sure the pink ribbon going down the sides of the front panel was straight was time-consuming, but totally worth it.
Making the giant plushy bows for my hips and hair were probably the most fun part. I commissioned the Soul Gem from MaladroitStudios, and shoes are from Milanoo.com.

Personal Thoughts:

This was my first self-made costume, and I am so happy it all turned out alright! It was her gigantic, ruffly skirt that first drew me to cosplaying her, but as I continued the series I realized that even though she seems like the cliche chipper female protagonist, she had the same doubts about herself that I always did, and just as she became stronger as she fulfilled her true role, I was realizing that all the little weird things about me could come together and make something great as well.

Styling Notes

The pigtail clip-ons were 20" long at first, and I cut them down to their current length. I layered the pigtails and the main piece with thinning shears and a razor, then separated the hair and made it more edgy with some Got2be Glued styling putty.

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