Better? I think so. Not only does it look better, it now fits! After sleeping on it, when I woke up this morning the dress didn't seem so bad to me, but I knew that there had to be something I could do to make it better. Then it hit me - take out the extra length from an empire seam. So, I chopped the dress in half at chest level, cut about 2.5" off from the bottom half, then sewed them back together with a band of the reddish fabric as trim. Because the skirt half was wider that the top half, I made a little pleat at the center front - you all know I have a thing for pleats. Y'all, I'm so happy I saved this! Now I can't wait for Ava to wear it.
With the pockets gone, I don't think the bird looks so odd anymore. I think the band of fabric under the bird helps him stand out more, don't you think? Perhaps not competing with those pockets helps too. Whatever the reason, I'm happy I kept the bird.
See, even if projects don't turned out as planned, there's always hope. Now I want to go through my closet to see if there's anything of my own I can rework. I could get into this!!
