Smocked Honeycomb Skirt

Have you ever worked really hard on something and just don't like the final result? That is how I feel about this smocked skirt. The one shown in the tutorial on the Victory Patterns blog is so cute! Why didn't mine turn out as well?

I adjusted the waist size several times and put the zipper in twice, but I still don't think that it fits very well. One reason is probably my lack of patience. Another is that the thread in the smocking keeps stretching. The pinched together sections were very tight when I first finished, but now are much looser. I knotted each smocked piece separately because I did not like the "pulled" then "slack" parts shown in the tutorial. Perhaps that is the problem.

Here is the final product. I may try belting it and wearing it higher on my waist. It saddens me to cover all of the smocking, but if I wear it more often, then it is a sacrifice I am willing to make. Or maybe I will continue to adjust the fit in the waist to make it more snug. 

In happier news, I have been doing so much sewing lately. I finished the shirt that I told you about last week and I have another (hopefully better) skirt in the works. I am also toying with the idea of making a quilt!