It took me nearly a whole day to actually get it cut out. Mostly because I was experimenting and relaying the fabric and pattern out not only to optimize my material, but mainly to find the best way to cut the skirt front so that I would have maximum grow room. (I ended up cutting the skirt with the design running vertically and the bodice with it running horizontally. It was the only way to get everything out of my material!)
Before dealing with the bodice issue, I went ahead and sewed the skirt and bodice together and put the zipper in. It went in beautifully!