Thank you so much! It's actually dark, jet black. I took the photo outside and don't have the best camera. HERE is a shot of just the skirt without flash/outside light (though I lightened the photo a little because otherwise you couldn't see much!).

I'm not sure how long the pleating took. I started in April and finished last week, but took breaks for school work, other projects, etc. I should log my time! For each row I had to cut 3-5 strips, sew them together, serge both long edges, hand pleat them, baste them in place, pin them to the skirt, sew it in place, pin on the ruffles, sew in place, pin on the satin ribbon, sew in place. Because the skirt is so voluminous, it was hard to sew all that trim down so far up the skirt.