Did you lace up all trailing or leading spokes first, rather than one whole side first?
Cause I don't think that's the way to go; you'll have to lace up 16 spokes rather than 8 to find out you have the wrong size - which is obvious now...
I lace a whole side first, then the remaining heads-out spokes next. It's easier to handle when you get the 9th spoke in rather than waiting until the 17th. Although it does take practice to be able to lace up the last 1/4 without bending them too far.