This year Clare has chosen the Oliver + s Family Reunion dress as her Christmas day dress.  Appropriate really, since we will be spending Christmas day with my extended family!

I made the size 8 for Clare. She’ll be 9 in a couple of weeks, and appeared to measure at around size 6 in this pattern, but in my experience the Oliver + S patterns run more on the smaller side than the larger, so I took a punt size wise and it will be interesting to see how it fits.   I’d rather it be a bit big than a bit small.  Once again, the pattern was beautifully drafted and included lots of special touches. The back closes with a row of buttons.

The hem is faced and has six rows of topstitching. I did all the stitching in red for this dress, which can be risky on a lighter fabric, but has worked nicely. If you look hard you can see it in this photo. The back buttons were from Spotlight – at almost $2 per button.

I searched through stash for the decorative buttons to go on the front. These are vintage, and I cannot remember where I got them. I love the touch of gold. The dress fabric is a Spotlight poplin (not current stock) that was originally meant for a shirt for Mr Thornberry, and I used linen for the neckline facing.  There are tucks on the front and back, and the short sleeves have gentle gathering at the top.  Beautiful details!

Clare loves it and I can’t wait to see it on her on Christmas day!