My husband finally succeeded where I have repeatedly failed.  When Clare was a pre-schooler, I made her what I thought was a beautiful pinwale corduroy dress from Vogue 7926.  I wish that Vogue still did little girl’s patterns – I have a few from the early 2000s that I must have acquired just before they stopped producing them and they have all resulted in gorgeous garments.

Clare continually refused to wear this dress. I tried over and over and over. Eventually she outgrew any possibility of wearing it. So as soon as Stella approximated the appropriate size to fit into this dress, I thought that finally it would be worn and all that piping would be worth it. She refused. Over and over and over. So imagine my surprise when on Sunday morning I emerged from the shower to find that my husband had got Stella dressed ready for church – and this was what she was wearing!

She wore it happily all day, and I felt that those pintucks on the bodice, gathered sleeves, fully functional buttoned cuffs, piped plackets, pockets, cuffs and collar, buttonholes, buttons, and contrast floral binding on the inside were all worth it after all. Next time we won’t accessorise with a devil’s pitchfork and scary face.

There is still one dress hanging in the wardrobe that both girls have sadly refused to wear. I’d better get my husband onto that one next.