Firstly, I am still blushing at all those lovely comments on my Frocktails dress!  Thank you all so much – I am very flattered.  And I’m looking forward to wearing it again.

My next sew was a quick dress for Clare, made from scraps left over from an as-yet-unblogged dress for me.

This simple, sleeveless racerback dress is a free pattern from Crafterhours. This is the largest size, size 7/8, and fits Clare (aged 10 1/2) just fine. I didn’t alter the pattern at all other than being forced to piece the back along one of the stripes due to fabric limitations. See if you can work out where – I bet that you can’t!  It’s a beautiful quality substantial cotton/spandex stripe in navy and cream (not black, as the photos might suggest) that I was given from a lovely friend.

My favourite feature of this dress is the back yoke, with the rest of the back gathered to it. There are also small gathers at the centre front of the neckline. I finished the neckline and sleeves with bands from a contrasting pink cotton/spandex. Rib would have worked better with the rather acute curves of this pattern, but after some vigorous twin needling, this fabric was okay. I also hemmed the dress in pink with the twin needle.

So not much more to say about this one really! I consider this to be an almost free dress – the pattern was free, the fabric was scraps, and I possibly only paid for the thread and the vliesofix that secured the hem.

It’s really meant to be a summer dress, but there was no way that Clare was going to let it wait until then. After all, isn’t that what leggings and long-sleeved t-shirts are for?