It’s a little bit funny to be blogging garments that were sewn and photographed many, many months ago!  We all have different hair lengths now.  I have a feeling that I may have actually sewn this last December, somewhere between Christmas and New Year.

I have a few lovely sewing friends who pass on ‘junior’ and ‘teen’ size patterns to me, with my daughters in mind, and I’m really grateful that they think of us. We were very happy to receive vintage Simplicity 9459.

There used to be quite a number of patterns in size ranges other than girl’s, misses’ and women’s. Personally, I yearn for the day that half-size patterns reappear on the market. Junior and teen patterns are often just the ticket for my eldest. That said, she’s not a ‘standard’ or straight size. Like most of us, getting clothes to fit her well requires careful measuring and often some adjustment. I often spend just as long on fitting my slim daughters as I do on fitting my chubby self. The need for pattern alterations isn’t restricted to any particular size.

In this dress, the hardest part to fit was the bodice. It really could have done with a SBA; the bust darts as designed were too deep, and took a bit of fiddling with to get sitting nicely. They still provide a pointier boob shape than Clare would prefer. The bodice is fully self-lined, which provides a lovely finish.  Both the bodice and the lining are cut on the bias, which was an interesting pattern design.

Getting adequate bodice fit and strap length right is really important in this dresss, as that’s what keeps it on! The back is very open, and closes with only two buttons at the waistline. Definitely a dress that she’ll be wearing bike shorts under to avoid potential wardrobe malfunctions!

We took quite a bit of time getting the length of the straps just right. And I can’t resist showing you my four-step buttonhole prowess – I’ve been doing buttonholes on this machine for thirty years now, and they’re usually completed to an adequate standard, but this one was pretty much perfect!

The fabric is a beautiful quality cotton from a quilting range – I think it might be Anna Maria Horner? I also think that it came to me from another generous sewing friend. That almost makes this a blogging community dress! It was delightful to sew with. I chose to topstitch the bodice lining in place from the right side with the same apricot thread that I used for the buttonholes and the hem.

This is a really cute and fresh little frock. I’ll be interested to see how much she reaches for it this summer.