Clare particularly likes the style of clothing from Princess Highway.  We’re fortunate that there’s a clearance outlet not all that far from us selling their clothes and others from related brands (Clear It – who also sell fabric, hooray!) and we are often able to pick up cute pieces there for her.  But when it comes to dresses rather than separates, there’s nothing quite like the fit that I can achieve for her.  Clare is one shop size smaller in tops than in bottoms, and only custom made can accomodate that.

These two Princess Highway dresses give you an idea of the general style and silhouette  that Clare was looking for – a fitted bodice with a square neckline, straps, and an A-line shaped skirt with pockets.  So we hit the pattern books at Spotlight who were having a pattern sale.  We came across a few styles that we liked:

But of course, being Spotlight, not one of them (or the other patterns we were interested in) was in stock.  We eventually found a copy of McCalls 7626 at Lincraft.

We decided that the bodice on this would be perfect.  Clare really liked the fitted waistband and the neckline shape.  The skirt as drafted was much fuller than desired, so I folded out a significant amount of the flare, while keeping the angled pockets.  And the result?

Hooray! Just what she was after! The fabric is linen, maybe a cotton blend (thanks to Anna from relocating it from her stash to mine). The bodice is lined in a slightly lighter weight, smoother cotton. Size wise it’s a mash of size 4 and 6. If you’re sewing this dress, use the finished measurements printed on the tissue as your guide for size selection, not the size guide on the pattern envelope. We made quite a few adjustments to bodice fit as we went along, including the usual removal of excess centre back length.

I have to say that I am very proud of the centre back zip in this dress! All the seam lines match across the zip perfectly, aided by very judicious marking and pinning. And the print even lines up across the bodice!

Clare is a typical teen in that she wants – no, she needs – pockets to put her phone in. These angled pockets are very comfortably placed, and are straightforward to sew. There is topstitching alongside the angled opening which adds details and gives structure.

To remove skirt volume I used a vintage A-line skirt pattern from stash as a guide. I made a big slash through the skirt pattern piece from the hemline right up to the waistline then overlapped it until the hem circumference was more suitable, while maintaining the waist circumference. It’s still more flared than A-line, but not excessively so.

I really enjoy sewing with linen.  It’s lovely when each seam is pressed and looks crisp.  This fabric didn’t wrinkle as much as some do, and has a little bit of texture.  Sadly, I don’t have any left now!

Clare wore this to a function on a super hot day last month and looked both fashionable and comfortable. The armholes are possibly a fraction high at the front – if I make this again I will scoop them out a little further.  I would also remove another centimetre from the bodice length.  Some things are only discovered on wearing.  Otherwise, the fit is great.