For this collection I knew I wanted a simplistic dress to showcase the patterns. Whilst the colours from this collection are very delicate, the drawings are actually quite naïve, so I didn't think a dress with lots of large skirts or ruffles etc would showcase the designs very well. I wanted the fabrics to have room to 'breathe' and not be distracted by the design of the dress. With all this in mind, when I stumbled across this McCalls pattern, I knew it was THE ONE. However, there was one little snag, it is designed with jersey and stretch knit fabrics in mind. We weren't going to let a little thing like that stop us though, so we added a zip down the left hand side so that it was easy to take on and off.
Using the sizing's for age 7-14, we opted to make 'Dress A' in an age 8, using quilting weight cotton fabrics from my 'Floral Song' collection. For the bodice we used 'Daisies Dancing in Pale Grey' and for the skirt we used a combination of 'Bloom in Light Pink,' and 'Daisies Dancing in Pale Grey.' Rather than adding a ribbon for the sash we chose to make one from one of the fabrics in the collection ('Floral Art on Light Pink.') This was very simple to do and didn't take long.
One of the reasons I fell in love with this dress was due to the patchwork effect of the skirt. We chose to play on the 'patchwork effect' and enhance it by using a couple of fabrics from the collection, rather than just one as shown in the pictures provided. We chose to use fabric from the bodice in the skirt as well as a third fabric, in the pink colourway to compliment the rest of the dress without being too distracting. I think this is a nice play on the original design and adds a playful, fun element.
This dress is great for every day wear and I can see it being worn a lot. The pattern is very versatile and you could easily spend all day playing around with colour and fabric combinations. The instructions were simple and easy to follow. The only slightly negative comment I would say is that the bodice appears a little large, and while the sash does cinch in at the waste, it does however leave the arm holes a little on the baggy side. This may have been because we used cotton rather than jersey or knit fabrics. If we were to make this again I think we would alter those ever so slightly to combat not using the jersey fabrics.
Was this easy to make? Yes! Does my daughter love it? Yes! Would we make this again? Yes! I think that says it all.
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