Copying a Dress for my Daughter

This is one of my daughter's favourite dresses.  We shelled out a few quid on it on a trip to Bath a couple of years ago.  Before we actually bought it I had given it a quick inspection and told her "Easy peasy.  I could make you one of those.  Falling off a log."  Fighting talk.

There is nothing complicated about it.  A plain bodice, elasticated at the waist, and the skirt, conveniently enough, is approximately 36 inches wide.  No fastening at all, she just pulls it over her head like a jumper.

Now, with ten days to go before we nip off on a quick trip together, I am finally getting round to making her the promised dress.

She chose this pretty cotton about four years ago when she wanted a dress, but wanted a completely different style.  I kept telling her that the style she wanted wouldn't work with this weight of cotton unless it was fully lined, and I wasn't keen on putting in loads of effort on a fitted dress before she had stopped growing.  The material was stashed and the project shelved - until now.

I got off to a flying start a few days ago by nicking an idea from the inimitable and thrifty HoffiCoffi, who has a knack for using up old duvet covers and buying up several miles of bargain material for making toiles.  Instead of wasting perfectly good calico on a mock up bodice, I used an old duvet cover. 

Thank you Hoffi! 

Rather than draw out the pattern on paper, I drew directly onto the duvet fabric, cut out the front and back, and made the mock-up bodice.  Once I was sure my daughter could get in and out of it without bursting the side seams, I undid the stitching and used the duvet pieces as the pattern for cutting out the real bodice, managing to miss out the paper pattern stage altogether. 

Yesterday I cut out the bodice in the floral fabric and the lining and started sewing.

I managed to assemble the bodice, finish the neck edge...

...and tack the armhole edges together ready to bind them.

Now I have the job I love to hate - making my own bias binding from the dress fabric.

Linking up with Connie's blog Freemotion by the River for Linky Tuesday