We had a date for a beach excursion last Friday and DD1 asked if it was possible to have this dress to wear. Um, well… OK… since it’s been cut and waiting on my sewing table for about a month now. I guess I could sew it up quickly. (She asked on Monday.) I was actually pleasantly surprised at how easily this pattern went together. I was expecting it to be an arduous process what with all the details on the front bodice and the pleats in the sleeve, etc., etc., etc., but it went together simply and painlessly.
The front has a piped and gathered midriff, and DD1 chose remnants from her plaid shorts as the contrast fabric. I added a little panel at the CF because the neckline is at the bust point level, and that’s a little too low for confident wearing (besides, DH would have a fit). I did alter the bodice by shortening all pieces about an inch just above the bust point since DD1 is actually petite. I decided not to draft the neckline higher because I thought adding the contrasting fabric to make it more modest would also keep it “young”.
The only other alteration I made was a quick-fix approach to the fitting through the waist because I didn’t have the time to do it properly. The dress hung like a sack from DD1’s shoulders (she’s got very broad shoulders) like she was a clothes hanger without any definition through her waist. I think there was a total of 8” that I took in at the side seams by creating a box pleat about 2 inches long on each side of both side seams. Lazy fix, I know, but I have my excuses! I put the zipper in after she’d gone to bed for the night, and couldn’t fit it until the morning. And I was in no mood to rip out the zipper and take it all in properly, so I did the exterior box pleats. Horrible, lazy and oh-so-not-couture, but it worked, and if she doesn’t wear out the dress (or tire of it) by the time she grows another size or two, then I can just let out the pleats instead of making an entire new dress! Granted the pattern description says “loose-fitting”, but when you’re 13 years old, who wants loose-fitting?
This is a really nice pattern. It’s got good reviews around the sewing world, and I totally agree: it’s a little charmer of a dress.
Mezzo Couture 
This dress looks just wonderful, and your daughter is beautiful in it! I was interested in your description of the process since I have made up this pattern twice myself. I found it to be very baggy too, and had to take it in through the torso quite substantially!
(Thank you so much for your kind comment too)
This is a gorgeous dress and your daughter looks great in it.
And you are very clever with the box-pleat-built-in-expansion!