My niece is 11 - and preteens aren't a category I get to sew for much, these days. But my MIL knew her style and after a quick tour through all the girls' and women's patterns I owned, we settled on the CKC Esther. Grandma liked the shirred sleeves and the simple silhouette, and I liked that it was cute, feminine, and could be made with the quantity and cuts of fabric we'd bought.
I used a standard panel for the front (and back!) of the bodice, and small-scale yardage for the arms, neck band, and skirt. I'd hoped to have enough left over to make another Esther my daughter (who adores her cousin), but alas I'd underestimated how much fabric the top-length circle skirt would take when scaled up to size 8.
This was also my first experience with shirring - CKC had a pretty helpful video, and for all the stressing I did, the shirring itself ended up being No Big Thing (assuming the garment holds up to multiple washes, that is). In retrospect, neck gathers + a panel was not the *wisest* combination, but I do think it worked out in the end.
Well, except for one small thing - even with an extra 2" added, my niece's shirt *still* wasn't long enough when she tried it on. So, with her input, I added to the design. She selected the option of a second circle skirt in a solid color, and picked out a nice violet to complement the colors of the original design.
And the result certainly brings a smile to her face! They say too many cooks spoil the broth, but I think this collaboration between three generations of RLQ women worked out pretty darn well. My niece is feeling good about her new shirt, I'm feeling pretty good about my first outing as seamstress for a preteen, and I think grandma is just proud of us both on a job well done.
Nice job on that shirring and great save by adding another circle skirt for more length. If you were able to please a pre-teen, you have done well indeed.
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