‘That’s weird, it has no head.’ Holly walked inquisitively around the mannequin. ‘What does it do?’
Libby smiled. ‘Most weddings have beautiful flower girls like yourself and I’m going to use the dummy to make your dress. I’m going to measure you then check over the fabric and cut out what pieces we need. Then I’ll pin the fabric around the dummy so we can see what your dress is going to look like. When it’s pinned in place, we will carefully try it on you and make sure it’s the right size and fit before I sew it all together. Oh dear, I forgot to ask your daddy or granny what the design of the dress is like.’
‘It’s whatever I want,’ stated Holly. ‘I’m the only flower girl.’
‘Do you want to have a look through a couple of magazines to see what you might like?’ Libby asked. Then she noticed that Holly had spotted the glass cabinet of tiaras at the far end of the room. ‘Go and have a look,’ she said, and watched Holly joyfully skip over to the cabinet.
‘Look at these, they are so pretty.’ Holly was standing on tiptoe with her face pressed against the glass.
Libby brought over a chair and helped Holly to step onto it. She stared into the cabinet. ‘Which one is your favourite?’ she asked.
‘That one right in the middle. It sparkles.’
Holly was pointing to a glamorous tiara. The comfortable headband was accented by elaborate floral elements and the floral segments were set with iridescent freshwater pearls and small, glistening, round cubic zirconia.
‘It does indeed sparkle. When we finish your dress you can try it on.’
‘Can I?’
‘Of course you can,’ said Libby, lifting an excitable Holly down from the chair. ‘But first let’s choose the design of your dress.’
Libby gathered a number of magazines from the shelf and spread them out on the white fur rug in the middle of the studio. Holly lay on her stomach, her legs in the air, her face in her hands. Libby sat cross-legged next to her. ‘Have a look and see what design you like best.’
‘And I can have any design?’
‘You can have whatever dress you wish.’
‘You’re very clever,’ Holly replied, as she began turning the pages. Every dress that Holly saw was her new favourite. ‘They all look so pretty.’ Holly turned over another page. ‘This one is the same colour as mine.’
‘And the same material. Do you like that one?’
Holly nodded.
The fluttery crimson crinkle chiffon material was ideal for the dress featured in the magazine. With its A-line silhouette, scooped neckline, cap sleeves and the bowknot embellishment, Libby knew it would be perfect for the little girl. ‘That’s the one, you’re going to look utterly beautiful. Holly Hart will go to the ball,’ announced Libby, standing up and switching on the radio. She took hold of Holly’s hands and gently pulled her to her feet. As the next song came on Libby twirled Holly around and they jigged along until the song finished.
‘I’m out of breath,’ Libby admitted. After taking in some deep breaths, she walked over to the water dispenser, poured two cups of water and handed one to Holly before taking a sip from her own. ‘Right, let’s get this show on the road.’
‘What show?’ asked Holly, puzzled as she looked all around.
Libby laughed. ‘It’s just a figure of speech.’
‘What’s a figure of speech?’
‘It just means: let’s begin making your dress!’
Holly helped Libby to lay the material out on the table then once again stood on the chair for a better view. Libby could see that Cynthia had tried her hardest to follow some sort of pattern and had attempted to sew the back of the dress to the front. It wouldn’t take Libby long to unpick the stitching and start again.
‘I’m going to be a dressmaker when I grow up,’ Holly announced. ‘I can make all my own clothes.’
‘It’s a brilliant job to have. I was about your age when I decided what I wanted to be when I grew up and that’s exactly what I do.’ There was a small part of Holly that reminded Libby of herself. Holly was concentrating closely, watching everything that Libby did. ‘Go over to the top drawer of that table and you’ll find a measuring tape.’
Immediately Holly fetched the tape and handed it to Libby.
‘Thank you. And now I need to take some measurements. This might tickle. I need you to stand like this.’
Holly mirrored Libby’s stance, her arms open wide and feet apart. Libby began to take the measurements and scrawled them on a nearby pad. ‘I think we are ready to draw the pattern on paper. Do you want to help?’
‘Yes, please!’
