Letting out communion dress?

[Rockbird]

DD2 had her first communion delayed and it's now next month. That, plus the fact that she's chunkier than DD1 was means that the dress won't do up at the back. I know less than nothing about dressmaking so wondered if it was possible to let it out and would it look rubbish or obvious? I wouldn't be doing it btw!

I'd like to use the same dress if possible (tradition and all that jazz) and there aren't many around to buy at the moment anyway.

What kind of a size difference are we talking here?

Can you see inside if there is much spare fabric at the seams?

Could you plan for her to wear a cardigan so any alterations aren't as obvious? Is this a family dress or just one which dd1 wore? We didn't have a family dress so each child got their own dress. She may feel more comfortable in a dress tailored to her shape.

My mistake, it does up but is very tight and doesn't look comfortable. It's a dress that we bought for DD1 so not an heirloom. But she'd only be wearing it for a short time as we can't have a party afterwards so she'd be changing straight out of it.

Maybe it would be better to just get her one.

The expense of alterations is likely not to be worth it really. But if you really want them to wear the same dress then it sounds doable as the dress does up.

Sorry forgot to update. Ordered a white bridesmaids dress from Next which arrived today and she loves it. It actually suits her much better than DD1's would have done so all is well. And actually, it's nice for her to have something of her own and not cast offs all the time.

Thanks everyone!

Ah that's really good, glad she likes it. We thought the same actually dd2 had lots of dd1's clothes so it was nice to have something new for her (though actually we spotted it in a charity shop but ykwim). Likewise dd1's would not have suited dd2 as dd2 was in all dimensions smaller so dd1's dress just hung on her. They can then have each dress as a momento, unless there is a dd3...

Hope you have a lovely day and maybe she can wear it again for Christmas/party etc.