Hinterland Dress

As I mentioned in my last post, in planning Easter dresses, I ended up having to trash my original dress idea due to ugliness. Ha! No, really-it was bad! In the end, though, scrapping it was the right choice-what I ended up with was something I’m extremely happy with.

So after throwing my first dress in the bin (not really-there’s still lots of fabric that can be turned into something), I started brainstorming other options. I’ve been eyeing a skirt pattern so I headed to Joann’s to see if I could find a fabric that would work for the skirt I had in mind. I walked up and down and up those aisles several times before leaving the store empty handed. I found a couple of fabrics that would be in the correct color scheme (gotta coordinate those Easter outfits!) but nothing that worked with the skirt. More planning was needed!

Since becoming more privy to the world of sewing, I’ve been keeping a list of all the patterns that I like and would like to sew some day. It wasn’t until much later that night that I remembered one of the patterns on my list: the Hinterland Dress by the independent designer, Sew Liberated! I knew the dress would be perfect: it’s not too complicated and I knew I could sew it up in a couple of days. It would also work in one of the fabrics I saw a Joann’s earlier. So I headed back to Joann’s.

The dress is made out of a stretch chiffon. I bought 2 1/2 yards of it and it was plenty for the short sleeved view, with just a little bit of fabric left over. I made a straight size 10 and I’d say the fit is great. It’s got a good amount of ease so the dress is very comfortable to wear. The pattern is great and the instructions are easy. My only complaint is that the pattern doesn’t come with the layers function (the ability to print only your size) which is mostly fine as the lines are relatively easy to follow. It just made cutting the pattern slightly more difficult to do while watching a particularly exciting episode of Psych.

This dress was fairly simple although this was the first time I’ve sewn a placket, but the directions were straightforward and it was really easy to do. So. Can I tell you all the reasons this dress is perfect? It’s obviously cute, right? But it’s also completely modest. The length is perfect, in my opinion, hitting me right below the knee. I’m not pregnant or planning on being pregnant any time soon but I guarantee you this dress would fit and be comfortable for any pregnant lady. I’ve seen people do modifications for pregnancy and while they might make the dress slightly more flattering, I think the pattern would be fine as is for a pregnant belly. And then! And then it’s also totally nursing friendly! So maybe lots of the benefits are only benefits to those in the baby-having stage of life. But I dare say the comfort and cuteness make the dress great for any stage of life.

The waist tie is optional but I’m really glad I included it so that I can make the dress slightly more form fitting. I will definitely be making this dress again. I’m thinking the full length placket view is calling my name. And maybe the 3/4 sleeve?? We’ll see. I will say that while I don’t hate my fabric choice, I do wish I’d chosen something a bit heavier. Chiffon isn’t on the recommended fabric list so the poor choice is all on me. The chiffon is just the slightest bit see through and I prefer a bit sturdier fabric. Also, for my own future reference, I’ve seen people raise the neckline by cutting out the smallest size. I debated doing this and opted not to. I am perfectly fine with this neckline, but I think I will raise it in the future.

When I put the dress on to show Ben, he said, “Wow. That doesn’t look homemade at all.” Which for a newbie sewist like myself, that’s just about the highest compliment I could ask for.