Heather Dress

Have you ever see a pattern cover and want the exact outfit? The Heather Dress by Sew Over It was that. Lisa Comfort modeled the pink Heather Dress with gray tights and I knew I wanted to make one right away. Except I didn’t make it right away. I purchased the pattern and got cold feet because of all the curved seams on the pattern. I knew being short means I’ll have to alter the pattern. So it sat in my virtual pattern stash for about a year.

I finally had enough courage to give it a go after binge listening to Sewing For the Weekend podcast. The mother and daughter team mentioned how much they love the Heather Dress in a couple of episodes. I thought it was time to just do it. I envisioned making a birthday Heather Dress with a Ponte Di Roma- Minnie Polka when I visited Sew Over It back in October. This fabric was too precious and I didn’t want to do a cold sew so I decided to toile using a dusty rose knit. I figured, if my toile is successful, I would end up with the exact same dress as the one Lisa wore on the pattern cover. Sew I did… (lol! get it?) It was far than being successful. It was a bit of a learning processes.

Here is the pink knit toile. The front bodice was acceptable but the back is not. The seams that curved around the waist was all stretched out. I ironed it, resewed the seams with a longer and wider zig-zag stitch, and serged it, but didn’t solve the problem. I also didn’t like how the pockets were all bunched up and the dress hung droopy on me.

I also realized that this pretty dusty rose color knit doesn’t really go with my skin tone. Something was off.. nude dress? I took my problems to the Sew Over It Facebook Group and boy were the makers there helpful!

Many of the makers suggest that I use Ponte Di Roma because they see that my fabric was too light. Duh to me! All knits are not the same as Beth and Nina mentioned from their knit episode. I didn’t even think that my pink knit fabric was too light. The Facebook group also suggested many other remediations but the fabric was main culprit.

I gave up on fixing the pink knit toile because I knew the fabric was not right. I outrightly treated as a toile and the opportunity to make adjustments. I took .5 inch off the shoulders, 1 inch off the bodice, and 4 inches off the hem.

Lucky me, I have about a meter of black Ponte di Roma that I got from G-Street a while ago. A few tries of playing Tetris with pattern pieces got me pretty close to having all the pieces except the pockets and sleeves. I used leftover knit scraps for the pockets and used the already cut sleeves from the pink knit toile.

Here is the second toile using Ponte Di Roma. The curves are smooth! Yay!

Yassss! The Ponte fabric is structured enough to hold the shape. I am back on the sewing mojo.

Sew Over It suggested testing the neckband out as knit fabric have different stretch amounts. Nina from Sewing For The Weekends also warned me to be careful with this step as well. I had to take out 3 inches off the neckband for it to stay flat on my neckline. This step is so crucial because you see that on your garment more than the other parts (since it is so close to your face).

And here is the finished garment. Neckline in place, sleeves inserted, and bottom hemmed. I love the seams on this dress. It is super flattering.

I also love the pockets. They are good phone and snacks holding sized pockets.

Even though I took more time than expected, I am really happy with how this garment turned out. Having to use pink sleeves from the first toile was an unexpected surprise of how cute the entire dress turned out. I really like how body friendly this dress is when made with the correct fabric. Ponte Di Roma sews well, holds it shape, and hides all the bumps and lumps. I guess it’s too late to sew my birthday dress for this year, but it’s not too late for next.

Sewing Summary:

Pattern: Heather Dress from Sew Over It

Fabric: Only use PONTE DI ROMA (2 yards), unless you want to color block

Notions: matching thread

Modification: .5″ off shoulder, 1″ off bodice, 4″ off hem

Fit: Semi fitted and forgiving around the waist and butt area

Did the finish garment look like the advertised pattern?  Yes, if you use the correct fabric.

Things to consider: Use the suggested fabric. Medium weight with good structure. Nothing drapey.

Would I make it again? I would love to make my birthday dress with Minnie Polka…. maybe for my birthday next year.