I love to sew, and I really love to sew my clothing. My story to successful handmade clothing started on a very winding path of learning sewing skills which I am happy to recount for you here and hopefully inspire your journey in making.

I learned to sew clothing as a kid, making doll clothes. These skills evolved and then went into some historical costuming as a young adult. I always struggled with modern patterns from major brands found in fabric stores.  I never understood the seam finishings in modern sewing since I didn’t have access to a serger but had the knowledge to make a french seam. Why were these methods not utilized or why were there so few instructions available right on the patterns??  My Mom helped me whenever I asked, but lets face it… I was one of those teenagers who did not take instruction well, much less from my mom when it was unsolicited.  I am pretty certain even when it was solicited I was pretty surly for a while.  Anyway… back to sewing present day.

Once I was able to get a better handle on sewing, and acquire more skills through college and generally more time sewing I found my way through quilting back to sewing clothes.  In college I made a dress to wear to a dance, and I was able to make my costume to play Robin in the college presentation of Shakespere’s Merry Wives of Windsor. I also was able to start taking some sewing classes at Rachel’s Quilt Patch starting with some small Christmas Ornament patterns and moving  on to making quilts.

When I graduated from college  I had a great job in Roanoke, Virginia and plenty of free time so I was able to take some quilting classes at my new local quilt shop. I learned even more sewing techniques and made a few quilts and a few friends.  My boss, a man, could not ever fathom why I would want to take a quilting class. It only came up because I was leaving from the office one day after work and was asked what my weekend held.  I joyfully replied “sewing”.

It was through quilting and the growing boom of social media that I returned to sewing clothing.  I found through the quilting market and Instagram many fantastic designers and the one that I had connected with most is Meg McElwee of Sew Libertated.  Not only was she blogging about being a mom and generally being in the same season of life as me, but she made a case for sewing clothes and feeling good about being me.

Meg has made sewing so much more approachable and intentional.  Her way of writing about sewing and her clear method of pattern to designers like Meg who make patterns with lots of details, including great sketches I have been able to increase my sewing skills even more rapidly… and enjoy more clothing that I feel like help me express myself.

I seek out patterns that allow me to feature with hand knits. This is when I feel like my personal presentation is perfectly in line with who I am!  With that in mind I have landed on the Hinterland Dress.   It is in my opinion a perfect and classic sillouette.  It draws in at the waist, giving a lovely feminine shape.  It has two options for finishing in the front with button bands for interest, two sleeve lengths and hem lengths.   This gives lots of options for mixing and matching and having multiple styles from one pattern investment.  

So far I have made three versions.  The first was intended to be a wearable muslin, made from a light weigh woven cotton. It has the shorter skirt option and short sleeves. I finished it with black buttons and it has become a well loved summer dress.

The second version I have in my closet is a rayon linen blend. This dress is my absolute favorite of the three.  The fabric is the best feeling and has beautiful drape. I made this dress with the button placket from the waist to the neck line. But because my sewing machine  was acting up, I decided to stitched the button bands together.

The buttons are just decorative on this dress, but I learned something handy and it was confirmed through Instagram that other people were experimenting with the dress hack of a solid top, or no button band.  This is done my cutting the top on the fold, ignoring the button band all together. I had to try this!!

Enter my most recent version of the Hinterland dress.  This dress is made from a woven silk.  I love the look and color, an off black and purple.  I have to say, the fabric is a little fragile. Some squares are loosely woven and when sewing through  those sections the stitches are secure but the threads of the fabric can become distorted. I made this dress to be a holiday dress. Something special and not worn all the time, so I am ok with the fragility of the fabric. I also chose to omit the button bands and extend the sleeves for a more elegant look and instead of gathering the skirt,  I added a few pleats.  I love how it turned out.  And I look forward to wearing it on occasion.

Three great dresses, one investment in a pattern and what seems to be a growing opportunity to style a handmade dress with my favorite hand knits.

You can find the Hinterland dress pattern over on Meg’s website Sew Liberated.