The Hinterland dress

 It's been 18 months, and still working from home full time. When will we go back to the office is the question of the decade it seems. All those commuting hours I'm saving is going to good use-sewing more clothes! This is the Hinterland dress designed by Sew Liberated, which is the same designer I purchased my Schoolhouse Tunic pattern from. 

The hashtag for the Hinterland dress will come up with thousands of images on Instagram of others who have made this dress. It has a variety of styles to customize it-from sleeveless to 3/4 sleeves, lengths, and buttons or no buttons. Pockets are a part of this dress, which is nice to have. For this project, I chose an indigo linen material. It's lightweight, but heavy enough for fall. The topstitch uses a jeans thread as I like to use contrasting threads when it's appropriate for the fabric. Choosing buttons wasn't easy. I ended up finding faux abalone buttons, although my preference was wood. Of course I found this button website after I completed the dress! Next time...

Check out my Apatite necklace on the last image! Supposedly this stone helps with creativity. Maybe or maybe not, but I'm very pleased with the outcome of this dress. One thing that slowed me down in making this dress is I ripped one of the buttonholes on the placket that was to large to repair without looking terrible. Thankfully, the rip didn't go into the body of the dress, so I just had to re-cut and sew a new placket for the buttonholes. 

Let's talk about buttonholes-they are NOT easy! My machine does them automatically, but if tensions and settings are just perfect, it's a waste of time and thread. I used the entire spool of my jeans thread on top-stitching alone (ran out just as I finished the last step!). I used a blue thread for assembling the pieces to conserve the jeans thread for this project. 

This pattern will definitely be a staple in my DIY wardrobe. I might skip buttons next time however.

Discovering indie sewing

Sewing is a skill I often take for granted. Years ago I had experimented with sewing my own clothes, but grew frustrated with the lack of desirable patterns, patience, and money! Fabric is expensive, and takes patience and precision to come up with a quality finished product. While cruising Etsy for general sewing patterns recently, I discovered how many designers are selling PDF patterns for garments that are actually fun to wear. This led to me finding independent sellers of fabric targeting these fashions, and I made a goal to begin sewing more of my own clothing. My first choice of buying garment fabric online is Sewing Studio. This shop is local to me and doesn't have a store-front, but the quality is outstanding.

One of my favorite designers is Sew Liberated. The patterns are easy, functional, versatile and fun to wear. I first purchased the Schoolhouse Tunic because I like the bohemian look. The first tunic was made with a batik fabric. I wore this tunic shirt in Jerome Arizona, a cute little western town high up in the mountains of Arizona pictured with my older kids below.

The second one was made into a dress meant to wear with tights. I used a lavender cotten gauze fabric for this one, and it turned out very well. I love how it matches my foxgloves in full bloom.

Another designer I'm obsessed with is If Kim Wore Clothes with her whimsical styles of comfort and feminity. I chose the Ashley Dress which was very simple, and I can wear this over a long sleeve top with tights in cooler temperatures. This dress was sewn using a light blue linen fabric.

While patterns can look gorgeous on the screen, the choice of fabric is of course essential to make it worth the effort and patience to sew your own clothing. Although the cost and patterns of DIY clothing can be more expensive then buying clothing at your local big box clothing retailer, the feeling of wearing something made by your own hands is one of the best. I love that I can custom make my own clothing in the color, fabric and style I choose.