Third time lucky? Heidi Dress by Wearable Studio

I like to be honest with you at all times so today I will share my not so perfect attempt of fitting the newest pattern from Wearable Studio, the Heidi Day Dress.

I had previously made a Canary Cami from this designer and was in love right away, so did not think twice about Heidi, particularly because I received the PDF pattern for free as a gift for signing up to Wearable Studio’s newsletter.

Heidi is a simple dress with staps and bust darts that is looser around the waist. On the back there are two pleats where tie is sewn into, which can accentuate your waist more.

I looked at the size chart and picked size 18 which was good for me on the bust and hips. I’m falling more onto size 20 at my waist, but when I checked finished measurements and pattern shaping I realized that size 18 has more then enough ease to accommodate for my bigger waist. What I did not expect is to see so much excess fabric on the neckline. In hindsight it may be because the patterns are design for bodies with larger than average bust (C cup), so I decided to do some small bust adjustment for my second try.

Also I had to shorten straps by 10cm because they were way too long. I hoped that by doing so the waist placement will raise enough as the pleats and the waist tie were too low on my back. I used a lovely embroidery fabric from my stash and was a little upset that it did not turned out as I hopped for, but never the less I am still enjoying this dress and wear it often at home.

Pattern adjustments

Before I cut into my next fabric I had to make necessary alternations to the pattern pieces.

First I had done small bust adjustment by slashing and overlapping the pattern by 2 cm. This reduced size of bust darts and eliminated the excess fabric at the neckline therefore I had to draft a new front facing.

I kept straps shorten by 10cm as this was a good lenght on me. Next I moved up the pleats and the tie placement on the back by 3 cm, because I still felt they sit too low on me.

Another try, another fail

I sewn my second version just to realize that the bust dart point is to high. I did not see any placement issue on my first dress because of the excess fabric, but thinking back shortening straps by 10 cm would move the whole bodice up a lot including the bust dart…..silly me. At least I could test my bust adjustment and I was pretty happy with it. I used some leftover stretch cotton from my stash, so was not as upset as before.

3rd time the charm?

You can see I can be a little stubborn sometimes, so I made further adjustment to the pattern by changing an angle of the bust dart. I kept everything else as it was before and made my final version.

This dress was made out of leftover linen fabric that I used last year to make my half circle skirt with button placket. I had to be very creative and played Tetris, by having a centre seam at the back and shorter belts.

Am I happy with it??? Yes and no… I like the style and the comfort of this dress but hate how it looks and fits on my back.

I’m guessing this might be due to my sway back and a big bum, so I will undo those back pleats and insert the belt in the centre seam ( At least it came handy), or I may do a normal darts. Will see which one I prefer more. I should of made a sway back adjustment, but I though I can get away with it this time…..I was wrong!

It takes me about 30 mins to cut out the fabric and 2 hours to sew the Heidi dress, but it is a time well spend as I have 3 lovely, but not so perfect dresses that I can wear at home and in the garden.

Final thoughts

After making and remaking the dress on three different occasions I can honestly say it is an easy and fast make. The instructions included with the pattern are simple to follow and very clear. If you have a small bust I would recommend doing SBA, but other than that the pattern is well drafted and I would make some more and am thinking of hacking the pattern into a nice cropped Cami top with a belt.

I prefer it made out of a lighter weight fabric with a little bit of a drape to it because they hang nicer and are more flattering on me.

~hope my experience will be helpful to you~

Monika xxx