Blue Hyou Heidi

This is my latest creation from my stash of fabric from Tessuti. It's based on the BurdaStyle Heidi pattern and I absolutely LOVE this dress!

The fabric is called Blue Hyou from Tessuti, and it's a lovely, light, drapey Japanese cotton with a slightly crinkly, matt finish. It's quite sheer, but the dress is fully lined, so that's OK, and it was very easy to work with.

As I finished cutting the dress, I realised that the print is actually a coloured leopard print. Now that I've looked up what 'Hyou' means, I think it is Japanese for snow leopard or something. So that makes sense now...

During the construction of this dress, I was really concerned about my choice of pattern. It didn't appear to be coming together very well at all. It wasn't until I put the zipper in and pinned the hem that it actually started to look like something that I'd wear.

Despite my doubts, the pattern did come together quite well, but I did make some modifications, nothing terribly major though.
- I reshaped the sleeves as in their original form they are HUGE! More like wings, than little cap sleeves.
- I added about an inch to the bodice, so that it finished at my natural waist. I knew I wanted to wear a skinny belt with this dress, not the Burda one that is included with the pattern, so this mod was necessary to do this.
- I also tapered the shoulder seam so they fitted more to the shape of my shoulder.
- I was concerned about how blousey the top of the dress was going to be, so I adjusted the waist by reducing the size of the tucks on the front of the dress.
- the front neckline was raised just slightly, by about a quarter of an inch, to help hide my under garments.

Some minor problems I have with this dress now that it's finished, well blog finished anyway, I still have to hand sew the lining:
- The dress is a little snug around the hip. Unfortunately, this is all my fault. I haven't sewn many slim fit patterns recently, so often forget to look at the sizing at the hip. This time, it was kinda important and while the dress fits at the hip, it is a little too tight for my liking with only1-2 inches ease. Thankfully, the fabric is soft and kinda stretchy, so it's not uncomfortable. I'm hoping the dress doesn't shrink as I don't think I'm likely to shrink any further if it does.
- I lined the dress in cotton voile which, while lovely for summer, is not so lovely in winter as it clings to tights
- I accidentally hemmed the dress about an inch too short, but I have enough fabric to take it down when I return from my holiday.

So that's about all for now. I still have one more dress to make from my birthday fabric and it's all cut and ready to begin when I get home. Happy sewing - yay!