Pattern Mash-up: Henrietta x Hinterland

I made my first Hinterland Dress last year (see it here!) and I’ve had every intention to make a couple more because it really feels like such a closet staple sort of pattern. The pattern has lots of options and so many people have hacked it, in fact the designer even has a course walking you through all the different things you can do with the pattern. So this is my first try at hacking the pattern into something unique. I decided to mash-up the dress bodice with a more interesting skirt, and chose the Henrietta Skirt pattern. This is a pattern from Spaghetti Western Sewing, and oh gosh is it a dreamy skirt. It has gathered side panels that give the skirt so much more volume, which I love not just for the look but for comfort.

Straight-away from the photos you can see I went with the sleeveless option from the Hinterland pattern, and I added an elastic waist. Initially I though I would just use the waist tie like my last Hinterland. When I tried it on it just wasn’t looking right so I decided to seam rip the waist seam and add a casing for some elastic in the moment. I just cut 2 strips of fabric and sewed them between the bodice and the skirt, just enough room for a 1/4” elastic to run through. This worked much better for cinching this heavy fabric than just a tie, although I did keep the tie on the back for the aesthetic. Otherwise I didn’t really change much about either pattern. I sewed all my straight seams using the french seam method, so a couple seam allowances had to be increased to accommodate that, and of course I converted all the top-stitching to hand finishing techniques, but otherwise I kept to the patterns exactly as given.

As for materials, everything came from my stash, which has been a New Year’s Resolution for me. After I use up all my big cuts of fabric you might start seeing a lot of patchwork projects from me for the rest of the year! This blue fabric is the Laundered Linen from Maiwa. It’s a heavyweight linen at 245 g/sm but given its weight, it still has incredible drape. I made my embroidered Myosotis dress out of it a few years ago and I love the way it wears which is why I bought this. This fabric also doesn’t need a lining, and will hold up to embroidery so great. I’ve embroidered quite a few pieces now and honestly I wish I had used a more sturdy fabric for most of them. Embroidery is so much work and I want these clothes to last! The buttons I used are ceramic ones I made last year when I was a member at a local pottery studio. I love these and wish I had made more! And the facing is just a scrap of lightweight linen from my stash.

I am so happy with this dress, it feels so good to wear. I sewed it in about 2 weeks during nap times, which is a pretty quick make by my standards. I have plans to add a bit of simple embroidery to the neckline before summer truly hits and this dress is put into rotation. I’m keeping the embroidery design simple so hopefully I can get that done in the next week or two, more photos to come!

Links:

Fabric: Laundered Linen from Maiwa

Bodice pattern: Hinterland Dress by Sew Liberated

Skirt pattern: Henrietta Skirt by Spaghetti Western Sewing