Ah, ponte knit, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
There’s the fact that your edges don’t fray or even curl! And you don’t demand to be pinned before being sewn. Right side or wrong side? Who can tell — and who cares?? Your somewhat sturdy drape lends a lovely shape to garments. And you’ll never shrink or stretch out of shape with washing, hanging, or whatever other torture I want to put you through.
And when you come in this awesome shade of hot pink, how can I resist! You had to become a Sew Over It Heather Dress.
I made the dress during an afternoon of Sewcializing with the Toronto Sewcialists back in the summertime. We get together in the party room in Hillary‘s building every once in a while and sew away happily while chatting up a storm and snacking on such delights as the blueberry basil popsicles Hillary made. (I know, right? How awesome is that?)
I did everything from taping my PDF pattern together to sewing it all up except for the hems during this very enjoyable afternoon. I was glad to have some other sewists around while I was tweaking the fit, as it needed a lot of taking in on those back seams to get rid of most of the fabric pooling at the small of my back. Thanks, Chloe, for your help on this!
Gillian made the trek from Guelph on the Saturday-jammed highway 401 to hang out with us, too. Gillian is every bit as delightful in person as she is on her blog. You may know, if you follow her on Instagram or on her blog, that she recently was rear-ended in traffic and suffered a concussion and whiplash, so she’s been offline for the last few weeks while she recovers. Do send her positive healing vibes! Get better soon, Gillian!
Are you in the Toronto area? Why not join us? Check out our Toronto Sewcialists Facebook group.
Some notes on the Heather Dress pattern itself: the sleeves are *very* narrow as drafted. I ended up letting out all the seam allowance on the sleeves to eke out enough room. As for the hem length, my version is much longer than the original pattern; I think I added a good 5 inches or so. I almost always do this with skirts or dresses that are fairly short, so I can choose to shorten it later or stick with the longer length. The curved seams on the front and back are the key detail on this dress. A little different than your usual dress, and they create a good opportunity for colour-blocking as well.
Look, I’m so happy this dress has pockets! Cleverly built in to the curved seams.
Do you do any social sewing? I must admit that I wish sewing was a more portable hobby — the big drag about a sewcial event is packing your car full of equipment…sewing machine, serger, tools, extension cords, pattern pieces, etc. etc. It sometimes feels like packing the car for a week-long holiday. But it’s always worth it for such an enjoyable afternoon. Do tell me about your sewcial events!
Thanks so much for stopping by.
— Lori
Frivolous At Last 
STUNNING! I love this one, it really shows off your lovely figure. Nice one missus!
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Wonderful dress and those shoes—totally awesome. Looking good.
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Wow. This looks gorgeous Lori. I love it! What a great colour too.
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It’s really nice! I love the seam lines!! And ponte is my favorite ❤
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Lovely dress! I also love ponte, or double knitted jersey. I am wearing a single jersey dress today, and I was wondering at my ignorance of times past, how could I make a dress in single jersey???
And those shoes are stunning too!
Personally I feel uterly alone in my sewing hobby. Everybody around here is into patchwork, but no sewists but me and very old ladies who do not sew any more. A pity. That is why I appreciatte the online sewist community! I feel connected. I belong to a knitting club, though! And I must say it is a much more sensible gear to travel with or to work in itinerant…
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Agreed — the stability of the double knit or ponte really helps when it comes to fitted dresses. And oh yes, knitting is a much more sensible social activity– knitting needles weigh much less than sewing machines! lol.
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Super dress and gorgeous colour. Killer shoes! You look great.
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what a great color! so pretty. we have a great group in N. Cal which is Bay Area sewists, which meets monthly and we talk sewing, have presentations, fabric and pattern swap etc. Also I am fortunate to teach at a studio so I get to socialize and meet lots of people who are interested in learning or improving their sewing skills. I’ve found any sewing group I join really welcoming.
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That’s a good idea to get together just to chat and swap, rather than hauling the machines out. Must try that sometime! And I agree, sewing groups are the BEST. 🙂
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Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!!! Between the color, the fit, and the shoes (THE SHOES!!!!!!!), I am in love. ❤
The Heather is really such a great pattern, I need to make more of them for this winter. (And yes, in ponte! It's ideal for cool weather dresses.) My first one came up a bit longer than I wanted–I added length at the start without measuring, which was dumb–so I will make my next one(s) shorter. (What can I say? I like opaque tights + short dresses + boots in the Fall and Winter…)
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Thanks, Abbey! I have to agree that those shoes are a work of art. 🙂 Can’t walk in them to save my life, of course, so I crack them out for the occasional picture. And I have been known to keep them on my dresser so I can admire them. #shoeaddict
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Its beautiful! the shoes….perfecto! 😉
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Such a great dress! Love the colour! So jealous of your big meeting space and that you can actually sew there! In London it’s really difficult to find a big enough location.
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Did you show me these shoes when I was there?!? Amazing.
Guess what? I have a very similar color of ponte in my stash. I love your dress – should I copy you? You just look so great! I can’t believe it was such a fast project too. Great job!
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