I want to share a new project with you – three years after getting the pattern, I finally made my first Hinterland Dress. I chose the sleeveless version.

This dress is a testament of my commitment to both procrastination and perfectionism.

I had the pattern printed, months later, traced it, and then long after that, started making my pattern mods. More time passed before I cut the pattern pieces out; more time, and I finally started piecing it together. So much time would pass between each step, I’d forget what I was trying to do or what I’d already done. Dragging it out made it more intimidating, and it’s not a difficult pattern.I made a size four, and eliminated the bust dart. I’m not a fan of darts. I used this method to get rid of the dart.

I rotated the shoulder seam to the back like 18th c. clothing. I like how it looks and it eliminates the need to obsess over where the shoulder seam falls on your body (Ok, it doesn’t completely eliminate that need, but it does achieve “out of sight, out of mind”). The fabric blends so well that you really can’t see it at all.I used a lightweight cotton batik for the dress and lined the bodice with black cotton batiste. Inspired by this Hinterland, I used some historical sewing techniques. I hand stitched the lining in, did a decorative running stitch on the button placket, the waist ties, and around the neckline. The stitches are small enough that you can only see if you are in my personal space.I had to notch the armcye seams of the lining and fashion fabric to get it to lie flat when I was sewing it together. I somehow nicked the fashion fabric and had to mend a garment I hadn’t even had a chance to wear. I hope this is just a phase.

I hand finished the buttonholes. I used very lightweight interfacing on the button placket (that was what was sitting on the ironing board), and the grey sashiko thread I used was bulky. The combination of the two made the placket a bit wobbly. I wish I had used thicker interfacing.Also, it turns out I’m not great at spacing vertical buttonholes. They ended up wonky even though I used my buttonhole spacer. I used metal shank buttons which flop around, so that makes the unevenly spaced buttonholes less noticeable. I really wanted buttons and buttonhole loops, but I was getting in the weeds with the details (my specialty) so in the interest of getting it done, I stuck with the button placket.

I drafted my own pockets. I like skirt and dress pockets to be anchored at the waist and side seam so they don’t flap around and are easy to find. I’m really pleased with the pockets I made. With the thinner batik fabric, I was able to gather the pockets up with the rest of the skirt when I was attaching it to the bodice and it didn’t add noticeable bulk.For the skirt, I measured my desired length while wearing the bodice, and then ripped two pieces of fabric that length so I could use the whole width of the fabric. Using this method for the Hinterland skirt is a thing, so I couldn’t even point you to the specific maker that sealed that deal for me.

Of course, my slap-dash ripping method resulted in one panel being a little over an inch longer than the other. I put that one in the back, graded the difference, and made a high-low hem.My original plan was to pleat the skirt in the front and the back like an 18th c. petticoat. The back turned out great. The front… not so much. My first attempt, I used the same pleat spacing I do for my petticoats. It looked terrible.

I widened the center front pleat to create more of a flat front, with the pleats focused at the sides, which made the hips flare out. I wore it that way, but it just wasn’t doing it for me. I took the front half of the dress off again and gathered it instead, and it was just what the dress needed.When I looked at photos of the dress, I saw that the bodice is not the most flattering on me, mainly from the back. The bodice seems to fall just above the natural waist but not high enough to be an Empire waist. It is kind of an awkward cut for me. The Metamorphic dress is more flattering to my figure. Yet when I’m wearing the Hinterland dress, I’m looking down at it. From there, it looks pretty good.

If you do have a longer torso and relatively short legs, you may want to consider changing the length of the bodice or making sure then length of the skirt hits you at a good spot. Technically, I got the length right – maybe it’s a little on the long side, but I like my dresses right around knee length. There’s just something about the cut that seems off on my body.The hem is hand finished, and with that, my three year quest for a Hinterland has been realized.