A Heather dress for winter

This is the Heather dress from Sew Over It, the first completed pattern from my #2017makenine list and my new favourite thing! It's a chic little number, with interesting curved seams (great for colour blocking) and fab oversized pockets. What's not to like?!

Size-wise I cut a size 10, grading out to a size 12 at the bust on the front side panels. The only other changes I made to the pattern were to shorten the hem by two inches and shorten the sleeves by an inch, both of which are standard adjustments for me. The fit is exactly what I was hoping for - it's a reasonably tight fit with just enough ease to make it comfortable to wear. The pockets are really cosy too.

There are no instructions to stabilise the shoulder seams, but I stabilised mine with twill tape to cope with the weight of the dress. All construction steps are illustrated with photos, making this a nice, straight forward sew. The only area where I puzzled for a minute was the pockets. Just remember that you're attaching the pocket bags to the front side seams, not the side seams as you normally would. Once I'd got my head round that, the dress came together very quickly - I think I sewed the whole thing in one afternoon.

Fabric recommendations are for medium weight knits with a low stretch percentage and I used a navy ponte Roma, that Alice at Clothspot very kindly sent me as a gift. They have a few other ponte knits in stock, but this particular shade of navy really called out to me. The weight and drape is perfect for the pattern - it's stable enough to cope with all the curved edges, but doesn't stretch out of shape. I loved working with it, and have already made a second garment from the remnants (coming soon!)

I've sewn with quite a few knit dress patterns over the years and this is by far my favourite. It's soooo comfortable for lounging on the sofa and can easily be dressed up for a night out. I want to wear it every day! I already have plans for a striped version with short sleeves for summer, and at least one more winter version.  What's your favourite knit dress pattern? x