Sewing with vintage linens + NEW Heidi pattern

Introducing the Heidi Pattern + How I Upcycled a Vintage Linen Into a Beautiful Peplum Top 🌸

Say hello to  Heidi — our newest sewing pattern, available now! 💛 Heidi is a charming peplum top or dress (with vintage + knee-length options) and three sweet sleeve styles: sleeveless, petal, or puff. It’s perfect for sewing up something special for baby, girls, or tweens.



My first Heidi sample was made from a lovely, very drapey apparel fabric with a gray bow on a creamy white background fabric. I chose the split bodice with ruffle option, the puff sleeve, and the vintage skirt length. My tween daughter is very much into the feminine, romantic look that is ever so popular at stores like Alter'd State and Free People, so she was thrilled with these options. 

The bodice has an optional split front bodice. You can add a ruffle to the split, or a trim. For her dress, I added the ruffle. For the peplum top, I added a flat lace trim. You can also omit the trim altogether. I love how the bodice ruffle echos the playful ruffle hem on the skirt versions. 

Heidi is a delightful addition to any handmade wardrobe. It’s available now in baby, girls, and tween sizes — so you can sew up something for every little (or not-so-little) in your life. Shown below are baby, girls, and tween sizes. 

My daughter loved the dress. It's feminine and playful! I love when a design works for baby, girls and also tween sizing. 
  

For my second Heidi sample, I wanted to create a peplum top using the petal sleeves. They are so special. Mega heart eyes for the petal sleeves. 

I wasn't sure what fabric to use, and then it dawned on me to see if I had any vintage linens. My daughter is obsessed with how on-trend it feels! You’ve probably seen all the vintage-inspired looks this season at Alter’d State, Anthropologie, and Free People. They just happen to come with a high price tag. So, I had been thinking about incorporating some of my vintage linens into upcoming projects- and a peplum top is perfect, as it doesn't require much fabric. 

I looked through my stash and had a remnant piece that if paired with some similar fabric, would just be enough! I had some white striped metallic dot on hand, so I started layout my pieces on the fabric. I didn't have much vintage linen to work with, so I thought I'd see what pieces would work. Since the bodice is split, I tried the top portion and I loved how that looked. So I cut that piece!

I ruffle up a little strip to test on the bodice, but I wasn't in love with it for this style, it almost felt distracting... so I tried just a flat piece of lace and LOVED that! It's always good to lay out options and see what speaks to you!


When I finished the bodice, I had just enough fabric left to create a peplum skirt. The original vintage linen was a square table cloth, so the hem would be asymmetrical. I scrunched up the fabric, and thought it would look lovely, so I went for it! 

Here's the finished look: 

 

We have a special event coming up, and when my daughter tried on the finished top, she said, "OOOooooo, I can wear THIS!". How my heart leapt! Is there a better feeling than when your teen says she loves something you made, and volunteers to wear it? 

Vintage linens are such a great fabric source — beautiful, unique, and often affordable if you thrift or repurpose. I loved giving new life to something old (with a hole!) and turning it into a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind top.

👉 Shop the Heidi  pattern now and start creating your own magical handmade looks! Don’t forget to tag us — we loveseeing what you make! 💕Have any questions? Feel free to ask below :)