Meine Herzenswelt – Vanja Sweater Dress

German pattern world strikes again! I just love how many unique and interesting designs are available among European patterns!

When I received this unicorn panel from MK*Designs, I realized that it was going to be too small for another Filou sweater or BeeStyle and since I wanted a dress, I didn’t think it would work with the Henry(ette). This panel was actually so big, I almost thought it was supposed to be for an adult! I did a scour of the International Knit Sewalong group on Facebook and found the  Vanja sweater. I fell in love with it and decided it would be perfect for this panel (it also has a side ruching panel option which looks stunning, but didn’t work with this wide panel).

About the Pattern

Deine Vanja (also available on Makerist) comes in 2 lengths – pullover and dress. It is designed for girls, but can be adjusted for boys by straightening out the side seams. The Vanja comes with a hood, collar, and collarless option. It has two pocket options (a patch pocket or an inseam pocket, side panel options (a ruching add-on is available), long sleeves (with a short sleeve add on pack available), and it also has fantastic instructions! They were so easy to translate, and had great tips that I hadn’t seen elsewhere (e.g., how to correctly stitch the grommet patches so that the faux drawstrings don’t fall out!).

I recently saw on Facebook this amazing tip for constructing hem and sleeve cuffs using the “hot ham method”. A video was posted up in the Self Sewn Wardrobe group demonstrating it, and a lady in the Itch to Stitch group made this little graphic of it. Best. Method. Ever!

Because of the size of the panel, I did modify the dress to shorten the height of the pocket.

About the Fabric

I received the unicorn panel and floral print from MK*Designs complimentary for purposes of sewing up and promoting. This is a beautifully soft cotton Lycra with a great weight! It’s also compliant. The purple solid was in my stash. I *think* it’s Art Gallery. I used some cheap polyester lace from JoAnn for the trimming, and cork fabric from a cute little store by me called, “Oh Sew Persnickety.” I installed the grommets with my new favorite thing: my KAM table top press! Oh, and the coverstitching – I did that with silver metallic thread!

The fabric is currently available as a pre-order until November 15, so if you have a unicorn obsessed child (or adult!) in your life, go check it out! There are a couple more color-ways including stripes and unicorn yardage.