When I made... The Washi Dress

I sewed up my third Washi Dress this Sunday, so I thought it about time I blog it too! This dress is becoming a bit of an obsession with plans for at least 2 more this summer. It's just so darn comfortable, flattering and easy to make - the third attempt took less than 2 hours to sew together - and looks great in all those fun prints you have in your stash.

The original pattern is by Made By Rae, and can be found here:

As you can see, it comes in a wide range of sizes too. The XS would probably fit a tween as well. There are only 2 bust darts, the front skirt has 6 easy pleats, and the back is shirred. There are pockets, but no zips, fastenings or anything else fancy to worry about. The instructions are very clear and simple, as always with Rae, and she gives many options for changing the dress to suit your shape and style. I think the bodice would fit a A - E cup without much/any adjustment, and the skirt is generous enough to cover a multitude of shins.

My first attempt was this dress as a top, and it wasn't particularly successful as I did something weird with extending the bodice. I can't actually remember what I did but perhaps just lengthened the shoulders and sides? I didn't mess with the darts at all. Also I didn't cut the pattern pieces to the 'top' shape, so it's much poofier than it should be! Aaaand I had no make up on when we took the shots... So I shall distract you with my slightly crazy kid.

Anyway based on this I definitely wanted to try the dress! It took a couple of months before I around to it (this top was made in August?) and I wanted to use up some of my vintage fabric that I bought from Madeline at Do Re Mi in Elsternwick. I'm not sure if she sells her fabric to the general public but she does have an AMAZING collection! It's in the back room! You should totally go back there.

For my second attempt, I just moved the bodice front pattern piece out one inch before cutting, which gave me two inches of much needed space across the bust. I added 2 darts under the bust to shape a little, and I liked the results so much that I used it again for the most recent dress. I cut the notch in the front neckline far too wide in dress 2, but rectified that in dress 3! I'm hopeless at shirring and even Rae's painstaking instructions - which have apparently worked for everyone else who made this dress - didn't work for me. So for Dress 2 and 3, I added 1" elastic in the back with a little extra strip of fabric to cover it on the inside. This looks neat from the outside and is still comfortable and easy to dress.

Dress 2

Dress 2

Pete is pretty tall at 6'5", and I had never realised until the above picture that all he really sees of me is hair and boobs. Also, make up makes SUCH a difference! Never again am I leaving the house without it. I've reached that age. Although as a comedian on the radio said recently (Hi Hughsey! See you at the fish shop on Friday!), he'll love his wife no matter how much make up she eventually needs. Touching, no?

Dress 3

Dress 3 - to prove I have two legs

Our experiment in photographing outside is not good... The fabric is not actually luminous! It's actually a little sheer and the print is very pretty. There must be a knack for photographing vintage fabrics because both of these look really wishy-washy when in reality they're faded but quite sharp.

As you can see, my eyebrows have recently fallen prey to eczema and that's just been more traumatising than I can say. Maybe I should go Lisbeth Salander, i.e. cut some very short, sharp bangs? I just can't really see her wearing this dress. However, unless you are in fact a tiny, revenge-hungry, eyebrow-less Swedish mental patient / genius / killer, you will probably enjoy this pattern. It takes very minimal skill to sew, and nothing more than a sewing machine. Rae's pool of photos on Flickr are testament to how many women around the world love this pattern. Also I did not realise until a recent blog post of hers, but she is actually supporting her family by selling her sewing patterns. Well, I have several of her patterns and I think they are all excellent, especially for beginners.

Here's a little slideshow of the Washi Dress Flickr pool!