A win with Washi

So what did I wear to Sewcie Tea (Society) this afternoon? I had a win with Washi. Cup of tea anyone?
I started making this dress on Friday morning after posting about my abandoned plan A dress and my aborted plan B dress. Thankfully, I had made a muslin of the bodice way back when it was first released mid last year, and I knew it needed minimal changes (phew). Which begs the question, why didn’t I make this dress earlier?
I think this is a clever pattern. There are no buttons, zips or closures and yet it easily goes on and off without a struggle. The shirring at the back gives great definition and the pleats in the front skirt give volume and movement without too much ‘poof’. I’m also quite partial to the sleeves. This dress is perfect for my body type, and I love it!
For the first time, and mainly because I was keen to see how it turned out, I hand stitched the bias binding (used as a facing on this dress) on the armholes. It was a good experiment and I pleased with how it turned out. Hand sewing definitely has it’s place even in the era of machines!
Pattern: Washi Dress by Made-by-Rae (available for purchase in pdf or hardcopy)
Fabric: 100% cotton from Tessuti. Purchased as two remnants on separate days last year. On very close inspection (and I only noticed when I was giving the dress it’s final press) the colour of the flowers are ever so slightly different on the two pieces. They obviously came off two different rolls!
Size: Large
Alterations: I was being a bit lazy, so I only marked the first row of shirring on the back dress piece and then used the edge of my pressure foot for the spacings. I therefore ended up with 8 rows of shirring instead of the instructed 6. I removed the in-seam pockets when tracing out the pattern (let’s put that down to laziness too). I also removed 5 inches off the hem.
I had some photo bombers in this afternoon photo shoot. Luckily, they were wearing mummy-made dresses (and in the case of Miss B pink socks!)
I feel the need for some quick projects and I’ve got plans for my jersey stash. Watch this space…
Beautiful work. And the mustard colored shoes and beads really add some zip! This inspires me to check out the pattern . . .
Thanks Peg. This outfit combines two of my favourite colours – green and mustard. It’s a great pattern and I would highly recommend it.
Beautiful dress!! So cute, and great for summer! And I totally agree that the mustard necklace and shoes are a great match for the dress. : )
Thanks Carolyn.
Great dress! It was lovely to see you yesterday. Shame we didn’t get to chat much. L x
Where did the time go? It seemed like it was over before it finished. We’ll definitely chat more next time. A x
[…] I told you about my dress, today it’s time to share some photos of everyone looking AMAZING in their me-made […]
Washi certainly was a win! How funny that the remnants are two different colors- I certainly didn’t detect that yesterday! It was great chatting with you!
And you too Emily.
Gorgeous! I’m definitely putting this on my ‘to make’ list. It was so much fun wasn’t it’!
I can definitely see you in a Washi! It was lots of fun. The time just flew…
Your dress is gorgeous and is lovely in person too. Great to meet you yesterday and hopefully I will see you at Frocktails too
It was so lovely to meet you Liz and thanks for making the effort to come such a long way. I look forward to seeing what you make up with your Melbourne fabric purchases. See you in Sept!
You know that you looked fantastic! Great dress, well fitted.
I felt fantastic! It’s so much fun to dress up and play ladies. Is there a Washi in your future?
lovely make! i’ve got the washi dress high on my list of to-dos. i really love that necklace you’ve paired so well with it and the shoes 🙂
Looks great Anna – you are inspiring me to start sewing for myself not just the kids! Saw a blue peacock Liberty print yesterday which would look great in a dress like that! Off now to make Miss Z some lazy day skirts for Kinder.
I started with making things for the girls and it took me a good 12 months until I starting tackling things for myself. I was so scared of fitting issues, I start with lots of floaty things to gain a bit of confidence. Gotta love that lazy day skirt pattern!
Silly predictive text put me as Aims instead of Ainsley 🙂
[…] finishing my Washi Dress last Saturday night, I quickly cut and sewed up a long sleeve tee for my nephew who was celebrating […]
[…] 9. Favourite pattern? Isn’t it often the case that your favourite pattern is the last one you sewed? My current favourite is the Washi Dress. […]