Washi Dress in Feathers

Hello! I have a new dress to show you! I worked long and hard on this one and am really excited about it. This is a slightly modified version of the popular Washi Dress pattern from Made by Rae. Let me walk you through the features of this fine pattern.

SHIRRING! This dress gave me an opportunity to try my hand at shirring. Whoo-ee! It is a magical technique. Basically, you sew stripes next to each other using elastic thread on one side and regular thread on the other. And then, after you have sewn all of your lines, you hit it with a blast or two from the steam iron and the magic happens! Here is the before and after:

BUST DARTS! KEYHOLE NECKLINE! PLEATS! The pattern has options for the neckline and an expansion pack for even more options! I went with the original keyhole neckline for my dress and plan to make more versions of this dress with different necklines. The pleats contribute to the relaxed fit of the dress. And the bust darts landed in the right spot without any modifications needed.

MODIFIED BODICE! People, I made 2 muslins to make sure my alterations were going to work and I am so glad I took the time to do that. The original location of the waist line was right underneath the bust and I feared that silhouette would end up looking like a maternity dress on me. By dropping the waist line down 2-3 inches, I feel a lot better about the fit.

WRINKLES! Ok, so they aren't a feature per se, but they are a part of the package with a 100% cotton dress.

LAYERING OPTIONS! I actually finished this dress in the early spring and wore it a few times with leggings, a cardigan and boots. I found that a silk slip does wonders when it comes to the drape and functionality of a cotton dress, especially when it is layered against other fabrics. The skirt of this dress has enough fabric that I can easily bike in it. Hooray! Since I opted against adding the cap sleeves, the fitted cardigan I used to layer over it worked well.

I knew when I purchased this pattern that I was going to work hard to get the sizing and modifications just right so that I can use it as a template for a lot of versions of this dress. After I make another dress and a few tunics (the pattern includes a shirt-length version as well), I will probably buy the expansion pack so that I can make even more variations! In other words, this pattern really works for me.

The details:

Thanks to Paul for the pictures and Uli for the co-modeling.

Pattern: Washi Dress size medium with modifications

Fabric: 3 yds of Nomad by Urbanchiks for Moda Fabrics 100% cotton stock #31103

My Sewing Circle project link