Washi Dress

Yep, I'm one of the many

Washi Dress

fans in blogland. When I first saw the dress Rae

made and wore at Quilt Market

, I was seriously crossing my fingers that she would write a pattern. And when she did release the pattern, I think I bought it within a day or two. I am really impressed with anyone that can write a clothing pattern - so complicated! I love the little details in the neckline and the pockets.

The Washi Dress pattern was great. I especially loved that the pattern piece lines are all different colors, based on size. So no confusion as to what to cut. This dress took me maybe 5 or 6 hours. The first time I make a piece of clothing always takes the longest, and I'm definitely no expert. But I'm already planning a second with some of Anna Maria Horner's Field Study fabric, and possible a third in voile.

I made a muslin bodice before making the actual dress. I ended up deciding on a size Small, with a couple adjustments. I have scoliosis so my shoulders are uneven. It's pretty annoying. So I used a big larger seam allowance on the right shoulder to make up for that. I also am short. :) So I shortened the length of the dress 2.5" so it would fall a bit above my knee.

You can tell how much taller my husband is than me from the angle of this photo!

The fabric is from Jay McCarroll's Habitat line. I bought 3 yards of it last November with plans on making a dress, after seeing this dress from the Sewing Summit. The fabric has a bit less drape that I was hoping for, but I do love it (even if it is a bit wild).