Washi Dress ~ Women's Dress Pattern Review

I am in love with this pattern! I mean, seriously. When Rae (Made by Rae) released her Washi Dress pattern I knew I must have it. I could just tell that it would work on my body and I actually saw Rae in person at spring quilt market last year wearing her own version of the dress and she looked adorable.

The beauty of this pattern, is that you can really fit the dress to your bust measurement and the rest is pretty forgiving whether you are straight-figured or curvy in the hips. I went with a size medium, even though my bust was on the upper end of the measurement that was given. I think the fit is spot on.

So this is me modeling this dress. I am SO not used to taking pictures of myself. But I knew you would want to see this dress on and not just on a hanger, so set up my tri-pod and was trying to work it in front of the camera. Ha! Far from 'working it', but I tried my best. It felt quite self-indulgent photographing myself, but oh well. Who knows what the neighbors were thinking watching out their windows.

This dress came together very quickly and easily. The most tedious part was putting together all the pattern pieces since this was a PDF pattern. I believe there is a paper copy of the pattern out now, but that was not available when I bought mine. The sewing time was probably about 2 hours.

The pattern comes with facings for the neckline. Instead I opted to fully line the bodice (you know how I love fully lined garments) and did the sleeveless version so that I could layer it for winter. And the dress has pockets! How great is that? It's great, trust me.

The back of the dress calls for shirring, but I'm not much for that technique. One, I don't feel like I've perfected it and two, it's a hint casual for my taste. But instead I had seen Rae add in an encased elastic in the back of one of her variations, so I decided to give that a try. I couldn't find an exact elastic measurement, but just in case you want to do the same, I cut my elastic 6" shorter than the width of the back of the dress. That seemed to work well.

I used the scoop neck option because I knew I would be layering it with a long sleeved shirt, but I also love the other variation that is given with the pattern. I think I will try that one next.

There are so many options with this dress. The pattern comes with two sleeve options, two length options (tunic and dress) and over on Rae's blog she has given a long sleeve and a maxi length tutorial. I plan to draft a peter pan collar for this dress, so if I get that done, I am happy to share that with you as well.

This pattern is a little pricey for a PDF at $16.00 and there is A LOT of taping that is involved for the pattern (took me about an hour). But with that being said, the instructions given for putting the pattern pieces together are so easy to follow. Probably the easiest I've ever seen. Also, there are so many design options with this dress that you can use the pattern over and over again and create many different unique looks. So really the $16.00 will be nothing if you make several. And you will make several because the fit is so great.

Have you tried the Washi Dress pattern yet? I haven't heard of anyone who doesn't just absolutely love it. I was not given this pattern for this review, I bought it and am giving you my honest opinion. If you want a dress that fits and flatters, go get the Washi Dress!

Fabric: Anna Maria Horner: LouLouThi (Clippings Passion)

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A Very Go To Christmas: Go To Leggings Pattern Review

I have been wanting to make my girls some leggings for months now. Leggings seem to be our go-to thing around here when it comes to wearing skirts and dresses. I was so excited when Andrea Pannell (The Train To Crazy) came out with her 'Go To Leggings Pattern' because it was exactly what I had been thinking about for the girls. I decided to do a ruffle adaptation of the pattern because.....um.....I guess I just can't leave well enough alone.

If you haven't visited the Go To Pattern Shop, you should go take a look around. There are loads of patterns from different designers that are sure to inspire your creativity.

Let me tell you a little bit about this pattern. The 'Go To Leggings Pattern' is a PDF pattern that comes in size 12 months through size 12. It has 5 styling options and 5 length options (including a skirt), so there are endless combinations of different styles of leggings you can create.

If you've never used a PDF pattern, they are very easy to use. You simply print the pattern out on your home computer (8.5'' x 11'' paper) and then tape the pieces together to create your full sized pattern. I know some of you are more traditional (like me) and prefer paper patterns, but the 'Go To' patterns have some of the best instructions I have ever seen regarding how to tape all of the pattern pieces together. Also, another advantage to a PDF pattern is that you do not have to trace the pattern to preserve the original, you can simply print it out again if you would like to make a different size and it is stored in your computer.

Also, if you have ever been interested in getting started working with knits, this is a great pattern for beginners. There are lots of tips and tricks regarding working with knits. The entire pattern is 26 pages and 10 full pages are just instructions with all kinds of wonderful information.

Go To Leggings Pattern

Double Ruffle Variation

My daughter, Savannah, has been a little picky about her clothing lately. She only wants to wear things that her mama makes for her, which is so sweet (and I know won't last forever). I let her pick out this fabric from my stash and we decided ruffles would be really cute for her leggings.

The great thing about working with knits is that you don't have to worry about the fabric fraying as you would with woven cotton. These double ruffle leggings were made with raw edged ruffles, but you could certainly hem each ruffle, just make sure to lengthen the ruffles to account for the hem.

Would you like to add some ruffles to you 'Go To Leggings Pattern'? Here's how.......

Cut out the full length legging pattern from the 'Go To Leggings Patter' and then cut off 4.5'' from the bottom of both leggings pieces.

Cut four ruffles. Typically when you create a ruffle, you want it to be 2 times as long as the main piece to which you are attaching the ruffle. So the bottom of my pattern piece (size 6) was 9'', so the length of all of the ruffles was cut at 18''. Cut two ruffles 4.5'' x 18'' and cut two more ruffles 4'' x 18''.

Make sure you change your needle when you are sewing with knits. There are special ball point needles that are designed for stretch knits. Trust me, you do not want to work with knits using your regular 80/12 needle.

Run a gathering stitch along the top edge of the 4.5'' ruffle. Gather the ruffle until it is the same length as the bottom of one legging pattern piece. You should use coordinating thread, but I used white here so that you could actually see the stitching.

Pin the ruffle to the bottom of the leg of the leggings, lining up the top edge of the ruffle with the bottom of the legging, right sides together. Attach the ruffle to the leggings using a 1/2'' seam allowance.

Press your ruffle down, away from the bottom of the leggings and press the seam allowance up towards the legging.

Run a gathering stitch along the top of the 4'' ruffle, 1/4'' from the top edge. Pull the threads to gather the fabric to equal the same width of the bottom of the leggings.

Measure up 1'' from where you attached the 4.5'' ruffle. You can mark this line with a fabric marking pen, pencil or chalk or you can use my favorite product, Wash Away Wonder Tape. If you use Wonder Tape, place a line of tape 1'' up from the top of the other ruffle, peel off the paper backing and stick your gathering ruffle along the tape, lining up the top of the ruffle with the top edge of the tape. If you don't use the tape, just pin the ruffle in position Stitch in place using a 1/4'' seam allowance and sewing on top of the gathering stitches.

Continue sewing the pattern according to pattern instructions, making sure to catch all ends of the ruffles in the inner leg seam allowance.

My little lady LOVES these leggings. She says they are so soft and comfy and the fit is spot on. These were such a quick-sew and I will definitely be making more of these in lots of different colors!

One last thing......if you want, you can enter to win a shopping spree at GoToPatterns.com and Sew Fine Fabric!

 

THREE WINNERS!

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I did receive the Go To Leggings Pattern for free, but was not compensated in any other way for this pattern review. All opinions are 100% mine.

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