Are you aware of the Washi week happening over at Made by Rae? I have been stalking her for a month anxiously awaiting the release of this pattern. And this weekend, it finally was available! Although I had several other projects in the works, I quickly brushed them aside to begin on my own Washi clothing. I was going to begin with the dress but didn’t have enough of this Lizzy House print for a dress so settled for the tunic. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this tunic The pattern is so quick and easy to follow, even for a fairly new clothing seamstress like myself. Who doesn’t love a shirt with no closures? So proud of myself for successfully mastering shirring in this tunic! 🙂

It is a PDF pattern so you print it out and tape together before tracing it onto some sort of pattern tracing paper. That is the most tedious part in my opinion, but I did it while watching a movie which that made it more enjoyable. I traced my pattern onto some quilter’s grid tracing paper that I have. Rae recommends Swedish tracing paper and I have that on my list to buy as soon as I can because I think that would be better and easier to use than the quilter’s grid.

Per the pattern’s instructions, I made a muslin for the upper bust and when I did, the Medium was a bit tight even though my measurements were right on for the Medium size. Because of this I decided to sew 1/4 inch seams on the shoulders and sides instead of 1/2 inch- to give myself a little extra wiggle room. However, after I finished the tunic, I had to go back and add that extra 1/4 inch seam allowance back into the tunic because it was too big! Who knows what happened with the muslin?

I found some purple shot cotton from my Purl Soho visit that is enough for a dress version of this pattern and am already anxiously planning out some time to work on it! I will make a few changes on the dress version. First off, I will add the optional sleeves. Second, Rae suggested I could take a few inches off the bodice because I have a short torso and I think I will try that with the dress. Lastly, the U cutout on the front bodice was a bit lower than I wanted so I will raise the neckline a bit in order to feel that I can wear the dress without a tank under it and still be modest. 🙂

If you are looking for a versatile tunic/dress pattern, this is it! Check out all the versions Rae has made on her site! She even has a maxi version that she has promised to post a tutorial for (as a pattern add-on) soon! Also she has had quite a few pattern testers of varying shapes and sizes who have tried out her pattern and I think the dress looks fabulous on all of them! Hats off to Rae for an amazing job on this pattern. I can’t wait to see Washis begin popping up all over the blogosphere!

P.S. Pink Castle Fabrics is having a huge $5/ yard fabric sale and I scooped up some flea market fancy yardage perfect for another Washi dress!