Sunday 28 April 2013

African Wax Fabric Washi Dress


Round these parts the mild-maternity sewing is rapidly turning into mid-maternity sewing as I have now been growing a human inside me for 18 weeks (18 weeks as in 2 weeks away from half way!). 

Pattern, Sizing and Changes: 

One of the patterns I included in the mild-maternity sewing post that I knew I would definitely have a go at was the Washi Dress pattern by Made By Rae (pictured below). 

Source: made-by-rae.com via Zoe on Pinterest

I used a straight-up size M as the bottom area where I'd potentially widen a pattern is already very loose on this style. The only change I made to the pattern was to adjust the seam allowances to 1cm (3/8") or 1.5cms (5/8") before cutting the pattern out, rather than trying to get my head round sewing with the 1/2" or 1/4" seam allowances that had been allocated which I'm not used to. 

The pattern was a joy to sew. The only change I made was to zig zag strips of 1/4" elastic along the back (pictured below) rather than using shirring elastic as the pattern instructions prescribed. I did this for two reasons, 1) I already had a whole load of 1/4" elastic, and 2) I hate using shirring elastic.


Fabric Choice:

My fabric choice is A) awesome, and b) inspired. I used the second half of the batch of African wax fabric my friend Anna bought back from her honeymoon in Ghana. The eagle-eyed of you will recognise that I used the rest of the fabric for my Simplicity 2444 dress. It's such a lovely weight of cotton, stiff enough to make the most of a pattern's clean lines (like the neckline shaping and front pleats on this style), but soft enough not to need ironing every five seconds. Well, that's all for this fabric now, it's been busted right out of my stash. 


Conclusion:

I love this Washi dress! I can see at least one more garment using this pattern as a basis on my sewing-horizons. I've worn it outside once so far, but unfortunately I didn't get a photo of me wearing actually wearing it so you'll have to trust that it looks ace until MMM'13 when I'll probably be rocking it with annoying frequency (weather permitting). 

31 comments:

Sabs said...

Omg, I was going to comment on your last post today that you have to make a Washi. I've just finished (well, nearly, it needs hemming) my first one and altho I love it, it does make me look preggers (I'm not!) so thought it would be perfect for you! Haven't blogged about mine yet. Yours looks fab, love that print.

Kat said...

Gorgeous dress Zoe, I love the print!

Jacq C said...

That is a gorgeous dress, the pattern placement on the back is perfect :)

Katy said...

Its gorgeous! I'm really loving African wax fabric at the moment. I'm going to have to get some!

Kirsty said...

Looks so lovely. Can't wait to see you in it.

Unknown said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE!
Px

Philippa said...

Fab dress!

Cecili said...

Love it, you're such a stylish mum to be :) Would love to see you wearing it though!

Anonymous said...

you are right, that fabric is awesome!! I love the Washi pattern, I need to revisit it soon!

Anonymous said...

What a fantastic dress! How I wish I had had such a cute maternity wardrobe when I was pregnant!

I can't believe you're 18 weeks already! Time flies :)

Masustak eguzkitan said...

It´s gorgeous! Cute dress, I love this fabric.

Anonymous said...

I loooooooove this! What an amazing print! Looking forward to seeing it on you!

Sarah said...

I almost bought this pattern last night! I think you've convinced me, cute dress :)

Carolyn said...

I'm excited to see it on you! It looks beautiful!

Cucicucicoo said...

love the fabric, love the dress! looking forward to seeing you in it! :) lisa

Veronica said...

Great Zo! What gorgeous fabric! Perfect for the bump! How awesome that your human is almost halfway grown on the inside! xoxoxoxo

Sølvi said...

Very pretty - and a great use of the print. It looks wonderful!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous fabric!

Anonymous said...

With all these lovely maternity makes, you're clothes are gonna be the envy of your antenatal classes!

EmSewCrazy said...

Lovely! What a great print! You are really making some great maternity pieces! Keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

The fabic and pattern combination is fab! Hopefully MMM is going to be wall to wall sun, fingers crossed...

Jill said...

I don't think the washi is a dress I would've made before, for fear it would make me look preggers. But now that I am, I've been eyeing that pattern. I absolutely adore this version you made. It looks so fresh and modern and is perfect for the bump dressing!!

Anonymous said...

It looks great! It's inspired me to use the african fabric I have that I thought might be too stiff to make up. And thanks again for yesterday's class, really enjoyed it, even with a spinning head! Hmm, perhaps could make up skirt block with african fabric?! Sophie

Hazel_Myope said...

I think I'm going to be joining the other commentors in a rush for African fabric now.

Are we going to be seeing any little people sewing soon? :P

2WeeMonsters said...

I'm sure you've already come across this pattern, but just in case, I'm gonna pass it along because it strikes me as very *you* (and we all want to feel like ourselves, especially at the end of our pregnancies).

http://megannielsen.com/collections/sewing-patterns/products/ruched-maternity-skirt-sewing-pattern

Reflective tape suppliers said...

That's a really cute dress, I want it!

Meg the Grand said...

The fabric and style of this dress work perfectly together!

Stephanie said...

Love the print on this dress. It has a vibe of 60s airhostess to it :)

Unknown said...

I love this Washi dress! rosewholesale online dress stores It is so beautiful.

Unknown said...

Wonderful collection of African Wax Print fabrics. these was really awesome.


african fabric
African Wax Print
African George Fabric
African Velvet George
Guipure Lace Fabrics
Nigerian Lace Fabric
French Lace Fabric
African Head Tie

Router Login said...

This is really great. Check Horror games on steam for now.

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