I finally made this double layer Washi Dress! You can see my first one, and the full bust and neckline adjustments that I made, here.

For this version, I used two beautiful grey and indigo fabrics from Fabworks. The check is a light, crisp, pure linen (sold out now but this and this look wonderful). The fabric underneath is a light, crisp cotton/linen. These are closer to the true colours.

I used them to make a Washi dress with two layers. Here I am chatting away, in a barn, with some fleece.

Double Layer Washi Dress Hack

One way to make this alteration, and probably the easiest, is to make a lining out of the underlayer and extend it’s length by the desired amount. I considered this, but decided I would prefer just one layer in the front bodice.

I made an underlayer for the front skirt, extending the length by about 15cm. The back skirt underlayer is 1cm taller than the top most shirring and has an extended hem to match the front.

I gathered, rather than pleated the skirt. I also added a couple of extra cm width to the top skirt; it was a bit of an afterthought. I wish I had added about 5cm extra width (just place the pattern piece 2.5cm away from the fold of the fabric).  The back underlayer was sewn together with the front so that the shirring went through both layers.

I added a 2cm hem tuck to both layers. I think this was probably a mistake, given the check fabric. I like the weight a tuck adds to the hem of a dress, but it’s a bit distracting in this fabric. I don’t really mind though.

I’ve worn this dress a few times. I’m not sure I like the the longer length as much. I might have preferred just 5cm extra length in the underskirt. But, I think it’s a good solution to avoid transparency in a light fabric. It will be interesting to see if I wear this in the winter with an undershirt.

I’m getting lots of use out of my Surry Hills cardigan.