Earlier this week, I purchased the PDF for the Washi dress pattern. This may be the first Indie pattern where I thought the designer had done an outstanding job of presenting the instructions and tiled pattern pieces. Kudos Rae.
I could still think of a few things I might have done differently to improve tiling (why is no one offering an A3 size for tiling?) but she thought of many other things I hadn’t and she provides such good tutorials and support on her website. One of her best features is her extensive variations and gallery. This really sets her pattern apart from the big four and many of the other indie designers.
I made a muslin of the pattern with no adjustments for my bust, but I left a huge seam allowance so that I could pinch and resew it. I wanted to know what it would look like without making any alterations. There was gaping in my armhole so I knew I needed an FBA.
I like a low neckline, but it often needs a little adjustment for the larger busted, so that it sits neatly on the upper chest, rather than standing away from it. Here are the adjustments I made.
Washi Dress Full Bust Adjustments
This is roughly what the front bodice of the Washi dress looks like. Make sure the bust point is marked.
I worked with a muslin but you could also do this with a tissue fit. Pinch out and pin the excess fabric in the armhole. The neckline pinch is tiny, 5-8mm total. My bust point is lower, so I marked it on the muslin.
Press the muslin and redraw the dart towards the new bust point. At this point I trace the muslin on to paper and work my alterations there. Draw a line from the bust point to the waist, parallel to the centre front. Measure the depth of the armhole and neckline pinch and make a note.
Slash open all the lines to the bust point. Add a perpendicular line to the centre front, coming from the bust, to accommodate extra length over the bust.
Based on my muslin, I decided that I only wanted an extra 1cm width at the bust. The two pieces on the left are shifted to accommodate this extra width.
I closed the armhole and neckline darts by the amount that I determined with my pinch. These swung the side dart open further. I also lowered my centre front piece by about 7mm.
I traced around the new shape, truing lines and checking that my dart legs were the same length. The new dart point is 3cm from my lowered bust point.
Here’s my new piece all done.
I’m now trying to decide whether to use this quilting cotton for my dress.
I don’t usually like a quilting cotton for clothing but I have enough of this one, love the pattern and think it might work. I have been debating about whether to buy some silk/cotton lawn for lining it with. But I think my budget says no. If I need to, I’ll make a slip.
Thank you for the post! I couldn’t agree more about the neckline issue on the larger busted. I think that fabric is perfect!
I loooooove that fabric! Great description of the alteration,too.
This is a super-useful post. The issue that large busted women have with necklines has plagued me for some time but I have been going about fixing it all wrong – this makes much more sense. Thanks!