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An Embroidered Washington Dress

washington 1

Hello, friends!

I’m happy to share my first non-tester version of the Cashmerette Washington dress!

Source: Cashmerette Patterns

This is an easy everyday dress with the comfort of a knit bodice and the structure of a woven skirt.  It adds possibilities for color blocking and print and color contrasts, all the while making it a super fast and easy dress to sew.  The most difficult part of sewing this pattern, is figuring out the fabrics in which to use to make it!

washington collage

I’m not going to share with you my tester version as it was made with some hideous polyester fabric that came in a long ago fabric mystery bundle from Fabric Mart.  It was a good way to test the pattern and figure out what changes I would need in the future, which is exactly what pattern testing and muslin making is.  I had been wanting to make another Washington dress for a while, but I spent a lot of time contemplating fabric choices.  It seems like the versions that I loved the most had colors that complimented each other and a black waistband seemed to be the most flattering.

And then one day I saw the new arrivals on the Smuggler’s Daughter website and this gorgeous floral embroidered cotton border print caught my eye.  There was just enough yardage to make the Washington skirt and I snatched it up before it was sold out.  I decided to pair it with a dark teal rayon jersey for the bodice and a black cotton double knit for the waistband, all purchased from Stonemountain and Daughter in Berkeley.  I actually bought more of the double knit for future Washington dresses.

washington back

This dress went together quickly.  I love the way that t-shirt bodice fits.  I shortened the bodice by about a 1/2″ to get the waistband to hit me at my natural waistline.  As I had little of my embroidered cotton fabric and the skirt is an a-line, I had to cut the skirt a tad bit differently in order to accommodate the border print, so my skirt hem is a bit askew because of it.  I did manage to match up all of the embroidery — even the blending the floral bouquet on one of the sides of the skirt so it’s nearly seamless.

DSCN2808

There’s clear elastic where the bodice is sewn to the waistband.  I barely had enough for this dress, so it fits a little tightly in the area, although it did stretch out more as I was wearing this dress.

washington 2.2

I’m super happy with this dress.  Its comfortable and warm and I wear it about once a week.  I’m certainly looking forward to making another one when the right fabric comes along!

washington 3

Note:  I received this pattern in exchange for testing this dress in it’s initial stages.

Happy Sewing!

signature

  • Dress:  Cashmerette Washington in rayon jersey (bodice), cotton double knit (waistband) and embroidered cotton (skirt), made by me
  • Boots:  Aerosoles

Comments

  1. I love this- it’s convinced me I really need to try this pattern. The fabric mix looks perfect.

  2. I have read a lot of very positive reviews about the ease of getting a great fit of the Washington bodice. I have had trouble with the Moneta dress in particular with quite a bit of fabric gap at the armscye. Does this seem to be a problem with the Washington? The dress is very pretty and is quite flattering on you. Very nice

  5. I really like your fabric choices. I honestly haven’t loved all of the Washington dresses that I’ve seen so far with the more obvious color blocking. I like how you chose the darker colors for the waist band piece and the skirt. I think it kind of tones the color blocking down a little bit, which is more appealing to me. You are such a super star! This is really cute on you.

    • Thank you, Natasha! Yes, it’s a wee bit tricky, I think, to figure out the best color/print combo. That’s why it took me a while to make another one after making my first (test version) last summer.

  7. What a great way to work a border print! I have a few in my stash that I haven’t been able to figure out what to do with but as a skirt to this dress it works beautifully.

    • Thanks, Kathleen! I just love border prints and am always attracted to them. They seem to work best with rectangular pattern pieces where you can easily match them up.

  11. Oh Tanya! Wow what a gorgeous dress! You are a great seamstress! I have not tried stretch fabrics yet. This is really beautiful. Also where did you get those boots!? They look fabulous with the dress. I am into machine embroidery and I could see doing a lovely embroidery on some black fabric. Thank you for posting! Kathy from Arizona

    • Thanks, Kathy! I’ve only been sewing with knits for a few years now. They sure are quick and easy to sew! Lucky you with an embroidery machine! I bet you could make some lovely embroidered fabric with that. My boots are from aerosoles.com. They’re so comfy and I believe this style and others are on sale right now.

  16. This is definitely my favourite version of the pattern yet! I love the embroidered fabric and the colour on top with the black waistband. It looks great on you!

    • Thanks, Andie! My tester version was in a neon green with that at the waistband and that sure looked bad!!! Dark colors are the way to go, I think, for that feature.

  17. These photos make me want to revisit this pattern! I had fit issues with my tester version and then just sort of forgot about it. What I like is that it has the comfort of a knit bodice and waistband area, but the skirt has structure so its not all clingy like a knit skirt is. Perfect for winter wear! And yours is SO cute, love the embroidered fabric.

    • Thanks, Megan! My tester version fit quite a bit different. It wasn’t until I saw the samples that I knew how it was going to work and how it looked good, so I used that as I starting point.

  18. That is definitely the nicest version of this pattern I have seen so far. The skirt fabric is glorious. I LOVE that embroidery and it goes beautifully with the lovely teal top. You look fab in this. Xx

  19. Simply Stunning! I adore the embroidered skirt! Every time I see this dress made up makes me want it even more!! 😀

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Mrs. Hughes: A retro inspired, vintage garment sewing and plus-size dressmaking blog by Tanya Maile Hughes.