Pink Washi top with a little bow

Please note: The pattern previously known as “Washi” has been renamed “Trillium.” Read about the name change here. The Expansion Pack has been retired; please visit the Trillium Page for inspiration and links to tutorials.

It's time for me to start blogging about some of the clothes I've been making for me!! A bit of a backup over here; seems like the sewing is happening faster than the blogging over here these days. That's good though...I like to sew, if you hadn't noticed.

First up is this Washi top, which has been completely transformed to the point that it doesn't even resemble the original Washi Dress much, does it? I think the main difference is that it's made with rayon, a fabric which behaves SO differently from quilting cotton or voile that it gives the pattern a whole new look. I talk about rayons more in this post, and I've been sewing with cotton rayon a ton lately...it's becoming one of my absolute favorite fabrics to sew with.

As you can see I also added a sleeve (which I shirred at the ends, see this post for a shirring tutorial), gathered the skirt instead of pleating it, and added this fetching little bow. Eagle-eyed readers will noticed that this sleeve is *not* the same as the free Washi sleeve (found here); while it's still gathered and similar in length, I made a new, more tailored pattern piece for this one, since I was hearing the words "Little House on the Prairie" and "pilgrim" associated with the other fuller one. Not that that is a bad thing; just thought I would try to make a new sleeve that was more tailored and flattering.

I know I've been hinting at a Washi Expansion pattern pack for a long time now, but I promise you that it is truly in the works right now, full steam, along with Josephine (that received such an enthusiastic response a few weeks ago, thank you!!!). The expansion pack will most definitely include this sleeve, a big bow (see this post), bodice lining pattern pieces and instructions, another short sleeve (will post about that one soon), and a couple of Peter Pan collars in both curved and pointed styles. If you like *this* little bow, I will seriously consider adding these pattern pieces as well. What do you think?

The Washi Expansion Pack is shaping up to be quite a big project over here, but I'm really excited about it because it will allow someone to really make a TON of fun washi variations using the basic Washi pattern as a building block. That is exactly the kind of sewing I love to do, and I know many of you love to sew that way too! Can't wait to show you even more of my latest variations!!!