Patchwork Trillium

I made a Trillium dress out of scraps! I added some hand-stitching details to the neckline and hem with some red sashiko thread which you can see in one or tow of the photos. Just north of this paragraph is a duo of pics showing you the innerds as well; you can see I used the elastic casing rather than the shirring for the back elastic (tutorial on the /tutorials page). I finished most the seams with the zig zag finish, maybe a handful here and there with a serger. It really doesn’t take that much more time to finish all the seams, and bonus you don’t need to line it, and it lasts a long time without fraying.

I started this dress as a demo piece for the workshop I taught at A Gathering Of Stitches (aka “Sewing Camp”) last summer. My workshop was all about using improv quilting techniques to create patchwork fabric for apparel. I also taught a mini-version of this workshop as an online class on Zoom earlier this year through Pattern Review, so I used it as a visual aid for that class. The zoom class was a condensed version of the workshop, condensed into a lecture format with work time like you would get with the workshop, but obviously for a fraction of the price of working with me in person. I was really happy with how they (both the workshop, and the online class) turned out and everyone who took them seemed really happy. PS I’m going to be teaching that zoom class again in a few months, so if you think you might like to make a patchwork dress of your own, stay tuned for those details. I know a few people have mentioned they were sorry to have missed it the first time around.

You may recall that I began experimenting with improv piecing a few years ago with this patchwork Cleo skirt, and more recently followed that up with a scrappy Gemma. I guess this Trillium is now a part of that scrappy garment collection of sorts. I like that each of the three has its own thing going on, but they all feel very ”Rae,” if that makes sense. To me that is part of the fun of creating patchwork from my scraps — you end up with a thing that feels really unique.

You can find my Trillium pattern in both print and digital formats, in my shop!