NEW NAME: The Trillium Sewing Pattern was formerly known as “Washi.” You can read about the name change in this blog post (8/20).
NEW SIZE RANGE: This pattern was updated in May of 2020 to a new size range from the original 2012 Washi pattern — read all about the update here! Note that the Washi Expansion Pack has not been updated into the new range.
If you previously purchased the Washi Dress PDF but didn’t receive an email with an update, please fill out the UPDATE REQUEST FORM.
About The trillium Pattern
This sweet dress or top features a cut-out scoop neckline, pockets, and shirring in the back for an easy, comfortable fit. Choose from two lengths (dress or top), scoop or cutout neckline, and sleeveless or cap sleeves to create a number of different styles. No zippers or closures are needed, making this a wonderful project for the confident beginner or intermediate sewist!
This sewing pattern is available in digital and print formats here.
Yardage and Materials
• woven fabric
• 1.25″ wide bias tape (pre-packaged single fold or cut your own), 1.25 yd needed
• elastic thread (see below for resources)
• coordinating thread
• lightweight fusible interfacing
Recommended fabrics
light- to medium-weight woven cotton or cotton blend fabrics such as voile, lawn, double gauze, quilting cotton, poplin, chambray or rayon challis.
Resources
Seam Finishes Appendix
CLICK HERE for a free download of some of my favorite seam finishes!
Bust Adjustment Tutorials
Megan Nielson’s How to do a Small Bust Adjustment
Megan Nielson’s How to do a Full Bust Adjustment
Liesl Gibson’s Bust Adjustment Video Tutorial for Creativebug
(note: requires subscription)
Shirring Links
TUTORIAL: Shirring with Elastic Thread
Jamie Christina’s Shirring Tutorial (drop-in bobbin)
Flossie Teacake’s Shirring Tutorial (front-load bobbin)
Heather Ross’ Troubleshooting with elastic thread
Some practice shirring projects
Rainbow Dress Tutorial
Baby Sunsuit Tutorial
Supplies:
Fusible interfacing:
Fashion Sewing Supply Pro Sheer Elegance Couture Interfacing
(Rae’s favorite!)
Elastic thread:
White Elastic Thread 3M (large cone)
Gutermann Elastic thread (small spool)
Books:
Here are some books I recommend that have fantastic information on getting a good fit:
Built By Wendy books. Especially her “Dresses” book goes into nice detail about adjusting fit, making muslins
Colette Sewing Handbook: Also some great info on making muslins and adjusting patterns to fit, including bust adjustment. Her blog, Coletterie, also has a ton of great fit tutorials, and although most are specific to her patterns, many include principles that can be adapted to other women’s patterns as well
Design-it-yourself clothes by Cal Patch – this is a great intro to pattern making, and although it’s really basic (no bust darts, etc), it was really a life-changer for me in terms of understanding the basic dimensions of a pattern and how to manipulate them.
This pattern is featured in the following blog posts
Take a look at these gorgeous Citrine outfits, all sewn and modeled by my friend Amy!
This tutorial shows you how to add a cuff to a gathered sleeve. Works great with the Trillium sleeve add-on!
My favorite posts to read online are “what I’m wearing” or “outfit of the day / OOD” posts, so I thought it would be fun to share more of the outfits I wear here on my blog.
In this post, I’ll show you how to add a gathered sleeve to your Trillium Dress or Top. This tutorial is an add-on to the pattern, so first you’ll need to assemble your garment up to the shoulder seams. Once you’ve done this, you’ll add the sleeves as shown below.
A summer Nani Iro double gauze Trillium dress, plus some tips for using a border print for Trillium.
Sewing patch pockets is really easy, and they add a really fun visual detail along with the added utility slash joy that POCKETS bring.
Plus, I have a fun patch pocket trick to share with you in this post that makes them even easier than the classic patch pocket to sew.
Looking to buy a copy of Trillium in print? Please support these shops that carry our patterns!
The Trillium Pattern is now available in printed format. Check out this post for all the details.
I’ve rounded up some Trillium posts to help you sew and modify your Trillium pattern. And remember, you can always access the blog posts and resources relating to Trillium on the pattern page: made-by-rae.com/trillium
This tutorial shows you how to add an elastic casing to the back of Trillium. The pattern is normally sewn with six lines of shirring across the back, but if you prefer an alternative to shirring, this post is for you!
We’ve changed the name of our Washi pattern to Trillium! Read about the details of this change, why I feel strongly about this decision, and the new name in this post.
Now that we’ve launched our updated Washi pattern, I wanted to show you the wonderful versions our testers made!
The long-awaited Washi update is here! I'm beyond thrilled to announce that our beloved Washi dress & top sewing pattern is now available in our extended size range, and with new bodice pieces for fuller busts.
A new Washi pattern is coming soon, and in this post I answer your questions about the update and what has changed for this classic pattern.
It's been a good long while since we shared any Washi Dresses here on the blog! I made this summery Expansion Pack version out of Heather Ross's collection for Windham...
Facings are a great way to finish a neckline or armhole (bias binding is another way -- see my 3 bias binding tutorials here!). I like to have beautiful facings...
Here's a tip I end up sharing with other garment sewists all. the. time: I get my interfacings from Pam Erny at Fashion Sewing Supply. These are hands down my very...
When I posted my boatneck maxi version of the Washi Dress a while ago, I promised to share the version that Jess made last summer that inspired me to make mine. This fabric...
I'm so excited to be a part of the Observer fabric blog tour today! I'm showing off this lovely voile indigo-shibori print from my dear friend April Rhodes' latest line of fabric...
This lightweight feather lawn caught my eye when I taught the Luna class at Dry Goods Design in Seattle last month, so I bought a few yards along with a...
We've had quite a bit of fun celebrating my Washi Dress Pattern's third birthday, haven't we? (If you'd like to catch up on details, here's the original post.) I am amazed at...
Just a quick reminder that today is the day to enter the Happy Washi Birthday giveaway over on Instagram; just post a pic of you wearing your Washi and tag...
Can you believe that Washi is three years old?? Whaaaaat. How is that even possible? The Washi Dress was my very first garment pattern for women, and when I released it back...
It feels like it's been a very long time since I sewed my last Washi Dress. Truth is, I've been avoiding it because I don't fit into my other pre-baby...
Over here at MBR Labs, I've been working on hacking the Trillium Dress pattern so that it works as a nursing top! I've had plenty of requests for this since...
One of the most common questions I got when the Ruby Dress pattern came out this summer was "can you add a sleeve to it?" It was hard for me...
When the original Washi Dress Sewing Pattern was released over a year ago in August 2012, I was blown away by the response to the pattern. BLOWN. AWAY. Washi was...
Happy Monday everyone! Today I thought I'd show you how the ol' handmade wardrobe is translating into maternity clothing. I'm now about 5 months along, so the baby bump is...