This is my most recent make- a Waikerie Dress (in chartreuse linen from The Fabric Store) from the Waikerie Dress expansion pack which gives you the pieces to turn the Muna and Broad Waikerie Shirt into a shirt dress!
Often it’s pretty easy to see the ‘hacking possibilities’ of a pattern, but I often get stuck actually going through with the hack because I’m worried about getting the pattern hack right, I’m not sure how much fabric I’ll need, and I’m just generally worried about making a mess of the whole thing- I hate wasting fabric.
The Waikerie Dress Expansion was the perfect way to solve those issues and give folks the instructions and pattern pieces they need to be able to make the Waikerie Shirt in to the Waikerie Dress. What I’ve made here is a modified View C, with long-sleeves and a collar. The hem has a modern-twist on the classic shirt hem and is higher at the front than at the back- I love the way it flows down.
Size Details: Since the pattern is an expansion, it does require some of the Waikerie Shirt pieces to complete it. The Muna and Broad sizing has recently increased (additional smaller sizes were added) and a new lettering system for the sizes. Where I was previously a Size 1, I now cut out a Size F. Right now I have a 48″ full bust and between a 52-56″ hip, depending on bloating.
Fabric Details: I pride myself on being able to jigsaw my pattern pieces pretty tight, so I managed to get this dress out of less than 3 metres of fabric (which is 148cm wide). This includes two decent size pocket pieces (could have been cut from a lining fabric), and the facing, which wraps around the neckline and down the front of the dress. I did wish that I’d picked up some of the matching linen bias binding to help with finishing the curved hem, but I didn’t think of it when I was in store.
I had a strangely difficult time finding buttons from my stash, both because I didn’t have enough of most of them, and because the colour was a difficult one to pair. I ended up using these cute wee wooden buttons, but I didn’t have enough for my cuffs (which remain button and buttonhole-free until I can find the right buttons to pair with the dress!
I’ve already cut out and mostly sewn View B with the mitered corners and a knee-high split, and I’m also thinking about a cosy cotton version for winter (or maybe a silk noil) if I can find the perfect fabric.
