I’ve put together a little series of not-exactly-high-quality-but-still-informative video tutorials to show how I do a partial (bodice) lining for the Washi Dress. You can see what this looks like on these inside-out pics of the Aqua Washi Dress here:
The lining I used is a white cotton batiste. Batiste is quite soft and lightweight yet still does a great job stabilizing the neckline on the double gauze dress. You could also use solid voile or that crazy-cheap poly lining stuff for the linings. I like to line the Washi rather than use the facings when I am making it with shot cottons, double gauze, or voile. In some cases I prefer a full lining (as with the maxi dress, I’ll do another post about the full lining soon), but if you have a half slip handy or are just making a tunic, this is a great technique to use.
Facings are the standard method included in the Washi Dress pattern. So why do a partial lining instead? There are a few advantages of doing a partial lining as opposed to using facings:
Partial Lining Advantages
- they are nearly as quick as putting in the facings and require the same amount of pattern pieces
- they hide the dart and shoulder seam allowances, so you can leave them unfinished
- they add coverage to the bodice for more sheer fabrics
- they look really nice and professional
- they don’t flip up and out of the neckline when you put on the dress/top like the facings often do
- looks great without sleeves too! this is a great way to finish the sleeveless versions without bias tape
For the sake of being thorough, here are a few of the disadvantages of this method:
Partial Lining Disadvantages
- unlike a FULL lining (which is more time-consuming as it means essentially constructing two dresses), you would still need to wear a half-slip with sheer fabrics
- it is definitely a more complicated technique than using facings, which is why I decided to make videos rather than try and tackle it in the instructions for this pattern
- it requires a bit of hand-sewing (but don’t worry!! it’s not much and can be done in front of the TV in matter of minutes)
To make the partial lining as shown in this video, you will need to find the unlabeled and oh-so-subtle grey curved line that goes across the “BACK DRESS” pattern piece (the red arrow is pointing to it) from your Washi Dress pattern:
Do you see it? OK! You’re ready to watch the videos!
Washi Dress Bodice Lining – Part I (4 min)
Prepping the dress and lining pieces
Washi Dress Bodice Lining – Part II (2 min)
Sewing front and back lining together
Washi Dress Bodice Lining – Part III (2.5 min)
Attaching the lining to the neck
Washi Dress Bodice Lining – Part IV (5.5 min)
Attaching the lining at the armholes
Washi Dress Bodice Lining – Part V (4 min)
Turning the dress right-side out and getting ready to sew side-seams
Washi Dress Bodice Lining – Part VI (2 min)
Shows finished side seams and hand-sewing
Hope you find those to be extremely useful as you make more and more Washi Dresses!
What about a full lining?
As I mentioned already, I will have another how-to post very soon for those of you who are interested in a full lining such as the one I did for the voile maxi dress, but for now, you can use the technique shown in this video for a full lining as well; instead of using just the bodice pieces, you would construct a second dress from your lining fabric (I do one line of shirring only on the lining, and instead of pleating the front skirt lining, I sew it flat to the front bodice and trim the excess at the sides) and assemble the dress and lining together just as shown in videos III, IV, and V. Then hem the bottom of the dress over the lining or handtack the lining to the dress at the bottoms of the side seams.
27 Responses to Washi Dress Bodice Lining Video Tutorials
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about Rae
Hi! I'm Rae, Head Boss Lady of Made By Rae Enterprises. I love to sew. This blog is a showcase for my crafty stuff.
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four and five videos are the same.
thanks Marilyn. they’re fixed now.
The tutorial is great and really easy to understand (I just kept following on to the next video on the vimeo stream up top and was able to view the 4th and 5th without a problem). This came just in time for my next Washi dress which I had just cut out. THANK YOU! I am now just a bit apprehensive of the weird sewing-the-dress-into-a-sausage part but it looked feasible when you did it so I’m going to jump in and try. Thanks again (and I love the pattern).
you are so amazing rae, i want to kiss you.
*smooches*
awesome! definitely going to line my next washi. super basic question: i need to attempt an FBA, but i’m not sure i’m taking my measurements accurately. can you point me toward a resource for doing this well? thanks! excited to make more washis.
Wow! Thank you so much! I’m anxious to give this a try with voile.
These are great! I was wondering if you’d do like a men’s shirt yoke thing on the armhole step when you said “full lining”–I love how clean and professional this looks, and how simple you’ve made it to do this step well. Am much more excited about my maxi version now! Woot! Off to pre-wash my Cameo voile and get a move on!!
Yay!!!
Ok, this is so funny–I had no idea this was up when I texted you earlier today. I even thought of asking if/when you were going to have tutorials up on the partial lining. Ha! I guess my timing was perfect in buying my lining fabric!
I just watched the videos, Rae–great job and very helpful! I can’t wait to get started. And I’ll be doing a full lining, so thanks for the little paragraph at the end of this post.
Thank you for this great tutorial. I am super excited to try out the lining on a dress. I made the tunic variation but need to adjust the shoulders a bit more. It is so great to make my own clothes! On a different note, what kind of dress form do you have? Do you like it? Thanks!
Hi Laura! It’s called “Uniquely You” and I do like it. You have to tailor the cover to your exact measurements though, which took a few evenings of work, but once it’s done you have a dress form that is shaped very much like your own body!!
[...] sew the neckline, armholes and side seams in the exact same way as I sewed the bodice lining in my Bodice Lining Video Series (specifically, you should watch videos III, IV, [...]
This method is sheer genius and I can’t wait to try it. The videos are clear and easy to follow. What great partn support you are offering on Washi! I’ve worn my first one several times but still haven’t gotten photos, it’s really comfy and I’m just trying to decide what fabric to use for my next one,
Love the dress & am in the process of making it after doing 3 muslins..but they were not as painful as I thought they would be. will ou be making/having a sleeve pattern for this dress?
I’ve made one dress with the facings and one tunic with the bodice lining, and I definitely like the lining option better! It is easier to sew with the lining and it fits better, too, in my opinion! Great tutorial/video!
[...] Now continue the dress construction by adding the neckline facings (or a lining — check out the video series I made). [...]
Hi,
I contacted you last week about linking to your Washi lining video, but never heard back from you. I am guest posting on project run and play, and made a dress for the post with a partial lining using your technique. The videos were awesome–so helpful, and much easier to understand than just a written explanation! Would it be ok if I linked to your blog (this post) to explain how to finish the armholes for the partial lining? Thanks!
Thank you so much for the Washi videos of the partial lining! It helped me tons! I was having some bust dart issues, but I slashed and dashed and moved them to the bottom of the washi and now I don’t get any sort of pointy tips, since I’m more busty than some! I really enjoyed hearing you talk about sewing! haha! It was fun! Thanks so much!
[...] every time I attacked it with a seam ripper (sob). Thank goodness for Rae’s awesome video tutorial that I finally found after three failed [...]
[...] also wanted sleeves, so I added some sweet cap sleeves, and fully lined the bodice using my favorite technique from Made by Rae. I love this method, because you can add sleeves, and still have the [...]
Oh my goodness! Awesome article dude! Many thanks, However I am experiencing issues with your RSS.
I don’t know the reason why I can’t subscribe
to it. Is there anybody having identical RSS issues?
Anyone who knows the solution can you kindly respond?
Thanx!!
Annette — can you be more specific? Are you using the button at the top of my blog or something else to subscribe? http://made-by-rae.com/feed should also work.
Thanks SO much for taking the time to make these videos Rae!! You are awesome sauce and I can’t wait to make my first Washi dress!
[...] Made by Rae: Lining the Washi Dress bodice [...]
[...] I skipped the facings and did the fully lined bodice (Rae’s tutorial for this can be found here) using a plain while cotton voile. I didn’t need to do this but I am not usually a big fan [...]