Cashmerette Wayland Dress Pattern Review and Sew-Along

There is a brand-new woven dress pattern from Cashmerette, and I have three very different versions to share with you! The Cashmerette Wayland Dress* combines a fitted, strappy bodice with a straight skirt, but its mix-and-match possibilities make this pattern especially exciting. I made two Wayland Dresses for my new step-by-step sew-along, then paired the bodice with the Gilmore circle skirt to create a twirly dress for my daughter.

Read on or watch the video on YouTube to see all three dresses and learn more about the pattern.

The Cashmerette Wayland Dress at a Glance

• Pattern type: Woven summer dress
• Size range: 0–32
• Cup sizes: C–H
• Sewing level: Advanced beginner
• Views: Zippered midi dress or shorter shirred-back dress
• Key features: Lined bodice, optional boning, two strap widths and angled pockets
• Recommended fabrics: Light- to medium-weight woven fabrics
• Mix-and-match options: Upton, Gilmore, Ellington and Mansfield patterns

Meet the Cashmerette Wayland Dress

The Wayland has a V-neck, princess-seamed bodice with your choice of wide or narrow straps. The bodice is fully lined, and you can add optional boning for extra support and structure.

The pattern includes two views. View A has an invisible zipper, a fitted back, a midi-length skirt and a back kick pleat. View B has a shirred back that allows the dress to pull over your head, along with a shorter, above-the-knee skirt.

Both views include a straight skirt with front pleats, back darts and angled front pockets. Although the skirt has a straighter silhouette, it still includes enough ease through the hips to help those pockets lie nicely without pulling across the front.

How to Get the Cashmerette Wayland Dress Pattern

The Wayland is a Cashmerette Collection pattern*, which means you can purchase it individually at any time without joining Cashmerette Club.

However, Cashmerette is also offering the Wayland free to anyone who signs up for a yearly Club All Access membership between July 21 and July 31, 2026. All Access includes the library of previous Club patterns, the next 12 monthly patterns, classes, fitting resources, community access and other membership benefits.

Use my code TOMKAT10 to save $10* on your first year of Cashmerette Club All Access. You can learn more about Cashmerette Club here.

What Fabric Works Best for the Wayland Dress?

The best fabrics for the Cashmerette Wayland Dress are light- to medium-weight woven fabrics with enough body to support the pleats and angled pockets. Cotton poplin, cotton lawn, chambray and lightweight linen would all be good choices.

A drapier fabric can work, but the pleats and pockets will appear softer and less defined. That does not make it the wrong fabric—it simply creates a different finished dress. If you want those design details to stand out, choose a fabric with a little more structure.

For the bodice lining, use a lightweight woven such as cotton lawn or cotton voile. If you are making the shirred-back version, you will also need a small piece of knit fabric to line the shirred panel.

My Two Cashmerette Wayland Sew-Along Dresses

The Vintage Cotton Poplin Wayland

My first Wayland is made from a vintage cotton poplin (similar fabric here) that had been waiting in my stash. I bought it from a secondhand fabric seller at a sewing show, and based on the print, I would guess it dates from the mid-to-late 1980s or perhaps the early 1990s.

The golden yellow and orangey red are very much my colors, although my husband insists it looks like Kansas City Chiefs fabric! To me, it looks like the perfect picnic dress.

For this version, I made View A with the fitted back, invisible zipper and optional boning. The boning is inserted at the side seams and princess seams to provide additional structure through the bodice. If boning sounds intimidating, it really is not difficult, and I show you exactly how I installed it in the sew-along.

I originally used the narrow half-inch straps during filming, but I knew I would wear the dress more often if I could cover my bra straps. After completing the sew-along, I replaced them with the one-inch-wide straps. That is one of those practical sewing decisions that can make the difference between a dress I admire and one I regularly reach for.

The Cotton Chambray Wayland

My second Wayland is made from a Draper James cotton chambray (similar fabric here)  that I purchased when Joann was closing. I bought the entire bolt—about eight yards—and I have already used it for several projects.

For this dress, I chose View B with the shirred back. Because the dress needs enough flexibility to pull over my head, I omitted the boning. The shirring provides the fit and support this version needs without making the bodice feel too rigid.

For both dresses, I made a straight size 10 G/H and shortened the skirt by two inches. I lined both bodices with cotton voile from my stash.

Can You Mix the Wayland With Other Cashmerette Patterns?

One of my favorite features of the Wayland is that its bodice and skirt can be mixed and matched with the Cashmerette Upton pattern family. That includes the Upton Dress and Expansion Pack, Ellington Dress, Mansfield Dress and Gilmore Skirt.

When patterns can share bodices and skirts, you get many more design possibilities from the patterns you already own. You can pair the strappy Wayland bodice with one of the Upton skirts or attach the Wayland skirt to an Upton-compatible bodice.

There are a couple of construction details to remember. If you attach an Upton bodice to the Wayland skirt, you will need to gather the back of the skirt so it fits the non-shirred bodice, and you will use the waistband piece. If you attach the Wayland bodice to an Upton skirt, you will not need the dress waistband. The Wayland instructions explain these combinations in more detail.

A Wayland and Gilmore Dress for My Daughter

My third version started with a wool-viscose snake-print fabric from Core Fabrics (similar fabric here) . I originally bought it because my daughter loves anything snake-related, but she had one more request: she wanted a twirly dress she could wear to ballroom dance club at college.

The Wayland’s straight skirt would not create the movement she wanted, so I paired the Wayland bodice with the Cashmerette Gilmore Skirt*. The Gilmore is a three-panel circle skirt that is designed to mix and match with the Upton pattern family, making it a natural partner for the Wayland bodice.

The fabric is a lightweight wool-viscose blend with a soft, fluid drape. Viscose, also called rayon, gives the fabric movement, while the wool adds warmth and breathability. Because this fabric has less body than the cottons I used for my dresses, I added boning to give the bodice more structure.

My daughter has an hourglass shape with a larger bust and hips compared with her waist, so we chose the fitted zip-back bodice. The zipper allows her to get the dress on and off while maintaining the close fit she likes at the waist. I made a size 8 G/H, used the wide bra-friendly straps and shortened the Gilmore skirt by two inches.

Can You Add Pockets to the Gilmore Combination?

The Gilmore circle skirt is made from three panels and does not have traditional side seams. That means I could not simply add the Wayland pockets to this version. Technically, I could have inserted pockets into the front panel seams, but their placement would have been awkward.

Since she plans to wear the dress for dancing, we decided to leave the pockets off. A phone in the pocket of such a lightweight circle skirt would weigh down one side anyway, so a small crossbody bag will be the better option.

The finished dress has exactly the movement she wanted, and the smoky blue snake print makes it feel completely her. She can wear it for summer events, take it back to college in August and add a light jacket as the weather begins to cool.

Is the Wayland Dress Difficult to Sew?

The Wayland is designed for advanced beginners. The lined bodice, princess seams, invisible zipper, shirring and optional boning add a few techniques that may be unfamiliar, but none of them needs to be intimidating.

My nearly three-hour Wayland sew-along takes you through the entire construction process. I show you how to set up your sewing machine for shirring, insert boning, sew precise straps and complete all the finishing details. If you have wanted to try these techniques but were not sure where to begin, I will be there to help you through them. Watch the sew along here:

My Final Wayland Dress Review

The Cashmerette Wayland Dress is a strong choice for sewists who want a fitted, bra-friendly summer dress with built-in cup sizing and several opportunities for customization. The shirred-back option is easier to pull on, while the zippered version creates a more closely fitted waist.

Choosing the wide straps makes the dress easier to wear with a regular bra, and the optional boning provides additional structure when your fabric needs it. Its compatibility with the Upton pattern family also gives the Wayland more versatility than a typical strappy dress pattern.

I am thrilled with all three versions. My cotton dresses are finally coming out of sewing-room purgatory and going into my summer wardrobe, and my daughter cannot wait to take her twirly Wayland-Gilmore dress back to college.

*_{This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through one of these links or use my code, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. I pay for my own Cashmerette Club All Access membership and think it is well worth the price. Cashmerette invited me to participate in the Wayland promotion and create the accompanying sew-along.}