Getting dressed in the summer with big boobs often means making do: hunting through the racks for something that’ll cover your bra and not gape. Forget about trying to follow fashion when you’re just trying to keep your side boob from staging an escape!
But at Cashmerette we don’t just like solving big-boob problems, we like giving you ALL the options. And that’s why our latest sundress sewing pattern, the Wayland Dress, isn’t just a gorgeous on-trend shirred strappy summer dress (which it absolutely is). It’s also the gateway to over 300 possible summer dresses. Let us show you how.
Celebrate summer your way with the customizable Wayland Dress! The Wayland is a strappy woven sundress featuring a shirred back for extra comfort, a straight skirt with waist pleats for elegant shaping, and roomy anchored pockets to stash life’s necessities. Choose from two strap widths, two skirt lengths, and optional boning, then combine with our Upton pattern line for over 300 possible looks. Designed for big boobs with cup sizes C-H, it’s the quintessential summer sundress: bra-friendly and built to fit, so you can enjoy summer without a care!
Morgan is wearing a knee length Wayland with the wide strap option, in a white linen from Gorgeous Fabrics. She is wearing a size 20 G/H graded to a 24 waist and hip, with a 4” full bum adjustment. Her measurements are 45” high bust (114 cm), 50” full bust (127 cm), 44.5” waist (113 cm), and 58” hip (147 cm), and she is 5’ 10”.
Michelle is wearing a midi-length Wayland with the narrow strap option, in a midweight European linen generously provided by Core Fabrics. (See more of their Wayland-worthy fabrics here.) She is wearing a size 22 G/H graded to a 26 waist and hip. Her measurements are 48” high bust (122 cm), 52” full bust (132 cm), 46” waist (117 cm), and 55” hip (140 cm), and she is 5’ 6”.
Madison is wearing a midi-length Wayland with the narrow strap option, in a chambray from Gorgeous Fabrics. She is wearing a size 16 G/H graded to a 20 waist. Her measurements are 39” high bust (99 cm), 45” full bust (114 cm), 39” waist (99 cm), and 40.5” hip (103 cm), and she is 5’ 6”.
Meet the Wayland Dress
At its heart, the Wayland is a strappy woven sundress with a V-neck, princess-seamed bodice and a comfortable shirred back that moves with you through a long, warm day. The straight skirt has soft waist pleats and roomy anchored pockets to stash life’s necessities, held at the waist so they keep their shape.
What makes it a Cashmerette pattern is the fit. The Wayland is drafted for curves in sizes 0–32 and cup sizes C–H, so the bodice supports and shapes a fuller bust rather than gaping or flattening. The princess seams do the structural work (and there’s optional boning), and the V-neck sits exactly where you want it. If you’ve ever wrestled a ready-to-wear sundress into submission, you’ll know what an amazing thing that is!
The Wayland comes with:
- A V-neck, princess-seamed bodice with a shirred back
- Two strap width options, narrow or wide
- A straight skirt with waist pleats and anchored pockets
- Two skirt lengths: knee and midi
- An optional back zipper
It’s a Cashmerette Collection pattern, so there’s no subscription required, just download, print, and start cutting.
Sew your Wayland with ease thanks to our free video sewalong hosted by Whitney of TomKat Stitchery!
The bra question, solved two ways
Strappy sundresses and supportive bras have never exactly been best pals. If you have a big bust, you know the routine: either the straps are too skinny to hide your bra, or you go without and hope for the best. Enter the Wayland, with two strap widths that each work with real support.
Go with the narrow straps and pair them with our Symmes Strapless Bra for full support, no bra strap peeking guaranteed. Prefer the security of a regular bra? The wider straps are designed to cover a standard bra strap, so you can wear a bra you already own. For no band visibility at the back you’ll want a low-back style, but no fear, we’ve got a tutorial coming soon on hacking our Willowdale Bra to sit completely hidden underneath. Either way, you get the strappy sundress and the support, no compromise.
Mix and match for 300+ dresses
Here’s where the Wayland goes from lovely to properly hard-working. The options explode when you combine it with the other four patterns in our Upton line, taking you to over 300 possible dress combinations. Pick up the Wayland and you’ve bought the beginnings of a whole summer wardrobe, every with a curve-friendly fit.
Upton Dress & Skirt
Try the sleeved bodices, or swap the Wayland’s straight skirt for the Upton’s pleated or gored skirts in knee, tea, and maxi lengths.
Ellington Dress
Go full strapless, or make a gorgeous maxi dress with the Wayland’s shirred bodice and the Ellington’s long skirt with a slit. (Also from our Collection, so no subscription needed.)
Mansfield Dress
A Cashmerette Club pattern, the double-layered Mansfield offers two more bodices and two more skirt options.
Gilmore Skirt
Also from the Club, get maximum swish by adding the Gilmore circle skirt to your Wayland bodice.
Three ways to style your Wayland
The everyday linen dress
Sew the knee length with wide straps in a mid-weight linen or chambray. Add flat sandals and a straw tote and it’s your default summer uniform.
The dressed-up midi
In 4-ply crepe or cotton sateen, the midi with narrow straps and the Symmes bra gives you a polish look for a summer wedding. Heeled mules, statement earring, and you’re done.
The layered transitional look
Layer a fine-knit tee or slim turtleneck underneath, add a cardigan and boots, and the shirred-back sundress becomes a pinafore-style dress for cooler months.
Fabric recommendations for the Wayland
The Wayland is designed for mid-weight woven fabrics, which give the bodice structure and the skirt a clean line. Reach for linen, chambray, and cotton poplin for everyday versions, or 4-ply crepe and satin when you want more drape.
For the lining, choose a lightweight woven such as cotton lawn, rayon Bemberg, or pongee. The shirred back needs a light- to mid-weight stretch fabric such as jersey to gather comfortably.
Ready to make yours?
On trend, bra-friendly, and endlessly customizable, the Wayland is our answer to everything a summer sundress usually asks you to give up. Whether you make it once in your favourite linen or work through a dozen mix-and-match combinations, it’s built to become a real summer staple.
The Wayland Dress is available now as part of the Cashmerette Collection, no subscription required.
We can’t wait to see the sundress you design! Be sure to tag us with @cashmerette and #WaylandDress.
