Drape Drape 3 no.12: Three-Piece Gather Wrap Dress

For Christmas I received two giftcards to Chapters (a Canadian bookstore). I knew I needed to spend them wisely. I always covet giftcards for the perfect splurge. I wait and wait until I am 100% certain of what I want. It makes it that much more rewarding when I receive it in the mail. I purchased two of Hisato Sato's Drape Drape books. And oh are they every satisfying.

Since I had to order Drape Drape in to the store, Drape Drape 3 was available and I immediately started to trace no.12: Three-Piece Gather Wrap Dress. I adored the draping and the hanging material in front. I didn't know about the sizing though. Size XL is drafted for a 90cm (36") bust. My bust is 104cm (42"). I didn't make any alterations to the pattern and decided since I was using a jersey with plenty of stretch, that this would compensate for the smaller drafting. Turns out, I was right. I would even consider the pattern too large for me in such a jersey.

I followed the instructions and found them to be very well illustrated. The only issue I encountered was in regards to the gathering on the left side. I felt it was strange to gather the entire dress and attach it fully to the left bodice side. So I left 4" of gathering hang below the indicated bodice piece for extra modesty. I should not have left so much and followed the instructions as now the dress sits lower on my leg than I would like.

A thoughtless error on my part was using a one-sided patterned fabric. That was silly. I should have paid more attention to the pattern itself. As a solution, I cut an extra piece of material to back my front tail so it wouldn't look sloppy. I did the hems on my machine with a stretch stitch and every other seam with my serger. I felt bad for my serger as the material was extremely thick in certain sections what with the tucks and gathers and layers. Yikes.

There are only three pieces in the pattern: The left-side bodice, the entire dress, and the sleeve pattern. The pattern piece in the entire 60" length of fabric. It covers you front, wraps around your back, and connects back to itself in the front to create the hanging gather. This book has unique patterns and are very easy to follow. They are a great introduction to draping and the different effects of tucks, gathers, and pleats have on draped fabric.

The end result is a fun dress; bright and swishy. Where will I wear it? I really am not sure. It isn't very practical for my Canadian winterland currently, but I'm hoping that a trip to warmer climates is in my future!

Details

Pattern: Drape Drape 3 no.12 - Three-Piece Gather Wrap Dress
Size: Large
Fabric: Jersey
Cost: $6
Alterations: None