Drape Drape no.5 V-neck Drape Dress

oh Drape Drape. You are so quickly becoming my favourite patterns. you're made of knits, your shapes are unique, and flatter the figure. Simply magnificent!

This is dress no.5 from Drape Drape. With extreme V-neck in both the front and back, gathered bodice, draping at the hips and a dipped hem at centre back. Such a beautiful design. 

This dress in no way is bra-friendly. Nor is it modest. So to retain some sense of mystery, I wore a tank top underneath (I'm thinking a bandeau would be beautiful too - for next time)

Another thing to note is that I cut the XL size which again is for a 90cm bust. 14cm less than my bust size. I think it fits fine. I don't feel it pulls across the chest to the sides but the back is more exposed than in the models photo. But, it still fits me so realize the sizes are very forgiving in a knit fabric.

When I started to make this dress, I feared that those hip drapes might look horrendous on my already prominent hips. But I'm extremely pleased with the outcome, as the drapes don't make them look larger so much as showcase their shapely appearance. Which I like! 

But that draped skirt didn't come easily. This fabric is a lightweight rayon knit. Beautifully soft to the touch but freely clings to tights and leggings. I spent a long time arranging the pleats and basting them in place as I knew that anything out of place would ruin the drape and effect of the dress. Manouvering a rayon knit into pleats while trying not to stretch the fabric is no easy feat; especially when the cut edges have a tendency to curl. I had these skirt panels in needle shackles by the end; one needle every 1mm apart - ridiculous right? but oh the end result is SO worth it!

But, like the idiot I am, I forgot to add a seam stabilizer to the shoulder seams. And not having shortened the shoulder length, the straps do appear to be growing with wear. Sad. I don't want to take it apart as it's fully lined with all seams enclosed, but I may have to if they don't shrink back in the wash. 

And, as I noticed the fabric didn't have a lot of elastic to help with stretch recovery; I added fold-over elastic to the inside waist seam to help keep the waist-shaping, carry the weight of the skirt, and reduce the stress on the shoulder seams. I may have made the elastic too tight as it is making my back bulge over a little, but what I can't see I shouldn't care about right? Right!

All and all this is a wonderfully easy dress to wear with some great features! I wore it many times to the beach and around the city!

Details

Pattern: Drape Drape no.5 V-Neck Drape Dress

Size: XL

Fabric: Rayon Knit

Required: 2.10 metres

Price: $14
Alterations:

• Omitted the back zipper
• Added fold-over elastic to the waist seam

These photos were all taken while wandering El Matador Beach in Malibu on a beautifully sunny day!

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Drape Drape no.3 Drop-Waist Gather Drape Dress

And my love for Drape Drape books continue. This is Dress no.3 out of the first Drape Drape book.

The most amazing part about this pattern is that there is only one pattern piece! ONE! How insane is that? The pattern piece is all sorts of crazy shaped. The shoulders and the waist are gathered. The back has a centre seam from neck to hem. In a stiffer fabric you could insert a zipper but with my choice of a cotton lycra knit it would be superfluous.

This dress was fun to cut out and even more fun to serge together. The book is easy to follow and made construction simple for me. I'm glad because I had difficulty visualizing how the paper pattern resulted in such a lovely dress. But once I gathered the shoulders and attached them to the front, the rest of the dress was simple to visualize.

Once again, the pattern sizing is very tiny with the size large only having finished bust measurement of 90cm (36"). I didn't make any alterations besides adding extra width to the gathered waist pieces, expanding it to the full length of the fabric. I was hoping this would help the gathers cover my rear end without pulling. With the accommodation of the stretch fabric I just hoped it wouldn't be too tiny.

And guess what? It worked out. This dress fits me perfectly. Although it is extremely short, my short legs still make the dress a comfortable length for me. The waist gathers aren't perfectly symmetrical on each side. I guess I didn't cut perfectly straight at the left waist seam angles more down than the right side gather. And although the dress is supposed to be a drop-waist dress, it actually hits me at my natural waist. I have never once had a pattern bodice be on the short side for me but that is fine by me as I love where the dress hits on my waist as I think it is more flatting.

I LOVE this colour. The army green is one of my favourite colours. The photos make the green look browner than it is but I couldn't manage to capture the true colour. It goes well with my skin tone and helps my eyes to pop. Every girl likes a colour that makes their eyes sparkle. And although I don't look exuberant in some of the photos, that would be the fact that the weather is still not agreeing with me. It is also a great fabric. It is 96% cotton and 4% elastane. It has the characteristics of a heavy t-shirt; the perfect material for a casual, everyday dress. Comfortable with extremely unique details.

Details

Pattern: Drape Drape no.3 Drop-Waist Gather Drape Dress
Size: Large
Fabric: Cotton Lycra Knit
Cost: $12 for Fabric
Alterations:

• Removed 1" from the back neck reducing to the regular seam line 5" down

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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

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