THE DRAPERY BLOG

The Kalle pattern by Closet Case has been around for a couple of years now. The dress or shirt has a roomy fit with dropped shoulder and no bust dart, a lined back yoke and dramatic curved hem. It's lovely, and we've been meaning to make it up for ages. By the way, the pattern name is pronounced 'Kal - ee' (rhymes with Sally). I checked that with pattern designer Heather Lou when it was first released. It was driving me crazy not knowing how to say it, either aloud or in my head! You can imagine how I felt reading the first Harry Potter book many years ago. Her-mee-ohn? Herm-yon? Hermi-oh-nee? The Kalle has a fair few minor variations that can be mixed and matched as you please: This Kalle, made in our heavyweight natural Lithuanian linen , is a shop sample. You can swing by and have a look and even try it on if you like. It's a straight size 12, dress length, in 'popover' style with box pleat and band collar. Sewing went really smoothly a...

It's fair to say we are  in the  midst of a denim phase at the moment. Here we are blogging about jeans making again. Sewing your own jeans is a fair undertaking, what with all the top-stitching and hardware, not to mention the fitting... it’s time consuming. But at the end? You feel like you’ve unlocked a new sewing achievement. Even better? YOU NEVER NEED TO GO JEANS SHOPPING AGAIN. These jeans were started in my head a couple of years ago. I gathered together pattern and fabric then promptly decided that I really wasn’t much of a jeans wearer anyhow, so into the stash they both went. Fast forward two years and I was becoming “jeans curious” again, missing the ease of a good pair of jeans in my wardrobe. So out came the pattern and fabric which had now marinated in my stash long enough for me to feel ok about using it for a wearable muslin. Jeans were on once more! Maybe I’d be a jeans-wearer after all? (And if not, I could use them in the shop as a sample, so n...

When Heather Lou of Closet Case patterns released the Charlie Caftan last June, it flew under my radar a bit. Of course, it was our Australian winter (her Canadian summer) so my mind was on wintry patterns. But once our Adelaide summer took hold the Charlie looked like the most appealing thing ever. Must Make Now. If you Google the pattern you'll find heaps of lovely versions to look at, and many people rock the maxi version with gathers. I was more drawn to the simple-but-interesting pleated version. In fact there are multiple variations possible, with gathers or pleats, maxi or above the knee, two armhole heights and an optional waist tie. Both times I opted for a straight View A, above the knee and higher armhole. For my first Charlie I used a sample of some lovely cotton poplin (actually close to a lawn in feel). We are presently working on bringing you this fabric and more, soon, so stay tuned! I had a bit less fabric than required so I left out the side seam pockets...