THE DRAPERY BLOG

You know this dress, right? Named   Kielo Wrap Dress pattern has been kicking around the traps since it's release in 2014. So many bloggers have busted out Kielos in a variety of fabrics, stretch and woven. It's fun to make, fun to wear and really versatile what with all the wrapping options. So why are we only just discovering our love for it now? Well, we have no answer for that! In the past month we have made three Kielos between us. And since I just made two in quick succession, one from a light and drapey jersey and the other from washed linen, we thought it might be interesting to compare the pair here. The Kielo is intended to be made from a fabric with 20-60% of stretch, woven or jersey. I had planned to make mine from a distinctly non-stretchy linen, so muslined a size 42 in a old (clean!) sheet. It fit, but with little wriggle room since I'd forgotten to add the seam allowance (earlier Named patterns require the addition of seam allowance, s...

The Fen Dress pattern was released a year or so ago and for some reason did not grab our attention much at the time. But suffice to say it's grown on us, a LOT, and we now rate it as an absolute winner! Fancy Tiger Crafts is a fabric and yarn shop in Denver, USA. They have released a small range of patterns and we've just stocked the Fen , Sailor Top and Adventure Tank . I made the Fen dress in a washed linen (sold out but lots more linens here ). It works beautifully in linen, and we can also imagine this versatile dress made up in a woven wool for winter, a breezy seersucker for summer or a light denim or chambray for year-round wear. To test the fit I made a quick muslin of the bodice in size 12, which most closely matched my measurements. The fit (such as it is, in a loose-fit pattern) was great and the only adjustment I made was to narrow the neckline, curving it in about 2cm on the front and back pattern pieces. It really is quite a wide neckline and I didn...

There was a great suggestion on Instagram that we do a blog post on pattern recommendations to go with the gorgeous new cotton barkcloth fabric range Outback Wife . They've been selling very quickly though so please don't hesitate to snap some up - otherwise we have plenty of other fabrics that will be equally well suited to the patterns below. From parent company Ella Blue's website: "Outback Wife is the debut collection of Cathi Bessell-Browne, the hands and heart behind Gertrude Made. Each fabric has been a labour of love and they have taken more than a year to complete. Inspired by the beautiful floral barkcloth fabrics of the 1940s and 1950s, each detail of this collection has been meticulously and sincerely considered to create a range with an authentic vintage voice. The stunning hand-painted floral designs printed on an exclusive cotton barkcloth base, tell the story of four Australian rural women. Outback Wife is an ode to the strength, passion and cou...

I have to say this project fought me somewhat along the way. However I was so in love with the fabric, a beautiful blue/green crossweave washed linen from our late 2016 delivery, that I was determined to make it work. And I'm pretty happy that I got there in the end. (End-of-the-day crumpled photos because we like to keep it real.) The Skipper Tunic was released by NZ designers Papercut Patterns last year as part of their nautically-inspired 'Ahoy' collection. I loved the simple shape, square neckline and lace-up placket. Papercut offers free worldwide shipping ( how? ) so I bought this from their shop and in fact added another pattern because, to tell the truth, I wondered how they could make any profit on single pattern purchases with free postage. I can't help thinking of other small businesses. Initially I made a basic muslin to test the sizing and fit. As I expected, I felt it worth sizing down and adding a full bust adjustment, a very common alteration for...

We're rounding up our Spring Tops series today with another item to add to the growing Drapery "never say never " file . A top with a peplum - and a frilled peplum at that! I' d sworn off both of those things in the past as a no-go zone for me and my shape, bu t, well, here we are. L et's lay the blame squarely on the lovely Emily, whose pattern company In the Folds produced the Rushcutter dress, a Drapery favourite from last Winter. The Peplum top is a free downloadable Emily produced for Peppermint Magazine's Sewing School series . At 21 pages it's not a very big PDF - and, honestly the Rushcutter was such a pleasure to sew, I was fairly sure that the Peplum pattern would be cut and paste worthy. And indeed it was. The Peplum Top comes together so nicely, the drafting - as with the Rus hcutter - is spot on . This is the perfect beginners pattern , the directions are very thorough and there's a nifty glossary of terms as we...

When we received the preview email about the new Farrow Dress by Grainline Studios , we knew this was a Good 'Un. We both wanted to make it up for ourselves and we knew it would appeal to lots of Drapery customers. The swingy shape is flattering to all kinds of figures, the diagonal seam lines lift it out of the ordinary and the pockets - well they just seal the deal!  Naturally, we leapt upon the pattern delivery and set about tracing and sewing like mad. Here's mine, made up in a 50/50 cotton/linen lightweight denim. (There's a small amount left in the shop, and this light denim would give a similar result.) FITTING From previous experience with Grainline patterns I know they are drafted for a figure with wider shoulders and a smaller bust than my own. Grainline always provides finished garment measurements on the pattern envelope which is a great help in selecting size. The swingy shape of the Farrow means there is more ease than usual at the bust. So I sele...