THE DRAPERY BLOG

The final instalment in our series of Twelve (non-consecutive) Days of Handmade Christmas from The Drapery. And this one is to make sure you don't forget about someone very important at Christmas: you! Have you sewn yourself something special to wear on Christmas Day? The forecast here in Adelaide is looking to be about 30 degrees, simply ideal for a summery dress or shirt made in natural fabric like linen or cotton lawn or voile. For inspiration, here's the gorgeous 'Hazel' dress by Victory Patterns, made up in newly-arrived 100% linens from Lithuania. These two colours were just begging to be used together!  Last week we were delighted to have Victory Patterns designer, Canadian Kristiann Boos, drop into The Drapery. Kristiann was incredibly lovely, effortlessly stylish (and tall!) and you can read about why she was in town on her blog, here (it's very romantic!). We can highly recommend this Hazel pattern: it's rated 'beginner', the instruc...

Number eleven in our series of Twelve (non-consecutive) Days of Handmade Christmas from The Drapery. Handmade Christmas gifts are thoughtful, cost-effective and kind to the earth. And they're just as rewarding to give as they are to receive. Felt Christmas Decorations Feel like adding some home made love to your Christmas tree? These two projects can be done by hand or machine. You could even enlist the kids to help. We've made up a handy pattern sheet for these two decorations which you can download at your leisure right here .   1. Penguin  You will need: penguin pattern, black wool felt, white wool felt, a tiny triangle of orange wool felt, perle cotton (both white and black), wool or corn fibre stuffing, needles and scissors. To make this little guy, download the pattern sheet and cut out the pieces for the Penguin. Pin the pattern pieces to the appropriate felt, and cut them all out. Now take one body piece and the gusset piece. Pin one side of the cen...

Number ten in our series of Twelve (non-consecutive) Days of Handmade Christmas from The Drapery. Handmade Christmas gifts are thoughtful, cost-effective and kind to the earth. And they're just as rewarding to give as they are to receive. Ok, so this isn't actually a Handmade Gift as such. But it's a gift for handmakers... a gift that enables handmade! The Drapery does indeed have gift vouchers. We can make them out for any amount. So if you've a difficult-to-buy-for crafty type on your Christmas list, we can help.  Between now and Christmas we will be open: Wednesday 18th: 10am - 4pm Thursday 19th: 10am - 4pm Friday 20th: 10am - 4pm Saturday 21st: 12 noon - 4pm Previous Twelve Days of Handmade Christmas posts: Fabric Bags for Gift Wrapping No Sew Felt Pencil Roll Simple Kid's Clothes Felt Ball Garland Merino Knit Wrap with Liberty Edging Half Metre Tote Bag Linen Scarf Felt iPad Cover Simple Envelope-Back...

Number nine  in our series of Twelve (non-consecutive) Days of Handmade Christmas from The Drapery. Handmade Christmas gifts are thoughtful, cost-effective and kind to the earth. And they're just as rewarding to give as they are to receive. So, how are you wrapping gifts this year? Paper gift wrapping can be an expensive and wasteful exercise, but the idea is nice: concealing the presents as a surprise and making them look pretty, too. So how about re-useable fabric bags that can be enjoyed year after year? These are so very simple to sew up, it's probably even easier than cutting paper, swearing at the sticky tape and so on! Fabric Bags for Gift Wrapping Make them in a range of dimensions to fit gifts of all shapes and sizes! Here we have used half of a 40cm cut of linen (this heavyweight olive green is a huge 180cm wide). So this piece is 40 x 90cm. You'll also need 2 pieces of twill tape or ribbon, 1 metre each. Make a narrow double...

Number eight  in our series of Twelve (non-consecutive) Days of Handmade Christmas from The Drapery. Handmade Christmas gifts are thoughtful, cost-effective and kind to the earth. And they're just as rewarding to give as they are to receive.   No-Sew Felt Pencil Roll This project is criminally easy, and - even better - kids love it. There are many variations on this simple idea doing the rounds of the internet, but we first saw it right here . You will need: 45 x 25cm piece of pure wool felt (we have rolls of felt in a rainbow of colours cut to this size in store) 70cm length of twill tape - ours is 2cm wide, but any width will do. Sharp scissors or a craft knife, a ruler, tailors chalk or removable fabric markers, and a set of coloured pencils/crayons/drumsticks...etc. Method: 1. Measure the width of your pencils - remember this measurement as that will be the width of your cuts into the felt. 2. Start by laying the felt piece flat on a table in front of yo...

Number seven in our series of Twelve (non-consecutive) Days of Handmade Christmas from The Drapery. Handmade Christmas gifts are thoughtful, cost-effective and kind to the earth. And they're just as rewarding to give as they are to receive. Today we're featuring some great - free - patterns for basic kids' clothing. Simple enough for beginner sewists, these practical wardrobe basics would make great gifts for little people in your life. Check these out, download the patterns, follow the tutorials... and buy your fabric from The Drapery, of course! (Click on the linky words, not the pictures.) MADE - Basic Kids' Pants Oliver + S Popover Sundress, Lazy Days Skirt, Ruffle Halter Top and Reversible Bucket Hat Made By Rae Basic Newborn Pants Not free, but highly recommended from two of the pattern designers above: MADE Kid Shorts (12 months - 10 years) Made By Rae Geranium Dress (the little version of the Washi Dress ) Sew, sew, sew.... Previo...

Number six in our series of Twelve (non-consecutive) Days of Handmade Christmas from The Drapery. Handmade Christmas gifts are thoughtful, cost-effective and kind to the earth. And they're just as rewarding to give as they are to receive. Today's idea is one you may choose to give, or make for your own home. Felt Ball Garland So simple. Spend a relaxing time threading these felt balls or get the kids on the job! Materials: Pure wool felt balls from The Drapery Valdani perle cotton Needle with large enough eye for the perle cotton Cut a piece of perle cotton up to around 2m in length and thread it on your needle. Any longer will become unwieldy to work with. Leave a bit of thread 'tail' for tying at the end, and make a single knot where you would like your first felt ball to be. Push the needle through a felt ball (it's easy) and slide it down to the knot. Make another knot on the other side of the felt ball to hold it in place. Then leave ...

The fifth  in our series of Twelve (non-consecutive) Days of Handmade Christmas from The Drapery. Handmade Christmas gifts are thoughtful, cost-effective and kind to the earth. And they're just as rewarding to give as they are to receive. Merino wool jersey wrap with Liberty Tana Lawn edges Two beautifully soft and luxurious fabrics join forces to make this easy-to-construct wrap. We think it's a perfect gift for a special woman in your life - great to warm your shoulders on a summer evening, or used as an extra layer of warmth in the cooler months .  Our wrap measures 60cm x 130cm. You will need: 30cm Liberty Tana Lawn 60cm Merino Wool Jersey (currently on sale online and instore!)  General sewing supplies: matching thread, sewing machine, a nice sharp needle for handwork, a bias binding tool (optional but very useful), iron, pins or clips. Method: 1. Cut the Liberty into four, 1.5 inch wide strips from selvedge to selvedge. If you have extra fabric...

Our first seven months or so here at The Drapery have been an adventure, a huge thrill, a big learning curve and, we are delighted to say, a promising success. Thank you to all our lovely, lovely customers who are allowing us to make this dream a reality! As a thank-you we have two special Christmas giveaways.  COLETTE PATTERNS BUNDLE Firstly, we have a set of every Colette pattern we have in store: that's nineteen patterns , people! Approximate value $475, crikey! In fact, Colette accidentally sent us a few more patterns than we recently ordered, so we checked with them, and no-one's out of pocket, and they said we could keep them and maybe do a giveaway. Great idea! So here it is. OAKSHOTT BUNDLE Secondly, we have a gorgeous bundle of 16 'fat 8ths' from the Oakshott 'Impressions' range of hand-loomed crossweave quilting cottons. Two metres total, valued at around $60. These would make a beautiful quilt all together or a great addition to any qui...

The fourth in our series of Twelve (non-consecutive) Days of Handmade Christmas from The Drapery. Handmade Christmas gifts are thoughtful, cost-effective and kind to the earth. And they're just as rewarding to give as they are to receive. Half-Metre Tote Bag Whip up this super-simple tote bag with just a half-metre cut of any 110cm fabric (e.g. quilting cotton, cotton/linen blend), plus a wee bit of interfacing. Here's how!  With your half metre x 110cm piece, cut 10cm strips off each end, and cut the remaining part in half. Pin the two large pieces right sides together and sew down one side, across the bottom and up the other side, about 1/2" (12mm) from the edge. Trim the edges and finish with a zigzag stitch to prevent fraying. At one bottom corner, open out and re-fold the point so that the seams are touching down the middle. Mark a line to sew across it about 2" from the point. Sew, backstitching at each end, cut off the corner and zigz...