THE DRAPERY BLOG

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

The third 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. Linen Scarf We have featured these linen scarves/cowls on our blog before and they continue to be a popular option for gift-giving or a simple handmade accessory to keep for yourself! For Christmas we have made up these kits that contain all you need: KIT -  $20  Contains 40cm x 150cm washed linen, ball of Valdani perle cotton, hand sewing needle, instruction sheet. In an hour or so of relaxing hand-stitching, you can have a beautifully drapey linen scarf which can be worn loose or doubled around the neck. We love the look of the hand-stitching with perle cotton but, if you're pressed for time and would like to get a few of these whipped up for gifts (teachers? sisters? friends?), they also look fabulous simply stitched

The second 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 iPAD COVER Materials: 26 x 45cm piece of thick felt (we used our new 3mm thick 100% pure new wool felt which we have in store in a range of colours) 110cm Twill Tape (also in store) Cotton thread, sewing machine, pins or clips, scissors. Method: Our iPad case was made for a tablet measuring 20 x 25cm, so measure yours up to get the right fit. This is such a quick project to make, and the thick wool felt makes the case really quite substantial. The same method with different measurements would make a great phone or camera cover, too. •  Pin 3cm of the end of the twill tape in the centre of the shortest edge of your felt piece. The rest of the twill tape should be trailing off in the opposite direction to the piece of felt.

The first 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. Simple Envelope-Back Cushion Materials: 50cm cut of printed cotton or cotton/linen blend (we've used Umbrella Prints Hearts in Persimmon on Organic Cotton) 50cm cut of Heavyweight Natural Linen Matching cotton thread 50cm square Innergreen cushion insert made from 100% recycled plastic water bottles Cut 1 piece of your patterned fabric 50 x 50cm square for the cushion front. Cut 2 pieces of linen 50 x 40cm for the envelope-style cushion back. Sew a double-fold hem on one 50cm side of each piece of linen. Lay your fabric out: - Patterned fabric, right side up. - First piece of linen on top, raw edges matching raw edges of patterned fabric, hem facing up. - Second piece of linen in opposite direction, so the two hemmed edg

Christmas is approaching and we are thrilled that many of you are thinking about sewing gifts for your loved ones. Here's a couple of real stories from The Drapery that show how much handmade can really mean to people. cushion: Hearts in Persimmon by Umbrella prints, natural linen backing, Innergreen 100% recycled insert One day a gentleman called in and asked if we would like some fabrics that belonged to his wife. We started to explain that at the moment we don't deal in secondhand fabrics, but he said he simply wished to give them to us. He explained that his wife had recently passed away. He said she had loved sewing and was very clever at it, and that he just wanted her fabrics to go to a good home. His grief and love were obvious. Of course we would take the fabrics! (And we had a little sob after he had left.) He returned a few days later with a couple of boxes. (And after he left again we had another little sob!) One of the fabrics was this sturdy blue-and-white

The Made By Rae Washi Dress is one of our best-selling patterns at The Drapery. It's a flattering style for a great range of shapes, sizes and ages and can be made up in many different fabrics. But what if you are outside the pattern's size range? The most important measurements with the Washi Dress are Upper Bust and Bust (full bust). The largest size - XXL - accommodates a 40 - 41" Upper Bust and 42 - 44" Bust. Here we show you how to grade the Washi Dress pattern up. Our example is for an Upper Bust of around 43-44" and Bust around 45 - 46". First we made a basic muslin of the bodice in the XXL to check fit on our Washi recipient, and see how much more room was needed. (Old Ikea pillowcase = perfect muslin fabric!) The back of the Washi Dress is cut all in once piece - bodice and skirt - so to make a muslin of just the bodice you will need to cut your pattern piece, or fold the skirt part out of the way, or trace off a separate bodice-only