THE DRAPERY BLOG

Whilst the merits of double gauze are well known to many of you, we still find ourselves introducing this wonderstuff to many customers in the shop. So we thought it worth a blog post to help demystify it some more.  Double gauze is a double-layered cotton fabric, predominantly made in Japan. It's very, very soft.  The two fine gauzy layers are woven together in a grid of spots about 1cm apart, which can be seen in some prints more easily from the back, like this one below. This stops the layers pulling apart as you're sewing, or wearing the fabric. You can cut and sew this just as you would a single-layer fabric.  Generally the top layer of fabric is printed, but some are yarn-dyed.  One of the largest manufacturers of double gauze is Japanese mill Kokka, which produces many prints including the very beautiful and popular 'Nani Iro' line by designer Naomi Ito. (Some of our current range pictured below.)  There are also many prints that are idea...

Here's a project where neither pattern nor fabric is available at The Drapery... but hey, we're all about sharing sewing inspiration! And we have plenty of fabrics that would work for this. This 'Seabrook' bag pattern is from the Seamwork e-mag by Colette Patterns. Many of you know about Seamwork already but if you don't, have a look. Each monthly magazine has two pdf patterns which are designed to be simple, quick sewing projects. You can also purchase the patterns individually, which is what I did here.  I chose this bag pattern because I wanted a bag that was fairly spacious and that could be worn as a casual backpack, for carrying during the day on an upcoming short holiday. I wanted to be able to whip up something quick, and use stash fabrics.  Dog helping with demonstrating the size.   Fabrics used here are a Donegal Tweed and some silk brocade, both gifts from travelling relatives.  On the bottom I used some denim, also from the stash. ...

We were very excited to order in the new Deer and Doe patterns, including this simple beauty, the Arum.  By a stroke of luck this dress, made up in 'Otter' Chambray and Liberty Tana Lawn, is a good fit for both of us so we are showing you how it fits on two fairly different shapes. With just three main pattern pieces (plus pocket and binding or facing), the Arum is a very quick sew. Cleverly designed with cut-on, slightly kimono-style sleeves, there's no need for bust darts. Princess seaming at the back provides flattering shaping.   This is a straight-out-of-the-packet Size 42. Common adjustments Jane would have to make: full bust, narrow shoulder, short waist/sway back, general concessions to pear shape! Whereas Fiona is almost the opposite with broader shoulders and narrow hips. If you wanted to be fussy about fitting, those back seams would allow easy adjustment in the shoulder area, and side seams could be adjusted for waist and hip...

This Fabric Friday we're sharing a combination we're currently really crushing on: Liberty of London Tana Lawns paired with chambrays . (Actually we have a considerably larger collection of chambrays in store than currently online, so we might need to update the web shop!) 'Bourton' pocket on 'Otter' chambray. (Deer and Doe Arum dress, soon to be revealed!) Chambray is a plain-weave cotton in a versatile mid-shirting-weight, generally with quite nice drape, excellent for shirts, skirts, dresses and more. It has a characteristic weave of coloured yarn in the warp and white in the weft, creating a softly mottled effect. It's similar to the look of denim but without denim's twill weave, which creates a diagonal line. Here's 'Phoebe' with a classic blue chambray in our shop sample Adelaide Sundress . 'Byrne' with its darker tones is set off nicely by this bright yellow/green. (Okay, technically probably a crossweave or shot...

Townmouse is a beautiful new line of pdf children's clothing patterns by Melbourne designer Kristine Lempriere. We had the chance to test the newest Townmouse pattern, the Adelaide Sundress. And on a sunny pre-spring day in Adelaide, it seemed pretty much perfect! Kristine studied fashion design and patternmaking before creating a children's clothing label, Townmouse Children's Wear, which she ran for ten years before taking time out for family. Now she's releasing many of her best-selling designs as patterns for home sewists. She has a lovely blog here , and her pattern shop is on Etsy here . We love the classic style of Townmouse patterns. We feel like they're a great match for many fabrics at The Drapery. We sewed it up in Umbrella Prints organic cotton 'Brushstrokes on Olive Gold' .  Australian pattern designer, Australian fabric shop, Australian fabric designers: the trifecta, woot!  (With Moda crossweave in Pepper as contrast.) Our lit...