THE DRAPERY BLOG

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...

As far as we're concerned, no run-down of Spring Tops could possibly leave out one of our favourites, Grainline Studio . Jen Beeman's well drafted patterns and cleverly clean design always give non-fussy and (we think!) eminently wearable clothes. How's that for some introductory fan-girling?! And, you guessed it, the Willow tank is no exception. It's been doing the rounds since its release during the past American Summer, and now our weather is finally warming up, it's our turn to give it a go. This is a great pattern for first time garment makers. There's a few useful (but not scary) techniques in here, like sewing darts and understitching a bias-facing, but the directions & diagrams are clear and there's a handy glossary at the back. For experienced sewists, it's a nicely drafted, quick sew. Not to mention a good wardrobe basic to thrash. I made my Willow up in this light/mid-weight cotton denim . Because it's a non directional fab...

Are we really banging on about the same pattern for the third time on this blog? Well, yeah. In our defence:  1. it's a really good pattern; 2. this is a different version; 3. how could we not include the Deer and Doe Melilot in our Spring Tops series?  So there you go, it was unavoidable.   The Deer and Doe Melilot view B has short, dropped/cut on sleeves with cuffs and regular button placket. As shirts go, there are refreshingly few pieces - the placket is a folded over number and is included as part of the shirt fronts, plus there's no yoke at the back.  Our English language booklet instructions had gone awol, so I doddled along with the French instructions, the (excellent) diagrams, an online translation service, a wing and a prayer. It worked out fine! It's labeled as difficulty level 4/5 but I found that it all came together without too much confusion. To be honest I was also really just looking for an excuse to use this fabric, because I've ...

Like many thirteen year olds, my eldest daughter has a burgeoning clothing habit. I've been dropping hints about how useful sewing can be for a clothes-lover - how liberating it is to be able to make exactly what you want to wear or to even replicate a favourite garment or style, but I wasn't sure it was getting through. So when she recently asked me if I could reproduce a ready to wear top she liked, I was all over it. Audrey wanted a simple, lightweight off-the-shoulder top. A couple of Google searches later, enter the Hippie Top by French pattern maker Vanessa Pouzet . A summery top/dress which can be made with or without shoulder straps. The pattern is PDF only, but mercifully the version we were after only needed 3 main pieces so it was printed and sticky-taped together in no time. I decided on the size 36 according to Audrey's measurements (she's 173cm tall, so the smallest adult sizes are usually good for her now). Even though this kind...

Jane here! Grab a cuppa, or scroll on down. Musings ahead. Genetically, I was unlikely to ever be the willowy type. I'm 5ft3", decidedly pear-shaped and I've had an on-off relationship with a bit of extra plumpness most of my life. Last ten or so years, it's been more of an 'on' relationship. I'm mostly good with it. During my twenties I maintained a size 8-10 figure with quite some effort. If I knew I was going out for dinner, I'd often starve myself the whole day beforehand. Eat literally nothing. Maybe a few cups of tea. I lived alone for some time and maintained a fridge and pantry that contained pretty much two minute noodles, cheese and beer. Sometimes I'd have half a packet of noodles for lunch and the other half for tea. And I was riding my bike to and from work or walking or doing yoga. So yeah, I looked in good shape. But looking in good shape was a priority for me then and I'd hardly say I had a healthy relationship with food, l...

Today we'd like to show you how beautifully our Modal-Tencel-Spandex striped knits make up into spring tops. With 60% Modal, 37% Tencel and 3% Spandex these knits are super-soft and drapey, but also hold their shape and have good recovery. Modal and Tencel are both man-made fibres created from wood pulp cellulose, similar to rayon. They have decent environmental credentials since the chemicals used are contained and recycled or re-used and by-products are also put to use. Additionally, the wood can generally be more sustainably grown than cotton. It's hard to believe a fabric so soft can be made from timber! First I made a simple t-shirt for my 15 year-old Charlie from the blue stripe. I've only ever sewn with cotton or cotton/spandex knits before, so I wasn't sure how I'd go handling something this drapey and soft. However it behaved really well, perhaps just needing a few more pins here and there to keep seams in line.  To achieve the stripe right o...