THE DRAPERY BLOG

We have some luscious boiled wools in stock at The Drapery right now, and have put together a free tutorial for possibly the easiest garment you'll ever make! Searching for boiled wool inspiration, we came across this simple and lovely shrug by Manda of Treefall Design, who was inspired by a ready-to-wear piece. We whipped up a couple of prototypes in the shop and arrived at this which takes just a 75cm cut of fabric and three straight seams. Edges can all be left raw because boiled wool does not fray! REQUIREMENTS 75cm x boiled wool , ours is 150cm wide - would also work in wool knit fabric such as this Japanese wool blend (or this one ) and this Merino Rib Gutermann Sew-All thread in matching colour Cut about 50 - 55cm in from each selvedge so you have 2 pieces approx. 50 x 75cm, each with a 75cm fluffy selvedge. The piece from the middle is spare so you can use it for another project, or perhaps to embellish your shrug. Pin your pieces together along th...

My love for the Marilla Walker Roberts Collection pattern goes on! Honestly I hope she's sold a shipload of these because I feel like I've had my money's worth from this one pattern many times over. (See View A jumpsuit here and View D top here .) View C is a dress with overall/dungaree-style bib and straps, and I made version C2, the longer length. I used a fabulous new vibrant blue denim we recently got in from Art Gallery Fabrics, who seem to be moving more and more into garment fabrics, much to our joy! At time of writing there are just 2 metres of this left but we do have rather a lot of other denims in at the moment, any of which would also work well for this pattern. For the bib lining I used some precious Marimekko 'Unikko' fabric from my stash. One of those large flowers fitted beautifully and little glimpses of the lining during wear make me happy. It's also inside the pockets. This marked my first foray into applying j...

For those of you planning to visit our bricks and mortar store over the next few weeks, please be aware that we will be closed over the Easter long weekend.   March 25th, Good Friday: CLOSED Saturday, March 26th: CLOSED   We regularly close Sun/Mon/Tues, so from the following Wednesday (March 30), our trading hours resume as usual: open Wednesday to Friday 10am to 4pm and Saturdays 12-4.   Our online shop will remain open throughout the holiday period.   We are open normal hours until then, so come on in and stock up for your long-weekend sewing projects. Wishing all our customers a safe and happy Easter!   - Fiona & Jane xx

Here's a great little wardrobe basic that we highly recommend: the Rosari Skirt by Spanish designer Pauline Alice.   As described on the pattern envelope: "Classic and inspired by the 70s, the Rosari skirt will be your best friend all year round. Mini or midi length, it is so versatile and goes with everything. With 4 pocket options: A - rounded with coin pocket, B - patch pocket, C - inverted pleat patch pocket with flap, D - zipped pocket." The myriad of pocket options was one of the things that really drew us to this pattern. I'd like to try them all!   This time I opted for the mini length with zip pockets at the front and patch pockets at the back, made up in sturdy 10oz traditional dark denim .  Let me tell you the insertion of those zip pockets was one of those incredibly satisfying sewing moments. You know, when you think 'yes, I really made that!' It's not too tricky, the instructions guide you through it very well, and the res...