THE DRAPERY BLOG

You know this dress, right? Named   Kielo Wrap Dress pattern has been kicking around the traps since it's release in 2014. So many bloggers have busted out Kielos in a variety of fabrics, stretch and woven. It's fun to make, fun to wear and really versatile what with all the wrapping options. So why are we only just discovering our love for it now? Well, we have no answer for that! In the past month we have made three Kielos between us. And since I just made two in quick succession, one from a light and drapey jersey and the other from washed linen, we thought it might be interesting to compare the pair here. The Kielo is intended to be made from a fabric with 20-60% of stretch, woven or jersey. I had planned to make mine from a distinctly non-stretchy linen, so muslined a size 42 in a old (clean!) sheet. It fit, but with little wriggle room since I'd forgotten to add the seam allowance (earlier Named patterns require the addition of seam allowance, s...

The Fen Dress pattern was released a year or so ago and for some reason did not grab our attention much at the time. But suffice to say it's grown on us, a LOT, and we now rate it as an absolute winner! Fancy Tiger Crafts is a fabric and yarn shop in Denver, USA. They have released a small range of patterns and we've just stocked the Fen , Sailor Top and Adventure Tank . I made the Fen dress in a washed linen (sold out but lots more linens here ). It works beautifully in linen, and we can also imagine this versatile dress made up in a woven wool for winter, a breezy seersucker for summer or a light denim or chambray for year-round wear. To test the fit I made a quick muslin of the bodice in size 12, which most closely matched my measurements. The fit (such as it is, in a loose-fit pattern) was great and the only adjustment I made was to narrow the neckline, curving it in about 2cm on the front and back pattern pieces. It really is quite a wide neckline and I didn...