THE DRAPERY BLOG

I've had the notion of a longer A-line skirt in my mind for a while, and have been casting my eye around for patterns. I wanted something quite plain, multi-seasonal, comfy; I guess the skirt equivalent of a pair of jeans. Well pattern-wise I certainly went with 'the vision' but perhaps not so much the fabric, ha! This Art Gallery Textured Denim in 'Canyon Sunset' (currently sold out but on re-order) is no shrinking violet. But it makes me happy! I chose Marilla Walker's 'Evan' skir t (named after her young son, how cute) because it had just enough seaming/yoke/fly detail to break up the expanse of fabric, great front pockets and a nice just-A-line-enough shape. Also, because I love her style and have had great success with her Roberts Collection pattern. Pattern description: "This classic a-line skirt is a 'jeans' style with back yoke, fly front fastening and front/back pockets. The waistband is curved for a flattering fit and s...

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...

We recently received our summer delivery of Liberty Tana Lawns here at The Drapery, and they've inspired some serious drooling. They're amazing fabrics and yes, they're on the pricey side, but don't let them intimidate you. Simple garments can be the best way to showcase a Liberty print. The width of the fabric (137cm) means a little can go a surprisingly long way. As far as 'special' fabrics go Liberty is extremely easy-care, being a fine cotton, so you can wash and wear your Liberty garments all summer long. Don't just save them for best! To keep your colours as vibrant as possible, hang to dry out of direct sun. Fiona and I of course consider it our duty to demonstrate some of the uses of Liberty for your inspiration. Here's the simple, lovely and comfortable Roberts Collection Top ( pattern by Marilla Walker ) in Liberty 'Melting Elements '. (The elements were indeed a bit melty this day so excuse the wrinkles.) Worn with perennial ...

Summer is certainly here and like us you may be looking for clothing that is loose and cool. Allow us to introduce (if you haven't already met), the Roberts Collection by UK designer Marilla Walker . It's only available as a pdf downloadable pattern at the moment (follow link above to her Etsy shop), which means a lot of printing and stickytaping together. But I'm here to tell you it's well worth it! What's more you get four distinctly different versions, and one not-so-different which is just a longer version of the dress. I want to make them all! But first up was View A. Yes, a jumpsuit... gasp. This is actually my wearable muslin. Since the pattern takes 2.5m of 150cm wide fabric, it was a lot to risk on something that may not fit or even suit me. So I made up a straight size 4, which best met my measurements, in ordinary calico. And then since it fit so well I went ahead with the second part of my plan which was to dye it into something wearable. I lov...