#drapeddesign

Top to Dress, or Do Remember You Have Hips

If you have ever seen a sewing pattern for a top and thought, “I would like that better as a dress,” it can be done. But usually you need more flare through the hipline than you would think. Remember that your hips are one measurement, then you need wearing ease, that is, enough fabric to give you room to move, and then design easy, that is, enough to create a graceful flow of fabric. Take a look at the width of skirts or dresses which have the silhouette you are aiming for before you begin altering the pattern. Even though this came as a tunic, it still needed more width to make a dress.

In addition to turning Butterick 5495 into a dress for the second time, I did two other alterations. I raised the front neckline by some 3 inches, and gave it a wide facing instead of the skinny one offered by the pattern. This skinny one kept flipping outward, which is so annoying, and by attaching to the seam allowance where the two front bodice pieces are seamed. You can only barely see that seam in the illustrations, but it helps allow for the draping.

I drafted that pattern piece from the original center bodice piece only to realize that, of course, it narrowed with the gathering at the center. So then I trimmed it to fit. I also raised the back neckline a bit too to create a flowing line; first by drafting, and then by draping it on my mannequin in order to achieve what I had in mind.

BurdaStyle June 2023

This issue starts with a sundress on the cover, Dress 103, which is perfect for border prints as it is made of gathered rectangles of fabric. You can opt out of the ruffle on the strap if that is not your style. Dress 110 is another sun dress which they show in yellow with a flounce around top edge and a short feature offers some tips on sewing flounces.

One of the full, illustrated sewing lessons features knit T-Shirt 121 which has a knotted, draped front as you see in dark red, but it doesn’t appear to be a successful design: wrinkles appear in all the photos along the shoulders/neckline; a reminder that draping is tricky especially when it involves a tight fit. Far more successful as a top is the new little sleeveless Blouse Top 123 which has a keyhole neckline front and back and which you see here in a woven of white with black stripes. Also successful is the simple Dress 106 which they show here as a tunic. It needs a fabric with lots of drape to create the graceful look with the large, flowing sleeves. I think it also needs that obi belt in order to cover up the gathered elastic which gives the dress its shape. Elastic gathers always remind me of children’s wear; the obi belt brings the dress some sophistication. 

The last image shows the interesting Jacket 112 with a shaped pieced front which closes with an inside and outside tie. They show it as evening wear over a fancy dress which fits with its dramatic shaping.

There are more dresses as you can see from the sketches, three skirts, and some DIY projects. A pair of wide-legged pants which I would advise to cut to a cropped length as otherwise your shoes may catch the hemlines, especially on stairs. There are also plenty of simple tops; if you want a fast project, opt for a simple cut and let an an interesting print fabric do the work for you.

BurdaStyle Magazine, January 2023

This issue’s cover features a dramatic Evening Gown 123 with draped features and what they call angel sleeves and a short train. The V neckline is repeated at the back which necessitates a tie to keep the dress on the shoulders. I am thinking raising the back neckline would be a better idea. Ties as well as draped shoulders seems one detail too many. While they chose a bright color, you could imagine an ethereal pastel as well as darker, sophisticated hue. They used a silk crepe from what I can tell.

Dress 106 offers an asymmetrical design that must be made in a knit as it pulls on over your head. Although asymmetry in dress design is often dramatic, this one is subtle enough that you could make it for office wear. Notice that Top 107 take the same pattern pieces, but skips “the cape” piece, that is the pattern piece which wraps the one shoulder of the dress.

The full sewing lessons cover the easy-to-make, pull-on knit pants, Trousers 119 and Jumper 118 which you see here in a pale taupe. Otherwise, you get written instructions but few if any sketches for each pattern. A Glossary explains some techniques in detail that apply to more than one pattern, such as putting in an invisible zipper, understitching a facing, shortening or lengthening a pattern, etc.

As you see from the sketches, this issue contains other pants patterns, and a number of knit tops as well as some jackets. Plus sizes offer the the long, open Cardigan 126 (you can add closures), as well as a pajama set and several knit patterns.

Evening Drama from Bellville Sassoon: Vogue 1616

Even thought most of us, most of the time, have nowhere to wear anything so dramatic, I always enjoy pondering such patterns anyway, especially near the holiday season when so many formal events take place. Lorcan Mullany created this one for Bellville Sassoon.

This one-shoulder dress plays off of informal balance, but not so much side to side as front to back. The body of the dress is made in a crepe or velvet, while the contrast is a sheer chiffon or a glowing charmeuse. The contrast sweep over one shoulder and then cascades down only to be caught at the waistline, then it flare and flows out down to the ground in a train. The drape is hemmed narrowly and very effectively in chiffon here, and you can see how it would float behind with movement. The little black and white you spot here at the waistline is actually beaded trim. 

The bodice fits closely and is boned which is always necessary when you are defining gravity by not suspending a garment from both shoulders. Interfacing too gives shape to the bodice which has an invisible zipper on the side. Although the black makes it impossible to see, princess seams front and back make it easier to fit the dress to the wearer, then the skirt flares out below the knee and in the back it becomes a train as well.

The Dress Doctors would dub this a dress for the sophisticated woman over thirty, who moves with measured grace and thus can handle the complications of such a garment. They believed the energy of youth made younger women too impatient to deal with a train, much less a floor-length drape. In fact, any older woman without the patience would be better off with a striking, but more simply cut gown.