Draping 101: From Skirt toTop

Remember I had big plans for draping last summer? Yeah, what happened to those? Well, I made the dress form according to my measurements, looked at books from Madeleine Vionnet  and I shouldn't have done this. Everything I could possibly drape would resemble a jacket hung over a chair...) It is also hard to work with draping, when all I usually do is rescue small fabric bits from the thrift shop or the garbage bin. But then I tried a mini project.

It's a flowered Laura Ashley skirt of which I had already cut a generous piece of fabric off the bottom to make it wearable. The fabric is actually a nice heavy rayon jersey with a good drape; a bit flowery perhaps, but quite wearable with a black top. Now that I'm into making t-shirts for summer, why not give this one a try.

I turned it upside down, wondered and "draped" and draped and wondered. I didn't use the dress form I made from my own measurements, because it has shrunk a bit and became lopsided. You might think maybe it's just me getting out of shape, but everything else seems to fit me; so maybe it's a bit of both. As it wasn't intended to be a structured garment, I used one of my other dummies. A dress form is an absolute necessity for those interested in the art of draping.

To show where the armholes were cut, I colored the opening red. (Thanks photoshop) Once both are cut, the shirt is basically wearable. At least with a top underneath or the fabric being gathered and pinned like in the picture below. Drape either towards the front or the back. There are really many possibilities.

The picture below illustrates the positioning of the armholes. The shirt would look different if they were higher or lower, the skirt longer or wider or of a different fabric. Lots of possibilities there. This one has been created from an A-line skirt, not too wide, otherwise there would be lots of fabric to "drape away".

The top could also be sewn into shape, but fastened with a brooch, it looks pretty pulled together.

It was exploration time last week and the process mattered more than the outcome. It gave me many ideas for shirts and skirts, and a whole lot of respect for those who really understand the art of draping and clothing construction.