Lace and flowers - Drape Drape 3, No 2 (One pattern drape dress)

Well, I did it! I finally got up the courage to tackle a pattern from Drape Drape 3 by Hisako Sato, which is all in Japanese (well all except the title and some numbers)! OK, I did take the easy option of a dress with only one pattern piece, but hey, it's in Japanese! Baby steps people!

If you have been looking closely, you may have noticed that my version has two sleeves, compared to one in the pattern. I thought one sleeve might be too avant garde even for me (radical, ground breaker that I am), so I used the sleeve from Dress No. 7 in the same book. I shortened and tapered it a bit he cuff to match the other sleeve, but it went in perfectly with no adjustments necessary. The added sleeve is on the left in the pictures and the other sleeve is the drapey one which is formed from the single dress pattern piece.

I used a lace fabric from Textile Traders, which I got for half price in the post-Christmas sales. I think I paid about $15 for the whole piece. The lace has a little bit of stretch to it, but not a lot. That was fine for this pattern.

I finished the neck edge and sleeves with strips of cotton knit sewn to the inside, stretching slightly while sewing. The hem is just turned up twice and stitched in place.

I am wearing this dress with a long, stretchy, singlet-style top (a cheapy from Valleygirl) underneath. I like that the lace is visible on the sleeves and hem, but is more subtle with the white underneath.

The dress is loose and comfortable, but unique with the draped sleeve and the skewed pattern of the lace produced by the line of cutting. I do feel a little bit dressed up in this dress and I will probably only wear it for more special occasions than the daily school run! Maybe a summer evening BBQ or cruise down the coast in a vintage Mustang at sunset with the roof down - if I ever had such an opportunity! I do like it though :)

And because it is a bit dressed up, I decided to take the photos at home using a backdrop made using a sheet draped over a folded table tennis table. The glamour never stops around here. I then had a little play with my new present from Mr Meggipeg - Adobe Photoshop - to make the backdrop look less like a sheet and more like something you might see in a photoshoot. I played around with different ways of altering the background from selecting it and making it all one colour, to creating textures and removing sheet wrinkles with the blur tool. All other wrinkles are the model's own. I have a lot to learn as it's ages since I used Photoshop, but it is good fun.