March Stashbusting: The Empress' New Dress

I left you all yesterday with some silly pictures of my first experiments with Hisako Sato's Drape Drape book. I'll be honest, after I finished those pants I was seriously doubting myself and wondering if I was missing something. I even lamented to Mr. Cation, is there something wrong with me? Everyone seems to love Drape Drape and I feel like I'm the little boy staring at the naked emperor, wondering why everyone's convinced that he's wearing the most spectacular outfit ever! Only thing is, I truly wanted to be convinced that the emperor really had some great clothes on.

Look! Look at the emperor and his gorgeous new clothes! *awkward pointing poses*

Mr. Cation and I looked through the book together and decided that no, I hadn't lost my sense of style; it's just that most of the styles in the book aren't right for me. They're still cleverly drafted and *ahem*, artistically photographed, but I know I look best in garments that have a defined waist, and most of the garments in the book don't fall into that category. Still, while looking through the book, we did identify one dress that looked like it would work for me -- the V-neck dress, No. 5 -- with its slightly Grecian feel. I set about highlighting, tracing, and cutting the pattern pieces, and to my surprise it went pretty quickly! Although the pattern sheets look daunting, they're not bad once you get the hang of it. Same goes for interpreting the pleating diagrams in the book, although the number of pins required is still ridiculous. 

I am so fascinated by the shapes of these pattern pieces!

I sewed up a size small, and once again I'm glad I didn't go with my recommended size. I ended up having to take in the side seams a little bit and do a SBA on the gathered bodice pieces, and even then, the stretchiness of my fabric means that it's almost indecently low-cut in front. Since I was working with a stretch fabric, I also didn't bother with the back zipper, and I also modified the back bodice pieces to be higher and overlap so that my bra strap wouldn't show. 

More white wall pictures. 

Summary: 

Fabric: 2 yards of 54" wide mystery knit from the FIDM scholarship store, purchased last year. It's part of my stashbusting challenge pledge, so I'm pretty excited about using up so much of it. I think I have enough left to squeeze out a long-sleeved not-a-Renfrew. 

Notions: Elastic to stabilize the waist seam

Hours: Seven? I spent quite a bit of time fiddling with the bodice fit. 

Will you make it again? Probably not, as it's a pretty unique look. 

Total cost: $3

Final thoughts: I've seen some really gorgeous versions of this dress out there, but it wasn't until I saw Amy's paisley version that it occurred to me that this could be made up in a patterned fabric. I know I'm totally succumbing to the put-a-bird-on-it trend, but I love how there are birds swooping all over this dress! The drapes are definitely a great design element on what could otherwise be a pretty ho-hum V-neck dress. It's comfortable (I tested it by wearing it to a ten course Chinese wedding banquet) and elegant without taking itself too seriously. 

So, the verdict is, I'm so glad I gave Drape Drape another chance! I may not quite be a convert to the whole draping cult, but at least the emperor appears to be clothed now. Now, if you are of the opinion that these patterns are all that, or if you're like me and want to give them a try, here's your chance: Laurence King Publishing not only gave me a copy to review, they graciously provided another copy for one of you! Leave a comment saying you'd like to enter the giveaway by 11:59 pm PST on Friday, March 22, for a shot at your own copy of Drape Drape. 

And because I couldn't resist, I had to do a (loving) mocking imitation of the model's awkward pointing poses. 

My theory is that the models didn't know what to do with their hands. Obvious solution: hold a cat. 

Last little bit of randomness: we were at a B&N killing time before a birthday party, and I came across a similar-looking (but unrelated) Japanese sewing book called Shape Shape. When I showed it to Mr. Cation, he proposed that somebody put out Japanese sewing books called Tape Tape (garments all made entirely from duct tape), Cape Cape (all capes, obviously), and Grape Grape (clothes made from grapes, like Lady GaGa's meat dress). You see, that is why I love this man.