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. 

The Stylish Dress Book Review

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After the fiasco that was my Drape Drape experience, I'm honestly kind of surprised that Laurence King Publishing actually wanted to send me more Japanese sewing pattern books to review. They did promise, though, that this next book contained more practical patterns, even if it didn't have a fun name (my favorite suggestion from the giveaway post: a book of HP fashion called Snape Snape). Yoshiko Tsukiori's Stylish Dress Book: Simple Smocks, Dresses, and Tops promised to be a "fabulous homemade alternative to racks of identikit [sic] clothes in cheap fabrics." Flipping through the book, it's true that these clothes are more practical (read: you can actually wear them outside!), and they're certainly different from the cheap clothes you see mass produced at Forever 21 or H&M. On the other hand, they're not exactly what I think of when I think of stylish clothing. To me, these relatively shapeless smocks and boxy tops look more like maternity clothes, which is just perfect because...

...I'm totally not pregnant. Which meant that even though yes, these clothes are more wearable than the ones in Drape Drape, they still wouldn't be my first pick when it comes to trying new patterns. Still, in the interest of doing a fair review (i.e. one where I actually try out at least one pattern), I picked one of the two dresses in the book that actually looks like it has some waist definition going on: Dress R, which features several rows of elastic shirring at the waist.

Unfortunately, white on white doesn't photograph so well. 

I decided I wanted to make this dress without the sleeves, and use different fabric for the yoke for some visual interest (and also because sheer yokes are totally in right now). Tracing the pattern was pretty easy, and since the dress is actually pretty basic, I didn't really bother much with the instructions. In case you were wondering, though, the instructions are very similar to Drape Drape: concise and clearly illustrated with well-done line drawings.

It's a cute peasant-ish look, especially with the decorative blanket stitching at the neckline. 

How did it turn out? Judge for yourself.

Oh hey, that doesn't look anything like the dress in the book. 

Yeah, sorry about that, but I made lots of modifications. 

I love the white embroidered flowers on this fabric!

Maybe it was the embroidered cotton voile I was using, but the dress ended up looking very puffy around the shoulders, so I added several more rows of shirring at the shoulders in an attempt to tame some of the extra fabric. I also widened the neckline, took in the bodice side seams by about 1.5" at the underarm (tapering to nothing at the waist), recut the armholes to accommodate the new width, and shortened the hem by about five inches. I also ended up having to do huge seam allowances at the edges of the yoke in the back. For some reason, I didn't bother trimming and re-binding them, so they show through the back a little bit since the voile is so thin. Ah well, I don't have to see my own back, so I'm just going to pretend it didn't happen. And obviously I didn't do the decorative stitching at the neckline, opting instead to just bind everything with white bias tape. All in all, it was rather more fussing (and trying on and making adjustments and retrying) than I expected for a dress with such simple shapes. I wouldn't be scared off, though, as long as you like the style of dress in this book -- the pattern pieces are really very simple and the sizing is extremely generous. I cut the XS for this dress (despite the book recommending a M for my measurements) and I still had to take things in quite a bit. So if you think you can't make clothes from a Japanese sewing book because you're not standard-Japanese-person-sized (I always feel like a freakishly tall giant when I'm in Asia, and I'm not even that tall), don't be afraid!

Even though the shirring helps with the waist definition, I still like dresses best with a belt or sash, so I tried the super trendy turquoise + red combo. I quite like it! 

How's that for vibrant color, eh?

Summary:
Fabric: a little over 1.5 yards of 100% cotton embroidered cotton voile. Even though it isn't part of my official stashbusting pledge pile, it's been in the stash for a couple years and it definitely fits the April theme of vibrant color. My only gripe with it is that the embroidered sections are quite puckery and won't flatten out even with ironing. I also used a minimal amount of this dotted white net that's also been in the stash for a while.
Notions: bias tape, elastic thread
Techniques used: Shirring! I haven't shirred since this dress (where I actually had to do a similar thing to tame shoulder puffiness), and this time I shirred the front and back pieces before I sewed them together, and let me tell you, it was much easier dealing with flat pieces! Also, sometimes when I haven't used a new technique for a while, I forget that it isn't that difficult, so I avoid it because I've built it up in my head as some big task involving lots of preparation. I was actually pleasantly surprised (again) by how easy and fast shirring was; even winding the bobbins by hand didn't take much time. Incidentally, this dress only required two bobbins' worth of elastic thread.

More or less even rows of shirring. Also, seam binding on all the insides. 

Hours: Seven. What looked like a relatively simple project ended up taking a lot of time because of fussing with the fit at the top so that it didn't look so huge. Also, planning the cutting layout took not an insignificant amount of time because my yardage was so limited.
Will you make it again? No. And there's maybe only one other project in the book that I might actually make one day, but honestly, these patterns would probably be simpler for me to just improvise on my own, rather than modifying these patterns to get the look I want. I actually made a similar sheer-yoked dress last year that turned out to be much easier.
Total cost: I don't remember where I got this fabric, nor how much it was, but knowing my fabric shopping habits, it can't have been more than $5 total. [side note: The problem with fabric shopping in LA is that you start thinking that any more than $3/yd for fabric is exorbitant. I know, I know, some of you are probably all pshh, #LAsewistproblems...$10/yd for embroidered cotton voile is considered to be a good price. Don't hate, I'll be moving in a few months and then my idea of a good price for fabric will recalibrate.]
Final thoughts: I like that this is a fun summer dress that's easy to wear, and I especially love the bright colors. With the sash, it's actually fairly close to my wedding colors. All around, it's a good solid wardrobe piece, not especially groundbreaking, but nothing wrong with it either.

So, my conclusion? If you're pregnant, these are simple, relatively fast projects that would make for good belly coverage. Alternately, if you like the loose smock look, if you like uncomplicated pattern pieces with some cute details and embellishments thrown in, this is the book for you! According to the LK Publishing website, the book will be available in May. Oh, and in case you couldn't tell, this was a free copy provided to me for review purposes, although I'm not financially compensated in any way.

Last order of business: I wouldn't be me if I didn't at least try to mimic the models' poses. Whether it's holding a plate of flour while standing under a random sprig of flowers tacked to the wall, drinking from a ladle, or showing off freshly baked bread, well, let's just say that these Japanese sewing books provide me with no end of amusement.

I didn't have a sprig of flowers to tack to the wall, so I settled for Walnut's catnip mouse. 

Yes, this soup tastes about right. 

I didn't have real bread to pose with. At least my coordinating oven mitts are from a Japanese store? 

Of course, IMHO, the best photo prop (even if it totally obscures the actual dress being modeled) is a cat.

Could there ever be any doubt? 

Accidental Aladdin Pants

Earlier this year, I was contacted by Laurence King Publishing about reviewing a copy of Drape Drape by Hisako Sato, which was translated into English just last year. I'd heard about this series before, and to be perfectly frank, I was pretty doubtful if the looks would work for me. I know a lot of sewing bloggers I love tend to love these patterns, though, so I figured I should be fair and give it a try. I mean, don't knock what you haven't tried, right? I went ahead and requested a copy. When it arrived, I was still dubious, but also intrigued by the unusual pattern pieces. This book doesn't actually teach draping, but it does give one an idea of the kinds of cuts that are required to give certain looks.

Pretty pretty intro pictures showing how to sew the drapes!

See what I mean about the style being a bit different from my usual?

I'm not sure when this would ever be socially acceptable to wear in public.  On the other hand, your whole dress is a pocket?

I highlighted my pattern pieces so that I would know what to trace.
It reminded me of those puzzles you do in kindergarten where you have to figure out which balloon belongs to which child, or which snake head goes with which tail, etc., and there's a big tangle where you need to find and follow the appropriate lines. 

Since I've been busy working on making Elaine's wedding dress, I wanted to sew an "easy" pattern from the book, preferably one that didn't involve too many pattern pieces. I mean, check out the line explosion on the pattern sheet! Now, those of you who have had the questionable good fortune of practicing tracing from BurdaStyle magazines are probably all pshhh that's nothing, but I come from the school of just-cut-out-the-pattern-even-if-it's-vintage, and I've never traced a pattern before (please don't lynch me, vintage pattern collectors), so I was pretty daunted by all the lines. They're all the same color and the same solid lines, with both the seam allowance and the stitching line shown, which made it all that much more difficult to figure out which line I wanted.* In the end, I selected the very first outfit as being the simplest to trace: the Loose Drape Top and the Tuck Drape Pants.

My initial consultation of the sizing chart puts me at a size L (the book provides patterns for bust sizes 30.5-35.5"), but after reading several reviews that all commented on the ease in these patterns, I decided to trace and cut the small. It's a good thing I did, too, since the top I cut out is -- I kid you not -- literally too large to stay on me. Photos would have been me standing in my unmentionables with a puddle of fabric at my feet. And I have really broad shoulders, too. I'm afraid of what it would've looked like had I cut out the recommended size! Even after taking in the side seams by four inches (!) on each side, it's still sack-like, which is more or less how it looks on the model, so I guess in answering the PR question "Did it look like the photo on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?" I would have to say that yes, unfortunately, it did. I threw the unfinished top into my UFO pile, where Walnut didn't even deign to sit on it. I'll harvest the fabric later for another, more fitted, top. In the meantime, I'm pretty discouraged about cowl-neck tops on me (especially after my previous fail in that department).

After my initial Drape Drape disappointment, I turned to the pants, hoping that they would work out better. I love a good pair of comfy knit pants, so I went about making them in a basic black jersey. Cutting, pleating, and sewing went pretty quickly, although figuring out the diagrams took some getting used to. The instructions are concise at best, which may or may not be your thing, depending on how experienced you are. I liked them as they were, but then I also rarely consult instructions when sewing with Big 4 patterns.

Here's all of two pages in the book dedicated to sewing up this pair of pants. Love the lovely simple line drawings.

I decided to imitate the photography of the book and take pictures in front of a white wall. Oh hey, look, I finally took down the Door to Moria! 

Back view: wrinkly mess because who irons jersey knit?

Since I don't have a serger, finishing the waistband seam was pretty difficult. I think mine looks like crap, and the thickness of the pleats (eight layers in some places!) means that once the elastic is inserted, it doesn't lie flat or gather properly, leaving these huge weird wavy ripples instead. Trying to topstitch the seam allowance to help hold it down didn't work, either. I'm not sure how to fix that issue, but in the meantime, I just won't be showing the waistband when I wear these pants, which is fine since almost all of my shirts are long enough to cover the waist and then some. Because of the amount of fabric gathered into the waistband, these pants have tons of ease in the hips, making them supremely comfortable. I was right, though, in my initial assessment that these aren't really my style. I don't think I'll ever wear them out of the house unless it's laundry day. I will say that they're perfect for sewing in, though, since the cropped length means it's easy to get down on the floor for cutting, and the elastic waistband makes it easy to slip on and off for fitting as I sew.

Really getting into imitating the book model's poses: standing stiffly, looking unamused.

Instead of bending over and fiddling with a chair, I bent over to pet Walnut. 

I mean, how could I not want to scritch this face? Irresistable, I tell you. 

Mr. Cation was equally confused by these pants, and when I pulled down the cuffs, he and I both agreed that they looked like Aladdin pants, and not in a good way. Things consequently got silly...

Yes, I do have a spare fez in my costume trunk. 

What's Aladdin without Abu? 

I can't believe you compared me to a monkey, Mom. That is seriously demeaning. 

Here's what I think of your comparison. 

All of this sounds like I'm not a fan of Drape Drape, but before LK Publishing comes to get me, just wait for tomorrow! I was so bummed that I decided to ignore the sewing queue and try another pattern from the book, and that one worked out much better. Stay tuned!


*This is why I totally appreciate that Mari is asking for sewists' opinions for her new pattern company, Disparate Disciplines. Go check out the Kickstarter if you haven't already!

Wedding Dress Progress Post #2

Seeing as how I posted my first entry about Elaine's wedding dress a week ago, it sounds like it's going to be Wedding Dress Fridays here on the blog (Wedding Dress Wednesdays sounds like it would make more sense, but then I would have had to show more foresight as to the day I first started posting about this project, and we're not about foresight here at Cation Designs). Since my last post, I tried draping the gold lace overskirt, and even found time for a fitting during the twelve hours that Elaine and I both happened to be in San Francisco. I think it's safe to say that at this point, I'm feeling a lot better about having committed to this undertaking...check out the skirt(s) so far!

I was so incredibly relieved that it all fit! I measured five times and cut/sewed once, but I was still nervous. 

I rearranged the draping to be slightly more pleasing. 

Side view. Please ignore how messy the basement is. 

Side view with the purple layer gathered up quickly, just to see what it looks like. 

Back view. I haven't quite finished with the shape of the back drape tails yet, but you get the general idea. 

I'm still not entirely satisfied with the overskirt; somehow the two sides ended up not quite symmetrical, and the front half is too big at the waist. I'm trying to decide if I want to redo the whole thing, or just leave it for the corset to hold in place. Of course, the perfectionist part of me is insisting that a wedding dress deserves the best, and the lazy part of me is protesting that no one will be looking under the corset to see if everything is perfectly lined up. And then of course I still need to hem it all and add trim. Oh, and let's not forget the corset that still needs to be made!

Still, I'm pretty pleased with myself, considering that this is what the overskirt looked like at the beginning of the draping process:

As Elaine said when she saw these pictures, it looked like I just threw the wad of gold lace at Cecily and just started pinning haphazardly. Which is pretty much what happened, actually.


More or less unrelated: thank you all for your kind words about my Drape Drape dress! Mr. Cation is glad to hear that so many people are interested in Cape Cape and Grape Grape. We will let you know should those ever be published. And if you haven't entered the giveaway yet, you've still got a couple of hours to throw your name into the running for your own copy of the book!