08 Dec Vivienne Drape Dress
This weeks design is a homage to one of my favourite designers, Vivienne Westwood. The understated neckline drape and off-centre skirt drape are characteristic of her wonderful draped dresses.
Your Pattern Plan:
- Starting with my fitted dress block, trace out a full front and back pattern for the asymmetric features in this design.
- Mark in a wide neckline, front and back, and extend the shoulder line into a shaped, cap sleeve.
- Alter the side seams at the underarm point for a sleeveless style. Mark in gape darts for front and back armholes.
- Mark in the slightly asymmetric front waist line with the dip sitting approximately 5cm below the waistline.
- The skirt drape seam is then drawn from the dip in the waist seam towards the hemline, stopping in the mid-thigh area.
- Mark in the cut lines for the drape from the end of the skirt darts, front and back, toward the area below the skirt drape seam.
Your pattern development:
- Starting with the back bodice, close the gape darts in the armhole and transfer to the waist darts.
- For the front bodice the bust, waist and gape darts are closed with the shaping sent into the front neckline via the bust centre front lines.
- Square the cowl neckline from the centre front line and add a deep (5cm or 2″) turnback facing.
- For the skirt pattern, separate the front skirt along the drape seam line.
- Cut along the dashed drape lines and close the skirt darts in the front and the back.
- Join the right side seam of the skirt and close the side seam shaping like a dart, transferring the drape into the skirt cowl.
- Finally, lift the drape seam lines to bring them to the same level and introduce that final amount of drape to suit your design.
- NB: up-to-date changes to this Pattern Plan are available here.
Your final pattern pieces:
- Curve through the skirt hemline and add the grainlines to keep the drape of the skirt on the bias.
- Cut the front and back bodice, also on the bias grain.
- Include an invisible zip in the left side seam from the underarm to the hip.
- The back neck and armholes could be finished with an inside bind or the entire bodice may be lined.
- The skirt hem may be best finished with a deep (5cm or 2″) facing, overlocked and blind hem.
- A lining added to the skirt will always make it sit and behave better in wearing.
I hope you all enjoyed this weeks #PatternPuzzle. Let me know if you have any questions, I am always happy to help.
Addendum June 2016: First sample post here.
Enjoy 🙂
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