Womens Knit Block

It is the simplest of shapes and elegant to boot, the Triangle Drape Dress #PatternPuzzle was solved in an instant by our resident pattern champ Mioara.  You may remember her recent contribution to our weekly fun - a very clever #PatternPuzzle.  Our choice this week was inspired by Meegan Williams sending us a link to her favourite dress.  And she was right, it is not a complicated style.  Made in a lightweight silk/rayon jersey knit, the kimono style drapes beautifully through the side seam area as it collapses over the hip and hugs the thighs.

So it's a weird one this week.  Over sixty years old and born of a time that valued efficiency in manufacture over effective use of resources.  Patent #2,454,208, invented by Ruth E Richman in 1946, was filed as:
'An object of the invention is to simplify the manufacture of blouses, coats and similar garments by constructing them from a blank consisting of a single piece of material.'

This weeks #PatternPuzzle is a thing of genius from our regular contributor, Mioara Cretu, gifting us the most baffling #PatternPuzzle of all time last Saturday.  You may remember her first contribution from  last year, featured here.  Mioara teaches pattern making at a Romanian university and has a weakness for jersey one-piece patterns!
And for all my fans, you've done a wonderful job this weekend finding the answers to such a challenging puzzle.  Congratulations  :)

Every week new fans turn up to comment and solve my #PatternPuzzle and this week was no exception. Steph Go was in early with a comprehensive answer revealing the main parts of the pattern piece. Then Julie and Lynn turned up a little later to finish off the puzzle. This elegant evening dress is a little daring, showing lots of leg and decolletage. It will always look good in soft drapey fabrics such as silk crepe, lightweight stable knits, silk, and polyester chiffon.  With a little experimentation, I think it could be cut in either knit or woven fabrics. The style relies very heavily on the fit on the high hip where the twist is formed. This feature holds the entire dress in place. If you'd like to learn my method for creating Twist Drape Patterns I have a detailed worksheet for making Jersey Twist Patterns. For just a few dollars you'll get the same training you'd get if you came to the workshop in my studio.

Once again the much favoured Jersey Twist is featured on the Saturday morning #PatternPuzzle.  A big thank you to all our fans that come along to play and watch.  :)
This week there is an addition to our #PatternPuzzle post with the inclusion of imperial measurements for our US fans.  Huge thanks to Lisa at Poldapop Designs for pointing out how much easier this would make the teaching of our worksheets in the states.  Lisa is one of the first teachers to take on our Basic Skirt Draft Worksheet as a teaching tool in her classes.  The results have been positive so we will work hard to provide imperial equivalents in all our pattern making instructions.  :)

This weeks #PatternPuzzle was a tough one!  When you look at the weird pattern shape we posted on Saturday, you are looking at the most complex pattern piece in the style.  In this weeks puzzle, in addition to the side seam drape, it's all about understanding the construction of the front wrap and how that relates to the CF seam.  It is a mock wrap in that it is secured at the side seams to create a more reliable shape.

A big thank you to everyone who came by our Facebook Page on Saturday to play the #PatternPuzzle. You were all able to identify most parts of the pattern but found the shape at the neckline confusing.  Once you turn the pattern up the right way you'll see the large open shape is in fact, two pieces of drape that overlap.
This currently popular style is featured in many fashion collections.  The drape from the left side of the top tucks under the right shoulder drape and is attached into the right armhole seam.
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