Pattern Puzzles

Last weekend's #PatternPuzzle was a little different from our usual pattern shapes.  From the conversation you can see that some pattern pieces are obvious and some not so much.  The self-drafted image below is one of the most effective examples I have come across of zero-waste pattern making, typical of a lot of folk costume construction.

It's hard to imagine how this strange shape will make-up when you first see the puzzle.  It is a slightly complex style that I managed to cut after working through the detail in a couple of stages.  Fans were quick to work this one out on the weekend as they are all familiar with the variety of twist techniques that we use at Studio Faro.

From the first moment I clapped my eyes on this little beauty, I've been deeply in love.  Never far from my mind, I had made several attempts to understand this self-drafted style.  Finally, I have something to start with.
My first ideas were based on a flat, geometric sketch as featured in the image below.  I could see how a slightly smaller hem circumference would catch on the high hip and create those beautiful drapes.

We know this is an insanely busy time of year and would like to send a huge thank you to everyone who dropped by on the weekend for our #PatternPuzzle.  The shape below is what greeted our fans on Saturday morning on our FB page.  Below is my trade sketch as my best interpretation of the pattern with the intention of cutting this tunic in a light papery taffeta to hold the sculptural effects of the twist.

Solved with lightening speed by Alison Calderwood, Julie Eilber and RedPointTailor, last Saturdays #PatternPuzzle turns out to be a fab summer shift.  The image below has the puzzle shape right way up with some notations to help make sense of the thing.   Some of you may remember the Cowl Tee with Drape and Draped Tee from way back that feature the same kind of drape seam as this weeks puzzle.

This treasure was discovered in the archives of The Metropolitan Museum along with thousands of other beautiful pieces.  Much to my surprise, I discovered that it is a fairly recent design by John Galliano for The House of Dior in 1998.
For this puzzle, the focus is on the skirt and not the tailored halter neck top.  The combination of the well-organised waterfall drape at the back of the skirt and the cowl drape in the front of the skirt was fascinating to me.

In developing the ideas for this puzzle it occurred to me that there are many ways to make a twist skirt pattern.  What came out of that process are the pattern images below that offer two ways to cut a twist skirt.
The sketches below give you an idea of the anticipated results of the different styles of twist.  If you'd like to learn my method for creating Twist Drape Patterns I have a detailed worksheet for making Jersey Twist Patterns.   The first sketch and pattern on the left is the single twist, and the sketch and pattern on the right are for the double twist.  In the first, we twist the lower skirt of the main pattern and in the other, we twist two tail shape pieces and join them back to the skirt.

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