Made in Japan. {Drape Drape 3 #15}

One piece strapless rushed dress #15 made in black satin jersey.

My interpretation: I used the centre back gathering instructions to gather the 'sides' and 'centre front' for an extra rushed effect. The bust was reinforced with clear elastic and the dress pattern was lengthen and adjusted accordingly.

In contrary to what the ‘drape’ name suggest, this book is not a traditional draping on model/dress form book. It has 15 printed patterns that explore the use of draping techniques. Drape Drape 3 revisits the same techniques from previous books (slack, tucks and gathers) mixing them up in a variety of fabrics. 

The patterns are shown in clear background and are mostly dresses, in fact 8, then 4 are tops, only one skirt, trouser and short. They are printed multi sized on a manageable size paper weight, printed double sided, overlapping. I traced with a highlighter to avoid getting confused but they aren’t complicated as burda’s magazine.Not all garments are present in all the sizes so you should consult the patterns before and they are on the pattern sheets, not on the book.

The pattern sizes run at a Japanese standard, so to us it’s on the small side, with the biggest size being X- Large (90cm-70cm-96cm).The book use traditional size (thin) models to style the clothes but I believe most designs would look great on a curvier/fuller figure. All patterns includes seam allowances. The sizes also varies in height, so smaller sizes run in shorter height. That makes sense, however if you are over 1,68 cm, like me, you will find you may need to make some adjustments for the pattern to fit. 

The book has an introductory instructions on how to prepare the fabric, cut, mark and interface each pattern. At first the book can be seen as slightly intimidating with full of diagrams but they are not difficult to construct. The instructions and technical drawing were clear and direct to my point of view. 

Drape Drape 3 is a very interesting pattern book and would be great for sewist who want to try cool Japanese styles that offer unique design and comfort while learning new skills. The sewing skills you need are basic but if you outside the size range you may require knowledge on alterations.

My favourite projects in this book: #15, #12, #8, #3 and I'm looking forward to explore more japanese draping books. It's style its so out of my comfort zone and I never thought I could pull off and it's so cool. Again, sewing blows my mind!

Photographs for my project was influenced by the clean  make up and styling from book.

Disclaimer: This book was given to me for review by Sewing Directory and represent my personal unbiased opinion.