Drape Drape volume 1 - Loose Drape Top

I am sure by now everyone who sews has heard from Hisako Sato and his fabulous book series "Drape Drape", that now has 3 books out in English.

I ordered the first book almost a year ago and only now got around to actually sew something from it. I decided to start light, rather than sewing the most gorgeous dress one has ever seen (that one is waiting for perfect fabric) just to test the pattern sizing and etc. And just to be safe I made the top for my friend Maarja :)

All the patterns are piled on two sheets and sadly printed in one color AND all the lines are the same. So one has to trace the pattern and really keep track of what they do. I am a pro in tracing (even if I say so myself) since I grew up tracing patterns from Burda and other fun Soviet time sewing magazines, but still the pattern sheet scared me wee bit.

Patterns have seam and hemming allowances added. (1cm for seams and 1.5 cm for hemming)

As for the size chart and the actual size of the patterns... I ignored the size chart completely and decided to trust my gut. And it payed off.

According to the size chart, size M bust measures 82, waist 62 and hips 88 centimeters.

...

As it turns out, size M from Drape Drape vol 1 fits a person with bust measurement of 92 cm.

All three books start with introductions on how to sew the garments, explaining different techniques for draping; how to sew stretch materials and finish the seams. And I have a feeling from what I've seen on amazon.com the techniques and explanations get more elaborate in next books.(book 2 in the series even explains how to make and sew double fold tape and how to sew narrow facing)

But enough of the book and check out the top I made!

I used viscose stretch jersey in royal blue for this project. It drapes beautifully and is very soft. And it's wee bit more wallet friendly than silk jersey.

Putting the top together was fairly easy. I did run into some trouble with armhole hemming tapes. They turned out a bit too narrow in my opinion, making top stitching them a real pain in the ass. I will most definitely add another centimeter in with for them next time. I added an centimeter to the bottom hem when I cut the top out. In my opinion 1,5cm hemming allowance is somewhat small and it will end up rolling up.

Maarja was very happy for the top btw :)