Readers, I've been battling a cold for the last few days and, as a result, feeling glum, and I needed to do something to lift my spirits today, so I decided to play.
I grabbed some fabric from my stash and just started draping it on my dress form (Princess Grace), simply to see what it felt like. I loved it! I didn't cut anything or try to create a real garment, but rather to improvise and explore how the fabric looked draped in different ways. Some of the results look more like garments than others, but the experience got my creative juices flowing and distracted me for a few hours from feeling lousy. I used only a few pins here and there and tied a piece of elastic around the waistline to hold the fabric there where needed.
I started with this vintage print I picked up earlier this year at the flea market. I think it's a cotton rayon blend, but I'm not certain; it drapes quite heavily. I didn't even iron it but just draped it wrinkles and all, but pretty soon it took on a life all its own.
Next, I chose a long piece of a red and white striped cotton, also from the flea market. It was fascinating to see how the stripes looked when vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines were combined.
This has a sort of Audrey Hepburn look to it, no?
Finally, I played with roughly five yards of an Ascher Studios cotton print I bought last year at Fabrics For Less. Even though it's polished cotton, it looks a bit like taffeta. Like the purple fabric above, this is a print that was meant to be draped.
There's something about seeing fabric hanging on a body form that's inspiring to me and makes me see possibilities that I wouldn't otherwise have if I'd started with a paper pattern. We'll see how it goes from here, I guess.
Happy Sunday, everybody!
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