DRAPERY

Drapery is not something what comes natural to me, I much prefer looking at a design and then figuring out a technical pattern for it so I found this session quite challenging.

I used a lightweight chiffon for my first few attempts as I felt this fabric most suited what I want to use for my collection. After testing it out however, I quickly realised that chiffon did not give the desired drape I intended; it is quite flat, clings to the body and gives no fullness around the bottom. For this reason I have decided to opt for satin, it is lightweight but has a slight stiffness to help with shape. I also like the shine satin has, it's metallic finish suits the colour palette I am trying to achieve and it also has a more luxurious finish to it.

I do still want to use chiffon, but will use it more as a decorative layer on top of garments. On sleeves will be good and across the chest area's.

I then tried to re-create 4 of my design ideas using calico and here is what I come up with:

Doing this drapery at home with calico gave me a better vision at what I am trying to achieve. Calico has a similar compound to duchess satin, it has no stretch and it is a similar weight, so carrying out this drapery session gave me a clear indication of how my designs will look using satin.

With my choice of using duchess satin and chiffon, I have decided to focus more on using my primary research to influence the technical panelling in my designs. Texture will be applied through embellishment and embroidery.