Shaerie here, taking over Daniel's blog while he works on his next amazing project. We have had a bunch of people ask about this great fabric! Double gauze consists of two layers of sheer cotton gauze sandwiched together with tiny, almost invisible stitches. Heather Ross' "Far Far Away" and the Spring 2009 Echino collection by Etsuko Furuya plus many of Naomi Ito's Nani Iro designs are printed on double gauze. It's cool and incredibly soft, opaque and a bit spongy with a good drape - so what do you do with it? Many people have been making children's garments and quilts out of double gauze because it is so soft, but it translates into fantastic garments for big people too! Especially the more sophisticated prints, like LIONS!
I recommend picking a pattern with simple lines and a minimum of details. A simple, loose shift dress or tunic would be ideal! Double gauze is not stiff like woven cotton, so you can pick a loose style and it will drape over the body better. Of course, the many Japanese pattern books out there have great designs that work well with double gauze. I picked a tunic dress from the book "Stylish Dress Book" - the one on the cover actually - to make out of my turquoise LION double gauze from Echino's last collection.
Double gauze frays easily so you have to finish the edges - I used a three step zig zag on each separate seam allowance so I could press them open. It presses beautifully, so the tucks down the front of the dress came out straight and crisp, not too bulky. A small amount of gathering works fine (as in the back of the dress) but if there is a lot of gathering pleats or tucks might work better. Too much gathering might end up being too poofy. Make sure you pin darts and pleats well as the fabric can shift easily!
If you are curious about how to use Japanese pattern books, I'll be hijacking Daniel's blog again shortly to do a demo of how to trace the patterns and add the correct seam allowance. Stay tuned!
posted by Shaerie, posing as Daniel
This tunic/dress is awesome, Shaerie!
ReplyDeleteI just love this tunic you made! I have a small piece of this fabric, and I just love the feel of it, so soft. I can imagine that wearing it must be heavenly. Can you tell me about the sizing in "Stylish Dress Book"? I will tune in for your demo on how to use Japanese pattern books. Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you like the dress! I had fun making it, and it is indeed super soft and comfy. The sizing is in centimeters, so I used my tape measure that has inches on one side and cm's on the other side to get the right body measurements - I'm a 93 - 94cm bust - I always just make the largest size. The sizing chart reads:
ReplyDeleteBust: 7 - 78cm, 9 - 83cm, 11 - 88, 13 - 93
Waist: 7 - 59, 9 - 64, 11 - 69, 13 - 74
Hip: 7 - 86, 9 - 90, 11 - 94, 13 - 98cm
I absolutely love this! Your skills always amaze me.
ReplyDeleteI love your rendition of the E dress! It's one of my favourite models to make because the fabric transforms it and yours is definitely great :)
ReplyDelete