Back in the early days of Beatrice, when we were testing with our Early Supporters, someone purchased one of our forms who’d never used a commercial sewing pattern in her life. I was shocked. Doesn’t everybody learn to sew starting with paper patterns? Nope.
Apparently, she draped all of her handmade clothing on a dress form. I mentioned this to my friend and colleague Sophie, and she told me that’s how she came to making garments too. She draped fabric on a form to generate the style she had in her head. Granted, she went to fashion school, but still, this was how she first thought to make clothing.
Hmmm. I thought draping was an advanced technique not for beginners. Maybe, draping was just another way to explore fabric and its behavior on the body. I wondered what’s more important to understand first: fabric as it translates physically into a style on the body or garment sewing execution?