Tag: Saree

Make a Cocktail Dress out of a Saree

Post author By Kalpana Singh
Post date February 8, 2022
No Comments on Make a Cocktail Dress out of a Saree

Illustration by @artby_gt

“Closet full of fabulous Sarees and not an occasion to wear!” … wondered every Indian women at least once in these last 2 years.

But I’m on a mission to give purpose to your beautiful Sarees, one Saree at a time. And you can be a hero just by doing that too, I’ll tell you how

Not all hero wear capes, some wear Sarees…

I recently had a beautiful Cutomer wanting to reinvent her Saree that she wore many times and created fond memories through it. A piece of clothing such as this is too precious to part with, you would agree.

She had a design in mind, she needed a dress that maintained the flow of this beautiful emerald green chiffon drape.

The result was pleasing not just for her but for me as I knew a gorgeous Saree has been rescued and given a new meaning and purpose.

Lets see how it was done

Tools required –

Measuring tape
Pair of scissors
Chalk
Pins
Lining fabric ( you could use the remain Saree material)
Sewing machine ( if you don’t have one, you could use back stitch

Steps

Fold your Saree pallu half way as shown in the figure below

2. A to B – mark diagonally

Shoulder length plus 1 inch.

B to C – go in by 1/2 inch

C to D – mark armhole divide by 2, and give a little curve.

D to E – March off shoulder circle divide by 2 ( refer to the pic below)

Sew from E to the hem and D to the hem

If you wish to add lining, you could use the remaining Saree fabric, cut exactly the same way as pallu and attach from the neck line and the armhole.

Your cocktail dress in just 3 stitches is ready !!

Watch this video, where I explain the drafting.

To watch the full making video

Tags clothes, Dress, Dresses, Saree

Sewing Techniques

How to Sew Saree Blouse? How to Cut your Fabric using the Pattern

Post author By Kalpana Singh
Post date June 14, 2021
No Comments on How to Sew Saree Blouse? How to Cut your Fabric using the Pattern

How to Sew Saree Blouse Patterns.

In this blog I’m explaining how to use the pdf saree blouse patterns.

Pay attention to the instructions given on the pattern and cut accordingly. Front or back pattern will be either cut on fold or cut in 2. If it is ‘cut on fold’ you will keep the pattern at the fold of the fabric without providing any seam allowance. If it is to be ‘cut X 2′ then you will keep it away from the fold. Seam allowance for the these patterns is not provided hence you can mark your preferred SA. 3/8 inch or 1 cm allowance usually works well. At the side seams you can give 1 inch allowance in case you need to adjust the size later on.

At the sleeve hem you can give 1 inch seam allowance for folding in.

Some patterns have belts under the bust to give support. those patterns will require fusing (stiff sticky fabric) The fusing is cut in a similar way as the belt.

Some patterns have neck facing. See the blog on ‘how to sew Neckline’ for guidance.

Free Sewing Patterns and Resources

If you wish to learn the art of dress making in a systematic and professional manner then Click Here

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Tags blouse, cutting, fabrics, Saree, Sewing

Sewing Humour

Tailoring Baju Kurung, Cheongsam and Sari Blouse

Post author By Kalpana Singh
Post date March 5, 2021
No Comments on Tailoring Baju Kurung, Cheongsam and Sari Blouse

Fashion Design

When I started sewing at the age of 11, without my even realizing I was actually using the draping method to sew my own clothes. For those who are new to pattern drafting terms, Fashion draping is an important part of fashion design. Draping for fashion design is the process of positioning and pinning fabric on a dress form (in my case it was my own body using safety pins) to develop the structure of a garment design. After draping, the fabric is removed from the dress form and used to create the sewing pattern for the garment.

Until I joined a proper fashion degree college I was quite happy and pleased by the results and had actually started considering myself a self –taught- genius- fashion designer! To my surprise and dismay all my beliefs were shaken to the core when I was introduced to the world of systematic and calculative pattern drafting. That’s when I realized that pattern drafting of any product is no joke. It’s a combination of science, math and loads of logics. I soon was humbled enough to adapt this new method and since then I have never taken my patterns lightly no matter how simple the design was.

Dressmaker

Now that I’m a professional dressmaker and a teacher more often than less I am confronted with this question – “how do Tailors make clothes with only few measurements and why does a particular tradition garment (sari blouse, cheongsam, Baju kurungs etc) are cut directly on fabric without having to make patterns!?”

To my understanding a dress maker should be able to make any design irrespective of their cultural background or expertise in a garment belonging to that particular culture. I believe the basics and fundamentals should and will remain the same no matter what. Your method can be different from mine but as long as it gives the same end result it shouldn’t matter.

To answer this question I selected a sari blouse design and cut the pattern using my professional dress making basics the end result was fantastic but it took me twice as time as any local Tailor would take. So here’s my answer – yes it’s a fact that local Tailors take way too less measurements and often don’t require to draft their patterns on paper before cutting the fabric. It is also a fact that besides their own traditional garments seldom they can sew any other designs.

Creativity and Innovation in Fashion Design

Try giving your local sari blouse or Punjabi suit tailor a western evening gown or boot cut pants! You’ll know what I mean. No offense to them they are by all means very skilled individuals with years of precious experience. But the fact remains the same – their method of learning and practice is restricted to a particular design and is often learnt from a senior master tailor who passes on their own short cuts that they figured out during their own sewing journeys. These methods and tricks are learnt and absorbed without asking the “whys” behind them and hence although they give great results they often fail to display creativity and innovation in designs.

As a dress maker you yourself will develop many tricks and short cuts of your own but when you teach someone your skill make sure you hand them down the full extensive methods and let them make their own mistakes and find their own tricks 🙂

Happy Sewing !