Experiment! Triangle drape dress, take one.

I'm trying to shift my sewing to a

more adventurous, more exploratory  mode.  I've plenty of jackets now, so it's time.

For a long time now I've been interested in draping.  My first self-drafted attempt is this super-easy triangle dress from Studio Faro.

Triangle?  The pattern piece is actually a pentahedron (or a tetrahedron if you ignore the neckline) - a bit of geometric pedantry here, sorry!

The tape lies along CF, but this is completely misleading,

In a knit, the side lies on SG fold

In a woven, the side is on a bias fold

 

and the look of the finished product isn't triangular either:

Since I'm short, I drafted my pattern piece narrower and shorter than suggested.  I was a bit worried that all that fabric would overwhelm me if it went far below my knees. So, it's short - a tad above my comfort zone. But despite that, it does have that interesting bit of draping over the hips, which was the whole idea in the first place.   

How did it work out?  Pretty well for a first try.  A bit of trial and error was in order with the shoulder seaming, to make the peekaboo effect visible, and to make the "armscye" of the shoulder seam comfortably wide for my arm.

How do I feel about it?  I like it!  It'll be a great beach cover-up, and perfect for a walk along the shore, be it in southern California or somewhere overlooking the Mediterranean...

....and it's absolutely perfect for a bit of GWN summer fun when the temps rise to a balmy -5C: Our white beaches are to die for.... and the "sand" sticks together so well....

All in all, a perfect experiment.  I bought 2 m of a lightweight poly knit for this experiment, and have enough left over for either a conventional slip-on dress or a long sleeved tee.  I'm already planning the next iteration.  The pattern piece has been widened about 7 cm along the shoulder seam and lengthened by 10 cm. At first I though of bias-cut silk chiffon, but have since reconsidered, and will attempt it in a simple rayon knit.  So stay tuned!

Experiment! Cole Porter's marvellous nod to all scientists, rendered beautifully by Kevin Kline in the 2004 film De-Lovely: