Here’s the result of my first attempt at one of the popular Drape Drape Japanese patterns as modeled by DD1: No.4 Asymmetrical Top. I mentioned it in my last post, only because I was so annoyed that I’m not Japanese-sized. More like 6XL Japanese sized. However, I put my big girl pants on and got to solving how I could make this one-piece pattern work for me. I needed to find 10 inches – read it – that’s a big one zero – in extra width.
Isn’t the draping on this just gorgeous? DD1 is a very dancer-fit hourglass, and the pattern looks so amazing on her. This is the size L/XL on her, btw, because she’s a L in the Drape Drape world. Anyways, I got a brainstorm and sliced the pattern clean down the middle and spread it three inches. I have no pics of it, but it added width to the right sleeve and really nice drapey side as seen above. Then I added three inches of width on either edge of the pattern piece (left underarm seam) and graded it back to 1/2″ of extra width at the sleeve edge. And I cut the neckline three inches higher than drafted. Here’s the result:
I made the mom-sized version from some stashed linen jersey that came to me via EmmaOneSock about a year ago. I really wanted to try the loose tee shape, and this jersey is soooo delicious to wear. It’s a bit finicky to work with – something like fussy silk – but the extra care is so worth the end result.
Looks good! I have to tell you, when I first tried on the orange sherbet version, it was t.i.g.h.t. No drape whatsoever – more along the lines of Spanx. Now, it’s me-sized, and the drape is just as sweet as the daughter-sized version.
Mezzo Couture 
Both pieces are lovely! You are a godsend, I am making this top and have just now finished transferring the pattern to paper. I was deliberating over how to extrapolate this to a plus size fitting, and you’ve solved my dilemma. Many thanks!
I agree that both tops look wonderful . Kudos on tackling the size issue so successfully.
Bravo for your diligence and persistence in making such a fun top for you and your daughter! Love the color of yours!
Awesome solution. They both look amazing!
You both look great in your Drape Drapes! I was struggling to figure out how to size this pattern up and you’ve solved it for me – thanks!
What a clever solution! The top looks great on you.
Well done – that top looks great. Whilst it is an extra effort making them ‘western’ sized it feels great when they work!
I heartily agree! I’m glad this worked out, but, of course, that also means I’m tempted to try others!
They are somewhat addictive!
Well done, it looks fab, I wouldn’t know where to start if I wanted to adapt one of those patterns, you have done it perfectly.
Odd, for some reason I can’t see photos on some blogs when I use Feedly, I had to go through Google to see your pics, I’m glad I did, you look great.
Thank you! And I’m sorry about the pics not loading. I link to my photos in Flickr instead of loading them directly into WordPress, which may be part of the problem…. I wonder? Do all my photos not load well in Feedly or just this post? I’m curious!
Both tops are lovely. I don’t have the books but I made a version of this by working from a tee shirt in my size. It’s on my blog somewhere I think 🙂
I borrowed the books from my public library. They have great sewing resources, and I can renew them up to 3 times for a total of 9 weeks. Mind you, some scumbag sewist stole the patterns from the Drape Drape book, but I didn’t want to make anything out of it anyways.
Both these tops look great! I briefly toyed with the idea of dipping my toes into Japanese patterns, but did not relish the idea of having to giant-size everything:)