An Experiment With Drape with Mary of Sew Mary Mac

August 20, 2025

Hello Again RCF Sewing Friends!

Mary, from the SewMaryMac Blog here to talk all about fabric drape.  I’m going to explain what drape is and the different levels of drape fabrics may have.  However, since so many of us are visual learners I’ve sewn up one top  in three different fabrics available at Raspberry Creek Fabrics so you can see the difference yourself!

What is Drape?

Drape is how a fabric falls, folds and hangs when made into a garment.  Different fabrics will have different degrees of drape ranging from fluid and flowing to stiff and structured.  

Why is drape important and what affects drape?

Drape influences the overall look of a garment.  The fiber content, weave structure and fabric weight all play a part in how a fabric drapes.The drape of a fabric can affect the overall silhouette of the intended design.

Types of Drape~ For this blog post I’m going to put fabrics into 3 categories:  High Drape(Fluid) , Moderate Drape(Mid), and Low Drape(Structured).

High Drape Fabrics:  These fabrics are very flowy and fluid.  These fabrics  will  fall into soft natural folds as the fabric hangs.  High drape fabrics will cling more to the body, hold gathers well and are perfect for unstructured garments, especially flowy dresses.  Here are some types of fabrics with high drape:

• Rayon Challis
• Silk Chiffon
• Polyester crepe

Moderate Drape Fabrics:  These fabrics are very versatile as they don’t cling like high drape fabrics yet don’t stand away from your body. These fabrics may fall into folds that are more crisp. Types of fabrics with moderate drape are:

• Cotton lawn
• Cotton Voile
• Cotton Poplin
• Lightweight Linens
• Rayon/Linen blends
• Double Gauze

Low Drape Fabrics:  These fabrics are more structured and stiff.  These fabrics when hanging may produce large pleat like folds.  They don’t gather well and fall away from your body.  They are good for structured garments like jackets, jumpsuits and pants/jeans.  Here are some fabrics with low drape:

• Denim
• Canvas
• Corduroy
• Wool 
• Jacquard

 *It is important to remember that each of the fabrics listed above will not ALWAYS fall into these categories.  The weight of a fabric can move it from one type of drape to another.  For example a lightweight linen could have a moderate drape, however a heavier weight linen could have very low drape.

The Experiment

I’ve selected the Love Notions Timbre Top, a peasant style top designed for light to medium weight fabrics such as quilting cotton, polyester blends, rayon and shirtings.  Fabric choice really plays a BIG role in how a Timbre will look.  Fabrics with less drape will have a boxier fit while fabrics with more drape will fall in softer folds and be more “flowy”.  I sewed each one of these Timbres in the exact same size and length.

The  Fabrics:  These are the 3 fabrics I’ve chosen from to sew up.  All 3 are available at RCF.  

• Rayon Challis 
• Stretch Crepe
• Double Gauze

Below you can see how each hangs or drapes differently from the other.  Looking at these photos, I would classify the rayon challis as a High drape fabric, the double gauze as a Moderate drape fabric and the Stretch Crepe is in between High and Moderate.

Rayon Challis

Double Gauze

Stretch Crepe

The Results:  1 Pattern + 3 Fabrics= 3 Looks

The Timbre top pattern is a peasant style top with an elastic gathered neckline. As you can see the 3 fabrics all gathered differently at the neckline creating 3 different looks when worn.  

• The Rayon Challis falls closer to the body, and even appears to be a tad bit longer.  The sleeves fall in soft folds against the arm.

• The Double Gauze has a much boxier look.  Note how the sleeve stands away from the arm.

• The Stretch Crepe is right in the middle (a high/moderate drape).  The fabric drapes in soft folds, but they aren’t as close to the body as the rayon challis.  The sleeve doesn’t stand out away from the arm like the double gauze yet, there aren’t as many soft folds as the rayon challis.

Rayon Challis

Double Gauze

Stretch Crepe

Each of these fabrics  work very well for  this pattern, yet they do produce very different looks.   It’s all about what you prefer!  That is the joy of sewing our own clothes!  Personally I love the Timbre top in Rayon Challis the most, I love the soft folds and it is perfect for hot and humid weather.  The Double Gauze version is so soft and comfy and will get worn for sure.  It  creates a boxier thus more casual top.  The Stretch Crepe creates the dressiest look in this top pattern with folds that drape slightly away from the body.  The choice is up to YOU!

Bonus Photo:  Last spring I made a Love Notions Timbre Top and Caprice skirt into a faux dress with the Double Gauze from the shop.  

Here is another example of using the same pattern with 2 different fabrics.  This Love Notions Rhapsody Blouse was sewn in a rayon challis and a stretch crepe.  Again, the same size and length.  Notice how the sleeves and gathers fall differently on the body.

Rayon Challis

Stretch Crepe

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!! 

Mary Anne :)

If you’d like to read more about all things fabric and sewing~ I would love for you to visit my blog, Sew Mary Mac. In addition to information on patterns and fabrics I’ve sewn up, I also write a “Weekly Stitch” post.   So, please join me and follow along with my sewing adventures! You  can also follow me  on Instagram  @sewmarymac to see all of my makes. If Facebook is your thing, you can check out the Sew Mary Mac page.

You can purchase the Love Notions Timbre Top and Dress pattern HERE.  You may use my code 10MARYMAC for a 10% discount (even on sale prices).  This code does change quarterly, so visit my latest blog post over at SewMaryMac for new codes.

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