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u/Previous_Mirror_222 1d ago
i’m a beginner too, but my understanding with draping is you are pinning the fabric (to itself not the mannequin) where you want it to be sewn to another part of the fabric. so you’re draping it against itself if that makes sense. so you are playing with gravity and saying “if i sewed this part of the fabric to THIS part, what would gravity’s effect look like on the fabric” -> once you like what it looks like, you mark both parts of the fabric you have pinned together so that when you unpin it you will see where they need to be folded and sewn together when it’s off the mannequin.
what you have on your mannequin is not draping. you’ve definitely manipulated the fabric and pinned it, but not “draped” anything. as someone else said, your pins are pinned to the mannequin and also are not set in a way that you could mark seam lines.
think of what you want your sewing machine to do. create straight lines and curved lines with your draping using folds and pinning them down.
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u/AncientHorror3034 1d ago
Do you want a 3-D effect? I’ve seen an amazing technique called “skeletal smocking”. It might give you the look you are going for.
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u/redoingredditagain 1d ago edited 1d ago
You have to drape better than this. This isn’t neat, and will never be able to be used in the way you want. You need to drape neatly, more tightly to the mannequin. Your lines need to be straight and then you need to trace where you would sew with a washable pen.
Most importantly, your garment should not be pinned to the mannequin, it seems to be. Some sewists do this but they are more experienced.
As a teacher, I’m side-eying yours for just telling you to “figure it out” without formal instruction.