Three Ways to Wear Harem Pants (Sponsored by Three Dots)

I recently had the opportunity to attend the opening of the Three Dots pop-up store at Fred Segal's Santa Monica location. I was delighted to attend and had a great time looking at their collection. Three Dots is mostly known for their super comfortable and flattering t-shirts but I was impressed by their interesting silhouettes and mixing of materials. A number of their pieces reminded me of the style found in the Drape Drape books I'm so fond of.

I had a great time chatting with the Three Dots team and was thrilled when they gave me a pair of harem pants to take home. My pants are very similar to these harem pants currently on their site. I love the uber comfortable light weight knit fabric – not too thin and doesn't overheat me during these hot summer days.

The harem pant trend is not for the faint-of-fashion-heart but it's one definitely worth trying out. These pants are just as comfy as your regular old sweats. But unlike sweat pants you can also dress these up for work or play. Today I'm going to share a few tips with you on how to wear harem pants.

Drape Drape No. 3 Dress

I've been wanting to make this Drape Drape dress ever since I first bought the book Drape Drape by Hisako Sato. I traced the pattern ages (probably years) ago and on a whim, decided to finally make it. I love the result. The dress is so unique, comfortable and fun to wear. 

Drape Drape 3 – No. 4 Tuck Drape Pants

Have you noticed that I'm kind of obsessed with pants right now? Pleated pants, printed pants. I just can't get enough! So I made myself another pair of pleated pants, this time from the book Drape Drape 3 by Hisako Sato. I bought the Japanese version in Little Tokyo about a year ago but it is available in English now. The pants look kind of weird on the hanger but really take shape once on. The pants are draped at the hips and taper to the ankle.

Spring Wardrobe - No. 3 Drape Drape Top

Here's another piece of my Spring Wardrobe finished and ready for wearing. This top is made using a pattern no. 4 from the book Drape Drape 2 by Hisako Sato. It's available in English on Amazon but I'm working from one in Japanese. I just couldn't wait for the English version and had to buy it as soon as I saw it in the Japanese bookstore in Little Tokyo.

Drape Drape Dress no. 5

This dress is made using pattern no. 5 from the Japanese sewing book drape drape. I've made two other dresses from this book (No. 4 and No. 6). This was the most difficult, mostly due to some big mistakes on my part. I've probably been working on this dress for about a year. I'm so glad that it is FINALLY finished.

I decided to make a few adjustments to the pattern. First, I raised the v-back to make it less revealing. I cut all the pieces and decided that the front bodice was not big enough. I paper pieced, redrafted and recut.

Construction of the bodice was going fine until I got to the skirt. I spent a few hours trying to figure out how to attach the skirt to the bodice and finally figured out that I had cut 1 skirt piece but needed 2. And I did not have enough extra fabric to cut another. I went back to Michael Levine thinking maybe I could buy more. And I did find a knit magenta fabric. I bought 3 yards, brought it home, washed it. And it was slightly thicker than the original.

So, I was stuck. Months went by. One day, I went to the Michael Levine bulk store and found magenta knit fabric. It looked the same and felt the same, so of course I bought it. And miracle of miracles it was the same as my original fabric! I cut the second piece of the skirt and proceeded piecing the dress together.

I went so far as to insert the zipper. All I had left to do was hem it. I tried on the dress and the bodice was now too big. I let more months go by in despair. Finally, I picked it up again, figured out what adjustments were needed and redrafted the bodice again. I eliminated the overlap at the center front in favor of a center front seam. I had just enough fabric to cut a new bodice and lining. This time, I added interfacing to the seams on the lining. I removed the old one and put in the bodice. The last step was the hem and I was finally done. Throughout the process, I stitched the seams with a piece of tissue paper underneath to help feed the fabric under the presser foot. I used scrap tissue from other patterns and gently tore it away after stitching.

Overall, I'm pleased with the end result but mostly glad to finally be done.

Sewing Book drape drape 2

drape drape 2 by Hisako Sato (sequel to drape drape, above left)

This looks really easy and cool.

Cute from the front but I don't think I'd ever end up wearing it.

Gorgeous and sexy!

Beautiful but very challenging looking pattern.

Gorgeous, simple, sexy and elastic sequined cuffs!

I'm kind of interested in these pants, but really afraid they give everyone diaper butt.

Cool, retro and the pattern looks super easy, basically a gathered rectangle with ties.

Super cool mini skirt, twisted tshirt and ruffled skirt. Swoon!

I can't wait to start making these designs!




Using Japanese patterns has not been easy but I've enjoyed the challenge overall. With this list of Japanese sewing terms, via Ancien-Nouveau, I think the process will be much smoother now.

Drape, Drape no. 6 dress

This dress is made using drape, drape pattern no. 6. The fabric is some that I dyed a few weeks ago. I don't love the fabric and am thinking about dying it again. Although I don't know if it will take.

There are pleats at the back that form kind of darts on the side. Interestingly, the pleats on the right and left are not the same. It was fairly easy to put together. After applying the seam binding, I top-stitched the seam allowance to the garment. For the top-stitching and hem, I sewed over a layer of tracing paper.

The pattern has a very, very low back.

For modesty sake, I made a low back tank top to wear underneath, just serging the edges.

Drape, Drape No. 4

drape drape dress no. 4

This dress is made using a pattern from the Japanese sewing book drape drape by Hisako Sato.
Tracing the pattern took hours. It was definitely the hardest part. I referred to the pattern diagrams in the book throughout (below). The pattern pieces are quite large and cumbersome but it's not too challenging to cut out.
The diagram on the upper right of the finished garment has numbers that coordinate with the steps of construction. Not all steps are illustrated and all of the instructions are in Japanese so I just put it together as I imagined it should be done.

My one big goof was I couldn't figure out whether to put the pattern right side up on the right side of the fabric or the opposite. Anyway, I chose wrong and my dress is the opposite of the photo. The fabric is a knit that I had on hand. I used it once before for a vest. The fabric is lightweight and appropriately drapey but not see through. I used the same fabric as a lining.


The drapey piece in the front slides through the band on the shoulder and then somehow ties or loops with the drapey piece from the back. I think this part can be improvised.




on the body (sorry so blurry!)

It's a little funky so I can't wear it just any old day or to work. The only thing I might try to change is that the dress is a little short. Overall, I love the dress. I can't wait to make another pattern from this book. I've already traced dress no. 3 and I just need the fabric to get started.

Sewing Book drape drape

drape drape by Hisako Sato

I bought this book a few weeks ago at a Japanese bookstore in Little Tokyo, downtown Los Angeles. There are some amazing patterns in this book. You can buy it online here.

no. 2 gather drape cape vest + gather drape pants
no. 3 gather drape dress

no. 6 drape drape gather dress

no. 1, no. 11 loose flare drape dress

no. 8 drape drape all-in-one, no. 1

no. 5

The book comes with patterns for all of the designs. The patterns need to be traced for use.
Tracing is the hard part. The lines are all the same color and very complicated.
The English is sparse in this book. All of the instructions are in Japanese. The patterns do have excellent diagrams but not for all steps of construction.

Despite the difficulties in translation, I've already made one garment, to be shared soon!