The creative process of design cannot easily be defined. Designers possess the skills necessary to create a product that is novel and interesting, but cannot always easily explain their motivations, actions, or thought processes integral to the design process. For this reason, research cannot rely on verbal accounts alone. This thesis introduces a new way to research design process by presenting six exploratory, quasi-experimental case studies on the draping design processes of fashion designers. Data was collected using observation and photographic documentation in real time and combined with retrospective verbal interviews. Due the continuous nature of design process, each designer was asked to select a source of inspiration image which provided a necessary starting point. The relationships between this image and the design process allow a more clear understanding of how designers are borrowing, combining, layering, contrasting, and abstracting design elements and principles from both within- and between-domain sources. This new design research method provides a unique and uninterrupted view of the unfolding design process, and from the data collected critical actions by the designers can be determined, interpreted, and categorized in terms of its relationship to the overall process. The findings also discuss Individual motivations and design strategies, the role of fabric and the body, the relationship of sketching and draping processes, and some key differences between 2D and 3D design.