Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Hard to believe the holidays are fast approaching and in six weeks we will welcome a new year!  I am determined to celebrate in a big way!!!   I picked Vogue V1722 by Designer Nicola Finetti for its statement bodice and statement sleeves. Yes, indeed, I am loving its close-fitting bodice, plunging neckline, balloon sleeves, and flared skirt.  I dared to make this special dress in Fabric Mart’s embroidered silk dupioni, a fabric I had not sewn before. I did not prewash the silk dupioni as dry cleaning will be my method of care for the finished garment. I underlined the bodice with prewashed black cotton batiste from my stash instead of the suggested interfacing. Though not called for by the pattern, I also underlined the skirt the same way to minimize wrinkling when I wear it. I prewashed black silk charmeuse (from Fabric Mart) to use as lining. Then I lined the balloon sleeves with champagne colored organza from my stash to give it more body. For the hem band, I used...

Hello Gems! I'm so excited it’s finally Spring time! I've been inspired by color lately. It could be the beautiful flowers in bloom or the bright sunny days we’ve been having! Whatever it is, it has illuminated my creative senses and I’ve been feeling so inspired. So I just have to share with you my most recent make as a Fabricista with Fabric Mart using this bold red-orange and purple Crepe de Chine.  The fabric is a very fluid and drapey crepe fabric.  I’ve also noticed wide leg pants hitting the scene for Spring and I thought this crepe would make a great pair of wide leg pants. It’s a medium weight, opaque and falls so nicely against the skin.  The print is a leopard print with a pin stripe detail. In this red-orange and purple color combo this is a very bold and playful print but can still make for a sophisticated look so I wanted to give you a little bit of both of those aspects in the actual look. I'm not much for a jumpsuit but I love the fact that this two piece ...

 Animal print is almost always in style, but this fall it's especially on trend! I've got plenty of cheetah/leopard print makes, but nothing in snakeskin so when I saw this cream and black double brushed polyester (DBP) knit I had to have it. In addition to the print I love the feel of DBP, it's so soft, doesn't hold wrinkles and holds up to multiples washes! This fabric is sold out, but they have plenty of other double brushed knits online. I recently added a few (read: several) patterns to my collection thanks to an annual sale hosted by the local American Sewing Guild. This was totally accidental as I was there to donate fabric and patterns NOT buy. LOL Anyway in that lot of patterns was Vogue 8738 (OOP). I grabbed it thinking it was a jumpsuit, but its actually two pieces which is almost better as I need more separates. Though I'm not sure when this was printed it has a 90's vibe and the 90s are making a comeback (whether we like it or not!) s...

Hello everyone! I usually gravitate towards fit and flare silhouettes when it comes to dresses, but this time I decided to fill a blank in my wardrobe and make myself sheath dresses! I digged into the marvelous Milly collection again and selected two twill suitings for my August makes. When I saw them 'in person', I thought they would lend themselves well to that type of dress plus, as a bonus, I think those 2 sheath dresses will transition well into the cooler season ahead!

Back in July of 2016 I attempted to sew Vogue 8968 out of a blue and white seersucker, but I sewed it a size to small (read that post here ). I was pretty bummed because I really liked the dress, aside from the fit, so when I saw this sapphire and white poly cotton seersucker I decided to try again!

Recently, a friend's mother passed away and after a few months of grieving, that friend kindly invited me over to dig through her mother's fabric and patterns. I spent nearly four hours going through all of the old sewing treasures. There were so many great things in her sewing room. I walked away with a gallon size bag full of vintage buttons, a couple of sewing books, and this one wrap dress pattern! This is a vintage pattern of Very Easy Vogue 9276 . Last month I placed an order at Fabric Mart for three yards of this cobalt blue linen fabric. At the time I wasn't sure what pattern I was going to use with this fabric, but I knew I wanted to sew a dress. Three yards is my go to amount to purchase when I am sewing a dress. (This linen fabric is no longer available, but look around at all of the other linens at fabric mart , there's a great selection.) When I found this pattern, I knew the fabric, pattern combo would be perfect! Linen is so timeless and so are...

If you are a part of any sewing online community you've already seen this dress all over Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or blogs. It seems everyone has been making Vogue 9253 this summer! Thankfully so, because I almost missed out on this pattern. It wasn't that I hated it, I just didn't love it, but that all changed after I saw a few versions of it on actual sewists. It has been so popular that it has been selected for several sewalongs, patterns of the month and even McCall Pattern Company itself is holding a V9253 contest (details here -you still have time). Though the recommended fabrics include crepe backed satin, rayon challis, broadcloth and lightweight jersey I chose this fun abstract Ikat print ITY knit. Unfortunately, this knit has already sold out. Below are a few other knits I think would work well, a similar Ikat print ITY in gold and black ( here ), a bold bright leaf print ITY ( here ) or a navy tie die jersey ( here ). If you prefer to wo...

It has happened to all of us a least once right? You see a pattern and you KNOW you have to make it, like ASAP! Well that is the feeling I had about this new Summer pattern from Vogue. As soon as I saw Vogue 1546 I knew I had to have this pattern as well as a few others (see my blog for my thoughts on the whole collection). The unique design of this dress really grabbed my attention. I love the halter neckline, the back cut out and the full pleated skirt... all of it! So while I originally had something else in mind for this months post I quickly ditched those plans to make this dress. from fabricmartfabrics.com The pattern calls for medium weight twill, poplin or linen, so I immediately thought to use Fabric Mart's amazing designer linen . I have used this linen before (see here ) and I knew it would be the perfect texture and weight. For that reason selecting the fabric was the easy part, the tricky part was deciding on a color! I mean, come on, there are 23 col...