Fabric Mart Fabricistas

It’s not every day that I get to mix two of my favorite hobbies. Especially when one hobby is sewing and the other is running. You can’t sew and run at the same time, but, you can go running in something that you sewed! With this realization, I embarked on my first hobby-merging adventure.  We’ve had some frigid temperatures in Pennsylvania this winter. Since I’m an outside, stroller-pushing runner, I bundle up my son and myself before I hit the road. The temperature feels 20 degrees warmer for outside runners than the outside air. For the children being pushed in the stroller though, it feels about 20 degrees colder.  With these differences in temperature for each of us, layering is the only thing that ensures that we both stay perfectly warm. My running wardrobe has been lacking a warm top layer. My son’s wardrobe would also benefit from having another warm layer, so I knew pullovers were what I should make.  Inspired by a name-brand ¼ button-down fleece pullover I saw,...

As winter drags on, the cold weather is such a bummer to me and feeling uncomfortable and cold so often is rough. Meanwhile, I listened to a podcast all about how people in very northern countries deal better with the onset of dark, freezing winter with a radically different mindset of embracing the inevitable season by reframing the chill as refreshing and the opportunity to spend most time indoors as cozy. I can do that!  I found a gorgeous, quintessential wool boucle suiting in black and white to make myself a luxurious outer layer while I’m outside attempting to embrace the sting of dry winter air… It’s kind of working. So classic, so chic! Wearing boucle is always an uptown move and I certainly do feel sophisticated in it. This black and white houndstooth combination feels especially Old Hollywood, and what a treat to make something with this!  I sewed the Daphne Jacket from Vivian Shao Chen. There are no closures, and the shape is boxy and very easy to wear over multipl...

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly a decade since I first discovered Fabric Mart Fabrics. At the time, I lived in the Lehigh Valley, specifically Allentown, and regularly traveled 90 miles south to York City, near the Maryland line. During one of these trips, I stumbled upon this gem of a store. The excitement I felt walking through its doors was quickly met with a pang of disappointment—how could such a treasure have existed for over 20 years before I found it? Since that day, it has been a love affair, one that has only grown stronger over the years. Fabric Mart has become an essential part of my creative journey, providing me with not just fabric but the building blocks of stories, resilience, and beauty. Now, as a small business owner with a retail studio serving my community, I take pride in saying that 95% of the fabric in my studio comes from Fabric Mart. Their commitment to offering exquisite deadstock fabric resonates deeply with my mission to create with sustainabilit...

I know it’s been super cold over most of the US recently and even South Florida got a cold front a few weeks go.  It got so cold it snowed several inches in Orlando and Northern Florida! It was during the winter freeze that I was looking for fabric for my next make and came across this Black 100% Polyester Double Faced Faux Fur that is 64W.  This fabric is so soft and luxurious to touch. More on the fabric later though, because I have some tips and tricks I learned along the way. I knew I wanted to make a vest so I started looking through my pattern stash and I came across McCall’s M7695. This is a Palmer/Pletsch pattern that uses the Tissue Fitting Method.  I honestly didn’t use the method.  I just looked at the measurements and decided on making the size 22 because I wanted the vest to be oversized.  This pattern comes with 4 different views.  The view I chose to make was View C with a minor adjustment. I chose to omit using the zipper and just followed ...

I LOVE the Friday Pattern Company Wildergown pattern. I have made 1 in rayon and another in a cotton lawn. I always get a lot of compliments on this dress. When I saw the solid black cotton voile with embroidered lines at Fabric Mart, I wanted to make another Wildergown. Voile is sheer so I doubled the bodice, sleeves and first tier of the skirt.  I really love to sew with French seams. Constructing this dress with 2 layers was a great opportunity to enclose the seams and use French seams. I cut each piece twice except for the bottom tier. I cut 7 tier pieces the same size. I modified the length of the tier to fit my height of 5’10”. I sewed the layers together, trimmed the seam and then enclosed the seam edges and sewed the seam again. I used a label that was perfect for this dress!  I really love how this dress turned out. I love the subtle embroidered stripes! I know I will get a lot of enjoyment out of wearing it when the weather warms up. Cotton Voile is perfect when t...