Fabric Mart Fabricistas

When Fabric Mart asked for volunteers to make some garments from wool, I jumped all over it.  I love FM's wool.  There's always a great selection and the quality is great!  What more can you want?  


For my skirt, I used a brown/black/tan/multi wool & poly blend tweed suiting.  You can see that fabric here: Boucle Tweed-Suiting.  This has a slight metallic thread running through it which is always a bonus in my book.  

For my top, I used a wool jersey, which isn't available any more, but here is another good option... Sweater knit

The patterns I used are both from Vogue.  I was so smitten with this one from Vogue I simply had to try it.  I wasn't able to find a zipper the right length, so I improvised and made this decorative one work.  I like the slash of sparkle.  
Yes, the pattern does call for the sleeve length zip, but I put in the shorter zipper and stitched up the sleeve seam.  It works.  I really love the heavier sweater knit for this.  Plus, after some fla…

Hi everybody! Fall has arrived and to kick off the season I played with some wool suiting, a fabric I haven't sewn with in a long time!
Fabric Mart's website is literally bursting with gorgeous fabrics these days, and while browsing the wool section I came across a wonderful pinstripe wool suiting, which I thought would be a great pairing with the Pulmu skirt (Named Patterns). You just can't go wrong with a wool pencil skirt for fall!




The pattern



I've been having the Pulmu skirt in a corner of my mind for some time - it features details that speak to me, such as the long triangular side panels, the side vents, the belt loops and a belt that closes with D rings (I always love hardware on a garment), not to mention that this pencil skirt is lined, which makes for a neat finish on the inside.



I bought the PDF version of the pattern as the paper version wasn't in stock when I started my project, but you can check the Named patterns page here to see when it comes back i…

Hello Fabricista's!  I hope that the change of seasons has inspired you to sew lately.  I always love the onset of fall since it is my favorite season.  Although it is still very hot in Georgia I am hoping that a cool down is just around the corner.  For my post this month I was hoping to branch out of my typical silhouette and sew something exciting and different.  I wanted to sew a pattern that had interesting details with a fabric that was easy to handle and so I settled on Simplicity 8791 with this bright red seersucker.  This top really stands out in my closet since I don't have anything with sleeves like it.  While I can say that it is definitely a deviation from my usual style I am still somewhat undecided about it.

First of all the fit was challenging, I ended up moving the dart around and shortening the length.  I also added a snap to the center front to battle the deep gaping.  The dart turned out fair but the added snap pulls the front together in a way that the t…

One technique that I love to see in clothing, but rarely use in my own sewing, is color blocking.  Why?  Well, it can be tricky to mix fabrics of different weights or compositions.  I recently ordered two pieces of linen, and when I opened up the box, I thought- "Ooh, these look pretty good together!  The weights are pretty similar.  Let's do some color blocking!".

I had 2-1/2 yards each of both the blue and this fawn color, and was able to squeeze out 3 garments. The blue color is sold out, but Fabric Mart has lots of other linen in stock.   The first was a dress from a 2012 issue of Burda magazine.  It was so memorable, that it was always in the back of my mind for when I found the right fabric.  Here is their version:


And here is mine:


This was a technically challenging dress because I had to do a full bust adjustment, which with that wacky front was a real headscratcher.  I had to do two muslins to get it right, and then sewing those curves- aaaacckk!  But I do thin…