Our First Blog Post! Welcome :O)

Fabric Mart is celebrating 35 years of business. We were in business when bellbottoms were popular and people danced the night away at Studio 54. We've been through the crazy 80s with acid washed denim, big hair and loose sweaters to our knees. And the 90s styles of plaid flannel shirts and penny loafers. The 21st century rolled around and we stayed up to pace with it! We launched our website while keeping in the fashions of preppy polos, peacoats and ponchos.

Fabric Mart Retail Store Front - Sinking Spring, PA

We've changed our business structure as much as fashion has changed. Robert Richin, owner of Fabric Mart, started the business in 1977 at a store front in Manheim, PA. Today we house thousands of different fabrics in our warehouse and retail store in Sinking Spring, PA, just 30 miles away from the original storefront. We've gone from being solely a retail store, seven franchises, back to one retail store with expansion on wholesale fabrics and developement of a retail website.

New Website Design Created in May 2012
www.fabricmartfabrics.com

All of this would not be possible without the 17 full and part-time employees we have today. Throughout this summer, you will get an inside look at Fabric Mart and how the business comes together because of its employees. Don't worry, we're going to be adding a lot of fun things (tutorials, tips and tricks, inspiration, etc.) in between the "history" so be sure to stop back often to see what's going on.

The blog is run by five women ages 20-45 all with various sewing skills--beginner sewers to intermediate seamstresses. We all have different positions at Fabric Mart, but share the same love of fabric. That's why we're calling ourselves the Fabric Mart Fabricnistas!

We hope you enjoy following our blog!

Made By A Fabricista: A Tipsy Martini Transitional Three Piece Look

Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Sharon with Sharon Sews with my latest Fabricista make – a three-piece set I can wear as the weather transitions to fall here in Texas. It may look like a summer outfit but there will days filled with sunshine and high temps well into November. At first glance it looks like a nice, lightweight jacket, top and pants. But look closer – it’s sewn from the designer Tipsy Martini cotton sateen that was originally used by the designer for a pajama set. Now I could have sewn myself a pair of pajamas using the Closet Core Carolyn Pajama pattern (available at Fabric Mart) and replicated the designer pajamas. But if I had gone that route the only ones who would have seen this adorable kitschy fabric would be my family. This print is much too cute to hide out at home. This Tipsy Martini cotton sateen fabric was lovely to sew. I used black thread, an 80/12 universal needle, and Palmer/Pletsch Perfect Fuse Medium interfacing (link here). Note that this is a rayon fu

Made By A Fabricista: Hooray for Cozy Fall Sews!

Greetings, all! I am in such high spirits with the best-of-all-seasons just beginning and change is finally in the air. I always rejoice when the sweatiest time of the year passes and we can all take a deep breath and gear up for cozier times. Neighborhood Patterns is a new-to-me designer, and I came across them on Instagram in late summer and fell in love with the Plain Jane Skirt. This is such a simple A-line skirt, but with nice details like large inseam pockets and an optional drawstring, and though I’m sure I could draft this style myself, the appeal of having it all done for me was too tempting to pass up. A sew such as this is a lovely palate-cleanser and this was the first project I sewed after returning from a cross-country trip. Perfect! The gorgeous plaid flannel is exactly what I want to be wearing in the fall. The fabric is SO soft and a pleasure to snuggle up in. Because flannel does not have much body and is prone to stretching or shifting with all its mechanical give,

Made By A Fabricista: Quilted Jacket Chronicle

What do you get when mixing the best things about apparel sewing and machine quilting? A quilted jacket! It's funny that I elected to sew myself a quilted jacket for this Fabricista blog because I don't consider myself much of a quilter. I can count on my hands the number of quilted projects I've made over the last few years. While I fully appreciate the end product of quilting, I don't normally gravitate toward starting quilting projects. That's why making a quilted jacket is a new and exciting project for me! It gives me the fun of making a quilt on a much smaller scale. If you are an avid apparel sewist and are new to quilting, this is the perfect project to take for a quilting test drive! For my quilted jacket, I used the Seamwork Easton Jacket pattern. I decided to stick with a solid-colored fabric for the jacket's exterior and ordered 4 yards of Dark Umber Brown Lycra Stretch Canvas Suiting from the Fabric Mart website. I wanted a contrasting color for the

Fabric Mart Fabricistas

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