Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: A Little French Terry Dress.

Image
By

Working at Fabric Mart is rewarding in many aspects. Inspiration fills you when you are around so many fabrics. The colors, patterns and other characteristics of the fabrics take me to a world of imagination. 

One of many the afternoons sitting at my desk in front of bolts of fabrics waiting for me to take them one by one and determine their information to describe them for the website, I suddenly pictured a dress made out of  the two fabrics that Brett had put together on the table. Sometimes I feel like he is doing it on purpose! I stopped describing and just had to run to my boss and ask her "Julie, may I sew a dress with two of the new children fabrics that came today?" She did not hesitate, "Sure! Whatever you need to do!"
Immediately I grabbed my best friends: scissors, a ruler and a piece of paper. I drew a sketch and took the bolts to cut the pieces I needed. Very sleek as if I were doing something wrong I drew the patterns on the fabric and cut them using a pen and pins. If I would have had a sewing machine there I bet I would have sewn it!

I went home that Friday with my pieces and put them together. The sewing machine did not want to work, the thread on the opposite side was getting messy and loopy. I followed Julie's advice: to follow instructions of the sewing machine manual but that didn't work either.

And then I was reminded of my mother when I was five years old and she was sewing all night long one night, I woke up and saw her sewing with paper underneath the fabric, I thought it was one of her many inventions.

 So that day I tried with paper and it worked.
 For the flower I cut circles folded them in half and found the radius. While holding the center with one hand I gathered from one edge to the other. I hand sewed each and made many more of those until I had enough for the fluffy flower. I love how French Terry and Jerseys curl up so I took some of those curls and used them as decor for my flower.
The dress is made out of an Apricot French Terry and a Floral Cotton Poplin.  SOLD OUT
Taken from the New Children's Collection of Fabrics introduced two weeks ago in the new arrivals of our website. 

French Terry is a Cotton Knit that allows skin to breath and is very confortable and especially soft to wear against the skin. For that reason the dress is lined in all French Terry and the Ballon Skirt is made out Poplin that being crispy holds its shape and body. This crispness was also suitable for the floral decoration. 


I finished this cute dress at 11:30 pm. in between helping my daughter, doing dinner, feeding the dogs and cat and weeding. But I enjoyed sewing that day. I hope you all like it and enjoy the New Children's Collection.
Send me your ideas and projects to fabricmartblog@gmail.com, we would love to show them off on the blog! ~Gabby

Comments

  1. JennyAugust 30, 2012 at 2:26 PM

    Hi - I'm curious - did sewing with paper underneath help keep the machine from eating the fabric? The last time I sewed with a knit - the machine kept pulling the fabric into the bobbin hole (sorry, don't know what else to call it) and it was tricky to say the least. Would sewing with newspaper prevent that?

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fabric MartAugust 30, 2012 at 5:46 PM

      Yes. Gabby used the paper because her bobbin thread was knotting when the fabric was not being guided very well by the feed dogs. Using the paper prevents the fabric from getting stuck and allows the feed dogs to move it easily.

      Delete
  2. girls basketball shortsDecember 12, 2013 at 3:50 AM

    good post, so cute dress, thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Recent Posts You Might Like

Falling for Chiffon Again

By
Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Tira from Tira Cooks, and I finally made the perfect sundress too bad summer is almost over! This is my last sewing project of the summer season, and I chose a beautiful red-and-white print. The result is a lightweight, flowy dress that can easily transition from summer into fall and even winter with the right layers. This fabric was actually my second choice. I originally told myself, “You need a break from chiffon!” But here I am, sewing chiffon again. The crisp hems and sewing overall were surprisingly easy. The only reminder that I was working with chiffon fabric was all the fraying! Even better, this fabric is practically wrinkle resistant. I twisted, tied, and scrunched it, and it still came out looking beautiful with zero wrinkles. Because this was a border print, planning my layout before cutting was extremely important. I mapped out the pattern pieces first to make sure the print continued beautifully throughout the dress without breaking up the de...
8 comments
Continue Reading »

Office Attire to Remember

By
Hello everyone! I’m very excited to contribute to Fabricista blog once more! I made another brand new cosplay: Reiko Kujirai from Kowloon Generic Romance! Kowloon Generic Romance is a sci-fi, romance & mystery manga series. It was later adapted to a TV anime and live action film! This series takes place in Kowloon Walled City. It’s about a woman named Reiko Kujirai who suffers from memory loss and doesn't remember her past. She works at a realty estate management company with her co-worker Hajime Kudou, a very easy going and brash man who’s also her crush! Reiko lives her life in Kowloon, while also trying to discover who she is, and the mysteries of this city (I will not spoil everything! You’re going to have to check it out for yourself!). I binged the anime in one day and really enjoyed it. The story and the characters are very intriguing. I love that the main characters are in their 30s, which is very rare in anime! After watching the anime, I knew that I had to cosplay Rei...
5 comments
Continue Reading »

Sewing Vintage for Summer

By
Hello sewing friends!  I was highly motivated to try another one of the vintage Polynesian Pattern dresses I’ve collected during our hot weather. The patterns are all dramatic and fashionable and really apropos for summer styling. This one is number 204, the Pilialoha Dress.  The gown includes a wide boatneck that many of them feature, plus a very beautiful back gathering and wraparound closure. I always find that the special details on the back are such a chic surprise compared to the simple front.  I chose a lemon covered cotton lawn . I am really delighted with the quality of this cotton, it’s luxuriously soft and smooth. The scale of the lemons and blossoms are just right and not overwhelming, and the soft yellow background is beautiful. This could not be more charming and summery!  I also chose some excellent lightweight interfacing for my facings, and the real highlight is these Dritz Floral Sew-On Snaps that I’ve had my eye on for months! Finally, the perfect ...
4 comments
Continue Reading »

Sometimes You Have To Pivot

By
Hi Guys! I hope you all have been enjoying your summer so far. I know it’s coming to an end soon. So, this month I had decided to make this really cute ruffle top from Viki Sews and things just didn't work out as planned. I made a muslin out of the lining, and it fit great. I worked on that top, making ruffles, for two days. I decided to try it on for fit before installing the zipper and it didn’t fit! I was pretty bummed, but the show must go on. Luckly, I had enough fabric to make something else. I moved on to a button-down shirt pattern from Mood Fabrics. Did you know that Mood has a collection of free patterns? Well, they do and you should definitely check them out if you’re ok with PDF patterns.  I selected to make the Alabaster Sleeveless Blouse. I saw this top a few weeks ago when they released it and I knew I wanted to make it. My memade wardrobe is seriously lacking staples and I thought this top would be perfect to add to my rotation.  Based on my body measurements, ...
3 comments
Continue Reading »