Made by a Fabricista: A Little French Terry Dress.

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

Made By A Fabricista: Sheer Elegance and Everyday Comfort with my Two New Tops

Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Sharon from Sharon Sews with my last Fabricista make for 2025. While many sew a special holiday outfit at year’s end, I went in another direction sewing two tops that couldn’t be more different. One is sheer and elegant while the other is easy comfort for everyday wear. These tops reflect how I dress at this stage of life. As an over-50 sewist, these two tops reflect how I dress at this point in my life. Sometimes I want something a bit special, other times more basic. Either way, sewing them in beautiful fabrics, custom fit to my body, makes all the difference in how I feel when I wear them. Even though I’m quite pleased with my two tops, my original plan was to sew a jacket with the tropical print stretch twill and pair it with a top sewn from the soutache mesh knit . Sadly, I wasn’t quick enough to get enough of the stretch twill to make a jacket, so a top it was! You do know you have to act fast when you see something you love on Fabric ...

Made By A Fabricista: Sewing for a Florida Cold Snap with Fabric Mart Fabrics

Even here in Florida, we get the occasional cold weather surprise, and when temperatures dipped recently, I was very glad to have the perfect handmade outfit ready to go. For this month’s Fabricista make, I sewed up New Look pattern 6771, using two beautiful fabrics sent to me by Fabric Mart Fabrics. The Fabric & Pattern Choice New Look 6771 is a cozy two-piece set featuring a relaxed-fit top and pull-on pants—exactly the kind of pattern that works well for transitional weather. I chose to start with the top, using a brown animal print French terry from Fabric Mart, and it turned out to be an absolute dream to work with. The French terry was soft, substantial without being heavy, and handled beautifully at the machine . It had just the right amount of structure to highlight the pattern’s design details while still feeling comfortable and wearable. From cutting to pressing, this fabric behaved perfectly and elevated the final garment. The Top: A Total Win The top from New Look 677...

Made By A Fabricista: Sewing the Coziest Pajama Set

For most of my life, I happily wore mismatched pajamas. Not caring what my pajamas looked like, just delighting in anything clean and comfortable. My sister also had the same mentality about pajamas until one day it all changed. She came over for a fun sister hangout weekend and pulled out a set of matching pajamas! I nearly dropped over with shock! Growing up, she was the queen of mismatched pajamas. She was notorious for wearing faded t-shirts and pajama shorts long after their life expectancy. But there she was in a set of sophisticated matching pajamas with white piping, raving about how wonderful they were. If the queen of mismatched pajamas could appreciate a fine pair of matching pajamas, everyone could. Shortly after that, I decided to give matching pajamas a try, and I became hooked as well. There is a peace and order that comes with having a matching pajama set. You always know which pajama top goes with which bottoms. You can reach for them quickly in the closet a...

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