Skip to main content

Fan Feature: Erika from Erika Made It

Have you ever seen a beautiful fabric on our website and fell in love and then discovered it was a panel and thought, now what the heck am I going to make with that?!
Well, wonderful things are possible and our guest today, Erika from erikamadeit.blogspot.com shows us how it is done. 

We found Erika while prowling the interweb for great sewers. 
I was shocked and amazed when I came across Erika wearing Fabric Mart fabric!
And even more impressed when I realized that the fabric she chose was in fact a panel. 

Enough of me talking...check out this gorgeous dress will ya?!
I love this dress! My maid of honor told me to get sewing, and make myself a dress for my bridal shower. Everything about the shower is a surprise, so I handed off the dress to her right after I finished it, and won't see it again until after the surprise. 

This dress is all about the fabric. When I saw this double paneled floral cotton from Fabric Mart's daily pick on facebook,  I snapped it up at only $3.99 a yard. As you can see, one side has more flower coverage than the other. 
I never worked with a paneled fabric before, and carefully cut the pieces for this Frankenstein pattern. I used vintage Butterick 9752, as the inspiration, and followed those directions, but used the trusty pattern simplicity 2444, for the front bodice and skirt, just to make fitting a little easier. The scoop neck back and buttonholes pattern was a raised version of the vintage Butterick, I raised the scoop a bit just so I could wear a bra. I love the ric rac trim around the neckline and hem, I can't believe I've never done this before. 
The back closes with 5 buttons, and is attached to the skirt that has a small invisible zipper closure. I will surely make another version of this sweet dress. 

Is this not this just the greatest?
Thank you, Erika!
We love admiring your dress! Great work!
Visit Erika's blog to see more of her fabulous projects: http://erikamadeit.blogspot.com/

Comments

  1. see also http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2012/06/blue-rose-sheath-dress.html for another dress made from the same fabric

    ReplyDelete
  2. So cute! I love the details: the rickrack trim used as piping and along the hem, the button back. And she did a great job with the pattern placement! I love the way the roses climb up each strap in the back, and there is a bib-like effect in the front. She'll be happy to look back at these pictures in her wedding album!

    The fabric is beautiful too. I love the combination of printed and embossed flowers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just found the Fabricmart blog, I can't believe I never noticed it before. Fabulous projects and fun content. Keep it up!

    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.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Bold Aspen Dress for Spring

 As I write this in mid-April, central New Jersey weather is showing small signs of spring. My neighbor’s daffodils are blooming and our magnolia tree is trying to unfold its vibrant magenta petals. I am in the midst of preparing my wardrobe for the warmer months, even if we are still huddling against windy 30 degree days. For me, warm weather means linen. I love breathable, floaty linen sundresses and drapey, loose linen wide-leg pants. My vision for a spring piece was something bold and bright, inspired by the natural colors of blooming flowers, but also something that could transition well between the warmer and cooler months. When I saw Fabric Godmother’s Apsen Dress, I knew that it had the sensible transitional opportunities I was looking for while also providing a blank canvas for fun prints, patterns and colors. With the pattern in mind, I then turned to the stunning linen collection that Fabric Mart always has on hand to see what colors or patterns would best suit my visio...

Made By A Fabricista: Celebrating warm weather with Spring sewing!

Hi sewing friends! I don’t know about you but boy, was winter cold and dreary this year! The weather here in the Philadelphia area has been slowly improving, but Spring sure did take her sweet old time to arrive. So by April, I was definitely in the headspace of needing to sew up things that were either bright and cheery or meant for the warmer weather I am very much craving right now. I recently purchased a few SewBexx Patterns so I took them on a test run to create some Spring makes. First on my list was to make a top using this absolutely gorgeous ITY fabric I picked up last year. I had two yards which was enough for a long sleeve shirt. I chose the Olivia top, which is oversized with a drop shoulder, has multiple lengths and a split hem. I think the pattern is intended for heavier fabrics but I was envisioning how lovely this top would look with the drape of ITY knit fabric, and it did not disappoint. It came together for me quickly and was a straight forward sew…and I love the br...

Made By A Fabricista: Stripes For Spring

Hi everyone!   It’s finally warming up here in southeastern Pennsylvania and I wanted to make a light, flowy dress for springtime. I snagged a vintage Laura Ashley pattern from Joanns on one of my last trips there. I somehow didn’t have anything in my pattern stash with a sweetheart neckline, so I thought it would be a good addition. The pattern calls for a giant gathered skirt, so I knew I would need something lightweight and drapey for it.  Something like a pink striped cotton fine seersucker. The fabric is light and has a really nice drape, almost like a challis . I knew it would gather beautifully. I  got to work cutting everything out, with help from my assistant. When I say the skirt is massive I mean it.  I ran into an issue right away where my fabric isn't wide enough to cut the back panel without opening the fabric out. And my three yards of fabric wasn’t enough to cut two back panels. I ran into this issue last year when making my pinafore dress . In ...