Skip to main content

Winner of 1st Challenge & 2nd Challenge Announced: It's All About the Fit

Wow. Let me tell you how hard this first challenge was to judge. There were a ton of creative ideas and great craftsmanship. It is amazing though what can happen when you get judges together and votes and put them together. 


The winner of the 1st Challenge is...




Congratulations! Your Scout Tee had a lot of detail, but was not overpowering. You still kept the essence of the Scout Tee in your design and the color contrast worked well. Great job!

You are the winner of two free patterns from Grainline Studio and move onto the next challenge!

Unfortunately, the person with the lowest score will be "going home." We're sorry to see Jenese from Needles and Fashion leave the challenge. 

Thank you to ALL the ladies for doing an amazing job. I cannot keep saying how hard this was for us!

Winner of the Flickr Page: Michelle is the winner of a free pattern from Grainline Studio. This was a randomly selected drawing. Please email me (fabricmartblog{@}gmail.com) to claim your prize. 

_________________________________________________________________


2nd Challenge: It's All About the Fit

Fit is an important part of sewing any garment and probably the hardest thing for any sewer to understand and master. From my own experience, I try to improve fit in every garment that I make. Fit can also be determined by the kind of fabric you use and what pattern you choose. It can also be determined by fashion trends. Loose fitting garments have more room in them, but they still have a shape and fit. More fitted garments also need to fit properly. When you have "pulls or lines" in your fabric, that shows that the garment may be a little too tight. It takes a lot of practice and patience to get a well fitted garment! 



There are a number of fit methods that can be found in books, videos and blogs. Palmer/Pletsch is one of the most popular fit experts in the sewing community. They specialize in a tissue paper fit method and refine with sew as you go fitting techniques. Our guest judge for this week learned the Palmer/Pletsch method.

This week's challenge is inspired by the expertise of the guest judge, Pamela Leggett, from Pamela's Patterns! Pamela is an expert on pattern fitting. She will be giving you feedback on your garment fitting! 

The challenge is: Create one well fitted garment out of a solid fabric. The solid fabric will allow us to see how it fits. You can make a dress, top, pants, skirt, whatever will show is a well fitted garment for your body type. 

Remember, fit doesn't mean tight! But if you make a snug garment, remember what I mentioned in the intro paragraph. 

We will be judging on a 1-10 scale (10 being the highest) using the following criteria: 

Fit - Fit is going to be taken into more consideration in this challenge than any other challenge. Does the garment fit well? Share with us any alterations you made to make this garment fit your body better. If you're trying to disguise a problem area, share that information with us too! There are readers all over the world that can relate to your problem area!

Craftsmanship - Did you put a lot of care into the construction? Top-stitching straight, careful overall construction, etc. 

Presentation - While we totally understand not everyone has a professional camera and the perfect backdrop for photographing their creations, (Me included!!) you are in front of a world of other sewers! Make yourself look presentable. Submit a photo of the front, back and side view of the garment, as well as a "presentation photo" (this should be the best photo!) Detail photos are also requested so we can be better judges. So if you do some embellishing or a specific technique, zoom in and share with us! (Not all photos may be used in the final blog post, but shared with the judges.)

Tell us about your garment? What made you decide to select the pattern? What kind of fabric did you choose and why? How can you use this solid garment in your wardrobe?

The Guest Judge will be Pamela Leggett from Pamela's Patterns! Pamela is a fit expert and teacher of the Palmer/Pletsch Fit methods. You can learn more about Pamela through an exclusive interview here. 
__________________________________________________________________
Entries are due by Tuesday, September 16th, with viewer judging on Wednesday, September 17th-Thursday, September 18th. The winner will be announced Friday, September 19th and a new challenge will begin!

PRIZES!!
The winner of the 1st challenge will receive three free patterns of their choice from Pamela's Patterns!


Reader Participation! 
Don't forget!! If you are watching from the sidelines, you can participate in the challenge too! Head on over to our Flickr page and upload your finished garment. Follow the same rules as the Challenge participants. Upload a photo by Wednesday, September 17th (made during the challenge please, no previously made items!) We will have a random drawing for the Flickr winner! They will win one free pattern from Pamela's Patterns. (All prizes are sent to winner at the end of the challenge.) NOTE: Please label your photo with "Challenge 2" so we are able to tell each challenge apart. Thanks!

Ready, set, go!!

Comments

  1. Congrats Beth! You all did such a fantastic job! I was so inspired by all of you. A hard round to judge indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  2. To quote a comic my son likes: "Challenge considered, challenge accepted." This challenge really is perfect timing - I have never mastered fitting, and pants especially... ugh. But a few days ago I made a muslin of shorts and I am trying to make them fit better. LOL, many changes made from the original pattern! So, this weekend I will make at least one more pair and see if I can get them to fit decently. My goal is to make a pair of shorts that doesn't embarrass me in front of the judges. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congratulations! Beautiful top. Can't wait to see the next challenge.

    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: 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: A Wooly Wearable Blanket.

Twirling in a me-made outfit! I live in a small town where the nearest fabric shop is a road trip away, so I almost exclusively shop for fabric online. Having access to an online shop like Fabric Mart with a solid search engine is incredibly helpful. But by far my favorite aspect of Fabric Mart is what I call the “Drape Picture” included in each listing! This picture gives me all the information I need and I find it more helpful than the exact weight per yard/square meter.  Seeing how the fabric falls close or away from the body gives me a clear idea of how it will behave and inspires me to make it into something that will highlight the fabric’s nature.  When I saw the drape of this “Baked Plum” wool suiting , I immediately wanted to immortalize those beautiful folds into a skirt! I opted for a simple self-drafted pleated skirt with a deep hem. I wear my dresses year-round and rely on wool skirts that I layer under or over my dresses for warmth. I cut two panels for the front ...