Winner of the 2nd Challenge & 3rd Challenge Announced: Inspired by Ready-to-Wear

The winner of the 2nd challenge is...

Ann from SewBaby!

Congratulations! You have won three free patterns from Pamela's Patterns!

Unfortunately, someone has to go home. We're sorry to see Jess from The Sometimes Sewist leave the challenge. As always, great job to each and every one of the participants. This entire challenge is truly a challenge to add into your everyday life!

Winner from the Flickr Page: Melody M. from Sew Melodic is the winner of a free pattern from Pamela's Patterns. This was a randomly selected drawing. Please email me
(fabricmartblog{@}gmail.com) to claim your prize.

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3rd Challenge: Inspired by Ready-to-Wear

Everyone has a favorite garment in their wardrobe. Even if you are a home sewer, nine chances out of ten this favorite garment is not made by you (but maybe it is!) Every time I sew, I try to make each garment my favorite thing to wear, but it just doesn't always work that way. So whether your favorite garment is handmade or not, I want you to dig in your closet for your favorite ready-to-wear garment. It can be a dress, pants, skirt, top, cardigan, anything! Use this garment as a pattern to create a duplicate garment out of a fabric(s) of your choice. You can make an alteration of the RTW item if it doesn't fit you in a particular place, but the objective is to create a duplicate, not an altered version of the original garment. You will be using this garment as a pattern!

There are a number of resources out there that can help you with this process. I found this informative video from Nancy Zieman of Sewing with Nancy to be helpful.

That's not all! Since all of you have blogs, I would like you to write a blog post on how you created the copycat garment. As always, mention any alterations you needed to make to ensure a better fit (if neccessary.) Talk about how you used the original RTW garment to make the new RTW-inspired piece.

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

Carrying out the Challenge - Did you successfully create a new garment using your favorite RTW garment as a pattern/guide? Don't forget to show us the original RTW garment!

Process Explanation - Did you explain to the viewers how you went about copying the RTW garment and making a brand-new handmade garment? You will need to create a post on your blog. (I will link your post up with our blog.)

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.)

Guest Judge to be announced!

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Entries are due by Tuesday, September 23rd, with viewer judging on Wednesday, September 24th-Thursday, September 25th. The winner will be announced Friday, September 26th and a new challenge will begin!

PRIZES!!
The winner of the 1st challenge will receive a Free Knit Bundle and three free patterns of their choice from the Fabric Mart Pattern collection.

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 two photos - the original RTW garment and the new garment made using the RTW garment. Follow the same rules as the Challenge participants. Upload a photo of your finished garment by Wednesday, September 24th (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 of their choice from the Fabric Mart Pattern collection. (All prizes are sent to winner at the end of the challenge.)

Ready, set, go!!

Made By A Fabricista: Did someone say FREE??? All about Free Sewing Patterns

Hi sewing friends! I am SEW excited to share this blog post with you today! This is my fifth post with Fabric Mart since I did a guest post late last year and then joined the blogging team in 2024 but I would say this is the post that 1) I worked the hardest to create, and 2) the one that has me the most excited! Today I am going to talk about FREE sewing patterns, showcase a few free patterns I’ve sewn, and then share some very exciting news at the end of this post about an upcoming! First, let’s talk about free patterns – where they come from, why they exist, and how you can find them. But first, here’s a recent free pattern I sewed. This is the Finn Crop Tee from Petite Stitchery . I used an ITY (Interlock Twist Yarn) for this one and I was able to squeeze it out a yard of a fabric. ITY is one of my favorite fabrics to dress up a t-shirt and it wears well across all seasons. And Fabric Mart gets the most AMAZING designer deadstock designs you will ever see! Petite Stitchery offers

Made By A Fabricista: My Anthropologie Recreate the look Dress!

I went shopping at Anthropologie this Summer with my daughter and she kept saying you should make an Anthropologie Dress, but better! (Like it’s hard?!) So, I did! I chose a beautiful cotton lawn with a navy background, abstract purple roses plus green and beige stems/leaves. I chose to use the Tilly and the buttons Lyra shirt dress pattern with the extra tier and long sleeves. I made my size according to my measurements without any adjustments. I did widen the tie belt to make a larger bow. Anthropologie has a dress now on their site called the Bettina Tiered Shirt Dress by Maeve for $148. How did I do?? I really enjoy wearing and sewing Cotton Lawn. When I see it available on Fabric Mart, I grab it up quickly! This dress is light and soft but with long sleeves it is the perfect dress to wear for Fall. I don’t normally like shirt dresses or collars, but this oversized dress pattern fits comfortably. The collar is not difficult at all. Tilly has a video to help, but I didn’t need it b

Made By A Fabricista: Fall is here!

Fall is here, and I have been in a coat/cape mood lately! I have a few that I plan to make, however, this pattern was not in the plans. It was in my stash, but it wasn’t on my “must make” list. I wanted to make a coordinating set but I thought it might be a little too much with this print. Now, I absolutely love animal prints, don’t get me wrong. I am a sucker for them! When I saw this jacquard double knit I had to have it. Instead, I decided to make an easy, comfortable cape that I can wear casually or dressed up. This pattern and fabric were perfect! The pattern I chose to make is McCall’s 8029. This cape has three designs that you can choose from. I chose to make view C. View C has a hood. All three views have a neck and front facing and a belt/tie. Now, if you are wanting to make a cape but would like something on the easy side, this is your cape! I didn’t realize just how easy this was prior to getting started. This cape has minimal sewing. It doesn’t even require a hem. Which, w

Fabric Mart Fabricistas

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