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: Falling for Knits

We are now well into Fall, even though the temps are still relatively warm here in Texas. I love the fall season and dressing for Fall. When it comes to the conversation of knits vs. wovens I typically sew mostly wovens. So for this post I decided to sew completely knits! With the holiday season right around the corner I saw these three dress styles as perfect for Friendsgiving/Thanksgiving gatherings. The first look is a tried and true pattern Simplicity S9372. Using this gorgeous burgundy ponte knit , I like how this pattern fits throughout. I chose this color to add to my typically neutral palette in my closet. I also wanted something I could wear to my sorority meetings and found this color perfect. It's an easy sew with back fisheye darts and invisible zipper to add to the tapered style. The neckline and armholes are finished with bias binding giving it a clean finish on the inside. I used a universal needle to sew a...

Made By A Fabricista: Closing 2025 with a Lined Jacket

Hello again, sewing friends! It seems we have arrived yet again in the grandest season for layering, all this oncoming cold weather. I like ending the year with something warm and very useful. Seems based on my past Fabricista posts, I love to sew year-end outerwear, and this round is no different! I challenged myself with a new lined coat (wait, jacket? Coat? I feel like the presence of wool changes things?). Anyhoo, since the lovely Chalk & Notch Den Jacket has been in my queue, I proceeded ahead. I like the large pockets, the option to line or not, and the extra bodice and sleeve seams for topstitching. Sewing this coat is not at all difficult, but the many pieces and loads of topstitching will take a bit of time. My version took me a few multiple-hour sessions to complete. I sewed a size 2, which matches my measurements, and I made no alterations. Hint: for a quick size test, just employ the lining pieces. Gorgeous, muted blue as a soft wool flannel ? This is ...

Made By A Fabricista: Chalk and Notch Wren Dress: My Buffet dress for the Christmas season!

I recently sewed the Chalk and Notch Wren dress using a beautifully soft black voile from Fabric Mart, and it turned into such a satisfying, enjoyable project. The pattern itself is very easy to understand and straightforward with clear instructions, intuitive construction, and a relaxed fit that makes the sewing process easy. A buffet dress in the sewing community is a dress that is loose fitting, so you can eat at the buffet without your dress being uncomfortable afterwards, lol! Because the voile I chose is extremely thin and transparent, I opted to line the bodice and first tier. Adding a lining not only provided modesty but also gave the delicate fabric a bit more stability, especially around the neckline and button placket. A helpful tip when sewing a lining into a lightweight bodice is to treat the lining and the main fabric as one. I sewed the bodice as you would for a lined bodice, and the first tier I sewed the pieces together with a basting stitch to make the process...

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