Made By A Fabricista: Kathy Sews a Cape!

I am excited to introduce our next Fabricista, Kathy from Kathy Sews! You might remember Kathy from last year's Fashion Challenge. I had the pleasure of meeting Kathy in person this year when she made the trip up to our store from Baltimore, MD. She was just as warm and enthusiastic as she is on her blog and we are happy to have her join our team!

~We all have been seeing capes everywhere for fall. I wanted to sew one up with a belted waist, flattering my pear shape much more than many of the fuller styles I've seen and tried on in stores. I also wanted one that allowed for easy arm movement. Last year I sewed up a Burda cape for the Fabricista Fashion Challenge that I loved, but I feel a little overwhelmed in it and my arms and hands are trapped inside when I wear it. I used Simplicity 1775 for this project and it worked out really nicely... I can drive in it, grocery shop, use my hands and arms normally and just basically function while I wear it.

I chose to use a light/medium weight wool blend coating from Fabric Mart found here

for my fashion fabric. I opted for a lightweight beige poly lining material from Fabric Mart found here... luckily Lisa, at Fabric Mart, was super helpful to suggest the perfect shade of lining to match my woolen material.

The pattern I used is quite simple and easy to sew up but it really needed some tailored elements. Even though the pattern suggests only to interface the neckline, I fully interfaced my fashion fabric with a black fusible knit tricot interfacing I had in my stash (you can see in the photos). It gave the material a nice weight and drape. I found this great blog post on Fashion Incubator some years back discussing the benefits of fusible knit interfacing and why it's a good idea to just go ahead and fuse it to your whole dang coat (or cape as my case is here.) I fully interfaced my belt with the same stuff. I also wanted to add more warmth so I pulled out a lightweight plaid cotton flannel I had in my stash and interlined my cape.

I was a little bored by Simplicity's plain finish to the button hole and belt holes. I pulled out my handy copy of Tailoring by The Singer Sewing Company to remind me how to do button holes-- it's an invaluable reference for sewing tailored coats that you can buy it for about $5 online! It difficult to see in the photos but I made a bound button holes for each opening. It's a detail most will never notice with the colors and weave of this fabric but it makes me happy to know they are there! Then I had to make my own covered button, too.

I was really super pleased with how the woolen fabric sewed up, it pressed like a dream and was so easy to work with. I'm not nearly as excited about the lining, I must confess. I've never used a poly lining like this before and wanted to give it a shot. It's a little more transparent than I hoped, I can see my plaid interlining through it-- it's not really ever going to be noticed unless you flip the cape inside out, so it's not the end of the world. Also, I had some trouble hand sewing the lining around the bound button/belt holes inside. I am nervous those spots will wear quickly so I squirted a little Fray Check around the lining area of the button hole, getting up into the raw edge under my stitches. But I do like the way it's nice, smooth and slippery over my clothes letting the cape drape nicely over me.

I cut a medium for the neckline and extended the sleeve and hem length to an XL. It was about 48F with a breeze and a some raindrops while I took my photos-- it kept me comfortably warm but my hands really needed something to cover them.

I am head over heals for this cape! It's totally wearable, I don't feel like I'm wearing a monster-sized tarp over me and is so much like wearing a lightweight coat. The classic tweed look and neutral tones of the fabric is perfect with jeans or leggings. Fusing the interfacing on the entire cape took forever, the bound button/belt holes added way more time to my project but it was totally worth it!! This will be worn a lot before fall is over.

Thanks so much Kathy! I especially loved the covered buttons. We can't wait to see what you come up with for next month. Would like to you to see your Fabric Mart creations here? If so please email fabricmartblog@gmail.com for a chance to be a guest blogger.

Made By A Fabricista: Revisiting a Pattern After Five Years

Have you ever used a sewing pattern and then immediately vowed never to sew it again? Well, I have. It all began in the spring of 2020 at the start of the pandemic lockdown. I tackled sewing projects that were more challenging to help me grow as a seamstress. There was one pattern in particular that almost did me in, the Seamwork Penny shirt dress. The Penny dress pattern has a classic button-up dress shirt style bodice with a gathered skirt and pockets. It is a beautiful take on a shirt dress, and my sister and I loved it. The only downside is that it was recommended for intermediate-level sewists and I was only an adventurous beginner back then. I think I had only ever made one button-up shirt before attempting this Penny Dress and it didn’t even have a collar! Despite all of this, I thought “Why not try it, what’s the worst that can happen?” Thankfully the worst didn’t happen, and the dress turned out surprisingly wearable, but I had some intense frustration at the end. I...

Made By A Fabricista: A Simple Frock for Spring

Hello friends! I’m really into sewing and wearing tent dresses at the moment. A tent dress is basically a wide A-line style gown. For this month’s project, I’ve opted to try out The Assembly Line’s Square Neck Dress. This style is a little avant-garde in its enormity and shape, and boasts the squared neckline it’s named after, plus some cute hem side slits. All that volume is fun to move around in, plus there’s loads of air circulation which is cooling. This dress’s main feature–its wide and high squared neckline–really piqued my interest recently, and I added it to my Make Nine plans for 2025. I find it so satisfying to check off those boxes as I sew! This beautiful shirtweight linen is a color I simply adore; a muted medium blue. Stormy skies, worn-in denim, and ocean waves all come to mind, and that is exactly what I want to be all wrapped up in. While I think a wild or large print would be amazingly on display in this big canvas of a dress, I also thought that a subtle ...

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...

Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Search This Blog