Made by a Fabricista: Diane's Border Print Wrap Dress

When I was little, I loved when my mom took me to the fabric store in the pink building (by the way, my kids have never "loved" going to the fabric store). I would go up and down the aisles with my hands outstretched so I could feel the fabrics. My love for fabrics started when I was very young and I admit, I can get nostalgic about fabrics.

My mom was a sewer and I remember many of the things she made, but one blouse in particular really impressed me. She took a design class at a local college when I was 7 or 8 years old and made a two color tunic with an ogee print at the neckline and on the cuffs. I thought she looked beautiful in it! When I saw this cotton print on Fabric Mart's website, it took me back to that blouse and I knew I had to have this fabric.

Border prints can be scary for sewers because we never know what to make with them aside from the typical dirndl skirt with the border at the hem. When I saw this black and magenta ogee print with hot pink floral border I knew I wouldn't use it as a border on a skirt, but I would put it on the neckline....just like my mom did.

I used new McCall’s pattern 7119, view C, a maxi wrap dress with short sleeves. I chose it in part because it has a neckband with a shape that would fit within the width of the border but also because a wrap dress is really comfortable.

It can be difficult to determine how much fabric is needed on a border print so a little extra is always a good idea. I ordered 4 yards and used all of the border print (down to 2”!) primarily because the waist ties are very long. However, I have plenty of black fabric left over to make another small project.

The dress went together quickly and the instructions were well written. I chopped the maxi length to a midi length because making the dress go all the way to the floor would've looked heavy. This pattern is a great choice for a beginning/intermediate sewist and certainly something I will make again.

This is my first dress of the season and I'm looking forward to making it again. Next time I'll make the sleeveless version because I know some hot weather is on the way.

Do you have any summer dress patterns on your cutting table? I'd love to know what you're making.

Happy Sewing!

Diane - Gatorbunnysews

Made By A Fabricista: Ready For A Cruise

Happy new year! This year my husband and I are looking forward to a late spring river cruise to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. Since I started last year sewing my outfits for the various excursions on land, the only garment pieces left to sew were those I will wear on the ship. I wanted these to be interchangeable, so I picked gray as my base color. I wanted very comfortable garments for ease of movement around the ship. Luckily Fabric Mart was running a huge knit sale and pattern sales were going on in many stores and online. For lounge wear, the heathered medium gray polyester/lycra double brushed knit (SKU: DLD3889d) was perfect for a jacket and a pair of pants. I used McCall’s M7294 pattern for the loose-fitting unlined jacket and Butterick B6137 for the semi-fitting pants with elasticized waistband, pockets, and leg bands. For me, attaching the leg bands gave a better finish than hemming. For the top, the golden yellow/off-white polyester/rayon/lycra tie-dye French ter

Made By A Fabricista: Comfort Dressing with Style

As 2021 draws to a close, I don’t think it comes as a surprise that comfort dressing is here to stay, at least for a while. Now the definition of comfort dressing is different for all of us, and for me it means knits. However, I don’t always want to be in yoga pants and tees. That’s why I chose to sew a knit skirt and top using Vogue 1820. This two-piece ensemble gives me the comfort of yoga pants but in a more stylish way. The beauty of this design is that you can mix-and-match prints and/or solids, creating a one-of-a-kind look. Fabric Mart Fabrics has a multitude of knits to choose from at any given time which made it easy to choose coordinating fabrics. I knew I wanted to use prints in a monochromatic color scheme. To find the five fabrics needed, I started by browsing the knit section on Fabric Mart’s website. I knew I wanted black as my base color. As I found fabrics I thought would coordinate, I put them in my shopping cart. That way I could look at the shopping cart and eas

Made By A Fabricista: A Year of Reflection

I can’t believe we have made it to the end of another year. Since this post is coming out right around the holidays, I wanted to create something with a bit more glam. I found this velvet sequin knit and I will say it is even more gorgeous in person. For my look I decided to make the Mimi G x Simplicity S9370 but I decided to turn it into a gown! To do this I measured from my waist to floor to add the additional length that I needed and added additional to the back to make it have a small train. I spread the hem of the skirt to create more of a trumpet style silhouette which made the perfect gown. This fabric was actually very easy to work with, since it is a velvet, it does have nap, so I had to make sure that I cut in the correct direction. I also noted that I should have pre-washed this fabric before using because the fabric dye did rub off a lot as I was working on it. Once I tried my dress on to check the fit I was in love! It was so comfortable and fit perfectly. The waist

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