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: Summer Brunch looks just in time for Mother’s Day

Happy First Friday of May! I am truly excited that I have 22 more work days left before the summer break. This school year has been a roller coaster ride and I have enjoyed some high moments and dealt with some low ones in between. I wanted to start my summer looks early and decided to focus on looks I can wear when I visit Jamaica or other tropical places. These looks made are both great for Sunday brunch as well. This set is my first faux romper for this year and I love the fact that I can rock it as separates. When I came across this yellow graphite gray polyester fabric , I knew it was perfect for summer. To top it off, I found the perfect matching earring from Purple Paradise Studio in lime (Rise stud in lime) and knew I wanted a chic summer faux romper set. I decided to hack McCalls 7943 dress pattern and create another top. I have made it several times as I truly love it and plan to use this pattern as one of the beginner patterns for my summer sewing class. I have made it

Made By A Fabricista: The Summer Blues

People often speak of the “Winter Blues”, but today I bring you the “ Summer Blues ”, and it is all good news. Most people don’t think of blue as a summer color but personally for me any color is Summer ready depending on the style and fabric. The moment I seen this Polyester Lycra Diagonal Plaid Stripe Print DTY Knit (SYB8432) I knew I wanted to make something fun for the hot weather to come. I love the Navy/Black/Powder White mix of colors and prints all in one designed fabric. This DTY Knit is made up of 96% Polyester and 4% Lycra with a 4 Way Stretch. It has just the right amount of stretch but yet not too much to make it difficult to work with. If you used a pattern not calling for stretch fabric you definitely want to make adjustments when choosing your size. With the different patterns in this fabric and made cutting it a breeze because I actually misjudged the amount of fabric, I needed but was able to cut the bodice in one direction and the skirt in another. That’s what I

Made by a Fabricista: Youtube Edition | Dee & Dory

YouTuber's Dee & Dory are back on the Fabric Mart blog today with their most recent Fabricista Makes. Make sure to click play on the video below to hear all about their fabric choices & how their projects turned out! Dee: For my spring dress I chose a 100% Cotton Poplin Shirting , with a soft smooth finish, being tightly woven. I loved the fabric and did not use my original dress pattern as the poplin did not drape or flow as I had hoped. For me the fabric is just a bit crisp for the pattern I had originally chosen and, I feel, even for the pattern I made. The color palette is a beautiful green background with black dots and black and white flora branches.The fabric being a 100% cotton handled with ease and sewing on it was a breeze. I used Simplicity 9138. This dress has 3 views, with the various views being a change with the sleeve view. I choose the three quarter sleeve view with elastic insert, the neckline is finished with a bias binding made out of the fabric.

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