Fashion Challenge Week 1 - Handmade Remake

Let the Fabricista Fashion Challenge begin! This is the first week of the challenge. Click HERE if you missed the post announcing the contestants.

Found on Pinterest

Remember that gorgeous fabric you couldn’t wait to cut into and sew up what you thought would be a favorite garment in your closet? Only to find that after it was finished it was too tight, the color was all wrong or you realized that maybe you should have done a full bust adjustment? Now you’re really depressed because there goes that gorgeous fabric. Now all it does is hang in your closet with the hope that you’ll lose weight or figure out what to turn it into someday. Now is your chance to make it over.

Pick one handmade garment that you previously made but turned out to be all wrong. Whether it was the fit, the color or type of the fabric, etc, turn it into something new! Take a “before” photo of the garment and an “after” photo, sharing with us the brand new (and hopefully even better) garment. Tell us what you didn’t like about the first garment and what changes you made to it to make it better. It is your choice whether you revamp it all together or tweak it enough for us to notice. (For example, maybe you've learned how to change what you messed up and now you want to fix it.)

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

Tell us about the project - Did you take before and after photos? Did you tell us about the “old” garment and what changes you made to make it better? Why did you decide to revamp it or what tweaking did you do to make it better?

Craftsmanship - Did you put a lot of care into the construction? Top-stitching straight, seams match, careful overall construction, etc?

Fit – Does the garment proportionately fit you? Not too short or not too long?

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 the photos may be used in the blog post, but for judges reference.

This week's guest judge is Pamela Leggett from Pamela's Patterns and Angela Wolf from Angela Wolf Patterns. Both of these lovely ladies were judges during last year's challenge. Pamela has been teaching sewing and fit to women since 1981 and through that experience started her own line of fashion patterns. These patterns are designed to help women have better fitting handmade garments that will disguise the lumps and fluff that we all have! Angela is a regular on It's Sew Easy and teaches online classes through Pattern Review and Craftsy. She also has her own sewing pattern line.

Due Date: Photos and project information is due on Tuesday, September 15th. The finished projects will be revealed for reader voting Sept 16-17 and the winner will be announced on Friday, September 18th. Attention readers! Don't forget to vote for your favorite piece! A link for voting will be provided on reveal day.

Prizes: This week's winner will win Pamela's new book, Sewing Essentials: Serger Techniques published by Threads Magazine. It also include a DVD. Plus, the winner will also win, Sewing 911: Practical and Creative Rescues for Sewing Emergencies by Barbara Deckert. So you can fix other failed sewing projects!

Reader Participation! Sew along with the challenge!
Use #fabricistafashionchallengereader to share a photo of your finished project on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. You can also email me a photo of your finished project - fabricmartblog@gmail.com. We will choose one winner at random each week to win a prize. This week's prize is your choice of any one Pamela's Pattern listed on our website. And the book, Sewing 911: Practical and Creative Rescues for Sewing Emergencies by Barbara Deckert.

Ready? Set, Go!

Made By A Fabricista: Celebrating warm weather with Spring sewing!

Hi sewing friends! I don’t know about you but boy, was winter cold and dreary this year! The weather here in the Philadelphia area has been slowly improving, but Spring sure did take her sweet old time to arrive. So by April, I was definitely in the headspace of needing to sew up things that were either bright and cheery or meant for the warmer weather I am very much craving right now. I recently purchased a few SewBexx Patterns so I took them on a test run to create some Spring makes. First on my list was to make a top using this absolutely gorgeous ITY fabric I picked up last year. I had two yards which was enough for a long sleeve shirt. I chose the Olivia top, which is oversized with a drop shoulder, has multiple lengths and a split hem. I think the pattern is intended for heavier fabrics but I was envisioning how lovely this top would look with the drape of ITY knit fabric, and it did not disappoint. It came together for me quickly and was a straight forward sew…and I love the br...

Made By A Fabricista | Chasing Time: My White Rabbit-Inspired Look for Atlanta Frocktails

For this year’s Atlanta Frocktails, I found myself captivated by a character who’s been quietly tugging at my imagination for years—the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. There’s something so relatable about his frantic energy, always checking the time, always running late. While he’s worried about being on time, I’m usually calculating how late I can be and still technically arrive on time. Spoiler: I’m often wrong. It’s a cycle of procrastination and anxiety that I know all too well. So when I imagined my look for Frocktails, I thought—why not honor the White Rabbit? After all, time has been chasing me too. But this look isn’t just about Wonderland whimsy. It’s also deeply inspired by this year’s Met Gala theme, Tailored for You, which includes a focus on Black Dandyism—a celebration of Black elegance, intellect, and expressive style. I’ve been obsessed with this theme since it was announced. As a Black creative, I find it powerful and moving to see style used as a way to reclaim...

Made By A Fabricista: Getting into the Spirit of Summer

I'm not gonna lie y'all, I had a completely different project I wanted to do, but that's gonna take more time, and I wanted something cute, comfy and fun to wear for my birthday on the 19th. When I saw this goldenrod & off white linen jacquard , I thought it looked a bit like the design on a Koroks body, especially Makar from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker! I started with the bodice from the free Elderberry dress pattern from Mood, but deviated for the skirt, it felt a little plain of a design, and I had scraps of a Korok fabric that I knew would be a nice accent with some cut out pockets. I've made these pockets once before, deciding the cut out was based on aligning with the seam on the bodice for how far in, and as for how low depended on where I wanted the pouch of the pocket to start. From there I cut the visible part of the pocket, making sure to match the curve of the waist and following the line of the side seams of the skirt, as well as cutting a facing to...

Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Search This Blog