Skip to main content

Week 1 Results & Next Challenge --- Fashion Challenge Week 2: Wrap It Up!

Congratulations to Kristin for winning the first challenge! The judges were really impressed with the fit of your garment and how you used practically every single piece of the garment. The race was really close for this first round. There was actually a tie among the judges, but the readers votes brought Kristin above the others. It goes to show how important it is to have reader's votes! There's some tough competition out there, all contestants should step it up even more for the next challenge because you're all doing amazing!

Kristen, you win Pamela Leggett's new book, Sewing Essentials: Serger Techniques published by Threads Magazine and Sewing 911: Practical and Creative Rescues for Sewing Emergencies by Barbara Deckert. So you can fix other failed sewing projects! 


Unfortunately, Chui does not make it onto the next challenge. 

We also have a winner among the readers! We only had one person fulfill this challenge: @deb1meinke posted her Handmade Remake on Twitter. She transformed a too large shirt into a nicely fitting knit top. She wins her 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. Deb, please email fabricmartblog@gmail.com to claim your prize.







Week 2 Challenge: 

"Feel like a woman, wear a dress." Wearing a dress, and wearing the right one can change your life. Diane von Furstenberg is best known for her creation of the wrap dress. She came to NY with a suitcase full of knit dresses and the rest is history. 



A wrap dress is flattering on every body because the wrap front will hide a tummy as well as create a waistline. Busty and not so busty women can wear it and feel great. Countless designers have now made it and variations of it part of their collections. It is timeless and isn't going out of style anytime soon. 

In the 1970s, Diane teamed up with Vogue Patterns and came out with a wrap dress pattern for the home sewer. This pattern is coveted by beginner sewers and experienced sewers alike. People pay a lot of money when it shows up on eBay or they grab it and run if they find it at a yard sale for $1! Today, McCall Patterns, Simplicity and many other pattern companies have all kinds of different wrap dress patterns. Some of them are best suited for knits while some are more suitable for wovens. 



Earlier this year, McCall Patterns Blog put together a wrap dress sew along. Although I didn't end up doing it, I loved following along and then also seeing the details from inside a real DVF design. You can check that out HERE

This week's challenge is to create a wrap dress inspired by DVF designs. Browse the dresses on her site. Mix fabric prints and fabric types if you want. Play with the length, play with the sleeves, collar or no collar. Whatever you decide! Share with us a photo(s) of the DVF designs that inspired you to make the dress. You can use any pattern you would like. Share that with us too. (Because we will all want to make a copycat dress!) Fit is also important. For example, make sure the waist hits you in the right place. And if you change it to not, tell us why you made that decision.


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

Creativity - Tell us how you were inspired by Diane Von Furstenberg? Don't forget to share photos of what inspired you.

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

Fit – Does the wrap dress fit you? For example, does the wrap section (at the waist) hit you in a place that is flattering? Does it fit appropriately at the bust? Is the length flattering? Tell us about changes you made to make it flattering for your body.

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 judges are Meg Carter from McCall Pattern Co. and Linda Lee from The Sewing Workshop. 


  

Meg Carter (a.k.a. Meg McDonald) is the Social Media Manager for the McCall Pattern Company, where she spends her days interacting with sewers and thinking up fun things having to do with patterns and sewing. She’s been making her own clothes since she was 12 and tends to go a little crazy over brocade fabrics.

Linda Lee is the owner of The Sewing Workshop Pattern Collection, a group of patterns for distinctive garments using innovative sewing techniques. Linda writes for Threads, Sew News and Stitch magazines and is an instructor on Craftsy.com. She travels around the country teaching fine sewing techniques and the art of combining beautiful fabrics and distinctive design in garment and home decorating creations. 

Due Date: Photos and project information is due on Tuesday, September 22nd. The finished projects will be revealed for reader voting Sept 23-24 and the winner will be announced on Friday, September 25th. 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 3 free patterns of your choice from the McCall, Butterick, Vogue or Kwik-Sew lines AND 3 of the newest patterns released from the Sewing Workshop: Tremont Jacket, Florence Shirt and Bristol Top and Dress.

Reader Participation! Sew along with the challenges! 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 pack will be a copy of Successful Serging by Beth Baumgartel, a pack of 400 quilting pins (which are also suitable for garment sewing!), and two Kwik Sew patterns - #3766 and 4081. 





Ready? Set, Go!

Comments

  1. Thank you all so much! I'm very flattered! I thought we all did a great job remaking our wadders into wearable pieces. Good luck to everyone on our next challenge.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congratulations you did a great job! Good Luck to you as well :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congratulations Kristin! I loved your dress.
    Here we go again ladies :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! That wrap dress challenge will be a lot to do during the time frame. That said, I cannot wait to see the results. I have the Vogue 1610, which is the collarless/short-sleeved version of the iconic Vogue 1549 (that sells for insane money), and have always wanted to get it made up. Maybe this will be a good kick in my pants to get it done. :-)

    Congrats, Kristin. Your dress is BEAUTIFUL!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm so looking forward to this next challenge. Wrap dresses are my favorite :-) Good luck everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sewing along, do we have until midnight tonight to submit? I have to do sleeves and the skirt and I'll be done! Hoping not to miss the deadline

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you're a reader sewing along, you actually have until Thursday! Can't wait to see it!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Feeling Festive in Red

Happy Holidays! I’m so excited to bring you this all red holiday look that would be a hit at any holiday gathering this season. Whether you’re headed to your company holiday party or just going to sit in your living room, you’ll fabulous doing so. For this month’s post I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I have been a Sew It Academy student since Mimi G opened it back in 2016.  Sew It Academy is her online sewing academy that shows you what to do once you open your sewing machine and different lessons come out every month showing you different techniques and how to sew different things. Sew It Academy now offers PDF patterns and sewalongs that come with them. I made the Boxy Pullover Top and the Bubble & Wide Hem Skirt which are both Sew It Academy patterns. The Boxy Pullover Top is the first garment class offered in Sew It Academy, so it’s super easy to make.  I’ve seen several YouTube videos for the same top and they are all pretty much contructed the same way.  I...

Made By A Fabricista: Everything Old is New Again: A Linen Skirt Using an Old(er) Pattern

Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Sharon from Sharon Sews with my last post for 2024!  This time I used one of my favorite fabrics, linen. Fabric Mart usually has an excellent selection of linens .  I should know as I’ve ordered my fair share over the years. This time I choose a medium-weight 100% linen with a black and white abstract print.  When I ordered the fabric, my plan was to use an old Issey Miyake pattern and sew myself an oversized linen coat.  But when the fabric arrived it told me it would be happier as a skirt.  Your fabric also talks to you, right?   I’ve been drawn to the look of satin bias skirts paired with oversized sweaters but knew that skirt style doesn’t work on my body shape.  Plus, once the holidays are over a satin skirt would just sit in my closet.  But a linen skirt, in a neutral black and white print, could be worn during the winter months with boots and a sweater and easily transition to warm weather with a tee and sand...

Made By A Fabricista: Cozy Sewing Season

The cozy sewing season seems like it came early this year! Temperatures in Pennsylvania have been in the freezing range for weeks, so it is time to break out the flannel, sweater knits, sherpa, wool, and other warm fabrics. Fabric Mart's website is stocked with gorgeous cozy fabric perfect for sewists living in cold climates. While searching for fabric for my first cozy sew of the season, a Cranberry Plaid 100% Cotton Flannel fabric caught my eye. I loved the colors and the plaid pattern. I ordered 3.5 yards to make a button-up flannel shirt for myself, and a little extra fabric to make a button-up shirt for my son. I also ordered two packs of 10 Soft Pearl Plastic Shirt Buttons and "My Mama Made It" sewing labels from Kylie and the Machine. I envisioned one of these labels being added to the side seam of my son's shirt for a bespoke detail. Once my order arrived, I washed my fabric and reached for my Grainline Studio Archer Button-Up paper pattern. I used this pat...