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: Summery Chambray Linen Mini Capsule

Hello all! With summer on the horizon, I'm gearing up for the heat with some fabrics and styles to carry me through weekend trips and general running around in hot weather. No matter the temperature, I still aim to appear stylish and put together, at least, you know, most of the time. Fabric Mart's exclusive linen chambray is superb for this exact use! I requested two colors of the glorious lightweight yarn-dyed linen chambray. Putty is a cool-toned light gray that leans toward purple and taupe tones and the Medium Sky Blue is perhaps a little more self-explanatory. I have sewn with this base before, and I was just as delighted and impressed with these two colors as I have been in the past. I can't recommend them more, these are quite lightweight and very finely woven. They are sturdy with a very smooth face and have some body, but still maintain nice drape for linen. Despite being lightweight, they have enough structure to support the rounded curves of the pant seams an

Made By A Fabricista: Rayon Challis Separates for Me!

This month I decided to take a minute to sew something for myself! Knowing that I was about to move house (I'm excited to be getting a nice big sewing room!), I opted to use some tried-and-true patterns that I knew would be quick and easy to sew: Jalie Michelle and Jalie Geneviève . I've really loved seeing garments made in crinkle challis lately, so I selected a solid mustard yellow crinkle challis with a plan for either pants or a skirt ( Geneviève is a skirt, but there's also a culotte option available for it), and two sateen challis prints for a top (Michelle can be made either as a top or a dress). I considered making a reversible top with both fabric prints, but upon playing with them in real life, opted for two separate tops with a facing. Given that challis tends to be a bit shifty, it's best to starch it before you begin cutting out your project. It's also best to cut it out on a large surface with a rotary cutter so the fabric doesn't get distorted.

Made By A Fabricista: A Mother’s Day Gift - Making my Daughter’s Prom Dress

Happy Friday All! As a mother and sewist, I am always planning months in advance for any special occasion dress. Due to the pandemic, my daughter missed all the activities at the end of her elementary journey and I was truly heart broken. She did not have any promotional ceremony, field trips or activities for the last few months of elementary school. I made a vow to myself that in Middle School, no matter what life throws us, I would make the perfect Junior Prom dinner dance dress even if she had to twirl in it at home. When I came across this beautiful blue lycra sequins fabric, I was thrilled. My daughter Arielle and I spoke a few months ago about the perfect Grade 8 Junior Prom dinner dance dress. She found an inspirational photo on Pinterest back in December which was a one shoulder maxi dress that sparkles and she was excited about me making her special dress. At the time she wasn’t quite sure of the shade of blue she wanted but after our trip to Jamaica during Spring break, she