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: Oversized Jenna Shirt for Summer Fun

 I may or may not have had several meltdowns during the making of this Closet Core Jenna Shirt… But let’s back up first. During the month of May, I promised to wear handmade garments every single day for the popular sewing challenge “Me Made May.” I really enjoyed thoughtfully putting together my outfits each day. While I was doing this, I was taking notes of the gaps in my wardrobe. Particularly, I don’t have many transitional shirts that could work for on-camera work attire and be comfortable for the weekend. When I saw this delicious cotton lawn on the Fabric Mart website, I knew that I wanted to make a button up shirt that would be both work appropriate and a nice overshirt for summer evenings over my tanks and tees.  I have made a few button up shirts before using a vintage Stretch & Sew pattern but I decided to try my hand at the Closet Core Jenna Shirt (up to a 60” chest) which has had rave reviews on social media and pattern sites for being a great pattern with e...

Made By A Fabricista: Pattern Emporium’s Lyrical Top Featuring Fabric Mart Fabrics

 Sewn in a lightweight  rayon challis , this top combines style, comfort, and fluidity. There’s one thing I love in a summer sew: effortless drape—and the Lyrical Top by Pattern Emporium delivered just that. This pattern is a new release, and when I spotted this dreamy rayon challis from Fabric Mart Fabrics, I knew it was the perfect pairing. Lightweight, breathable, and with just the right amount of movement, the fabric really brought the pattern to life. Today, I’m sharing all the details—from fabric choice and construction to styling and fit—plus a few thoughts on why this top might just become a repeat sew. Pattern Overview: The Lyrical Top by Pattern Emporium The Lyrical Top is a relaxed-fit design with bloused sleeves and a gently flared frill cuff. It comes with three sleeve lengths and two neckline variations. I chose the tie-neck view, but there’s also a collar option for a slightly different vibe. I’ve been looking to add more stylish tops to my wardrobe this year, a...

Made By A Fabricista: Sewing the Chalk & Notch Hayes Dress

Hey lovely friends! With summer knocking at the door, I am absolutely ready for breezy dresses at all times. I love linen all year round, but summer is my particular favorite for this fiber. This bright happy color fills me with delight, and it’s so perfect in the sunshine.  For this project, I got all my supplies in one go! I chose this stunning Sea Green linen , lightweight fusible interfacing , ½” elastic , and of course, matching thread. If you haven’t sat down to create your own little sewing kit with all the bits at hand, it’s quite a nice gift to yourself and makes getting started that much easier. I’m all about ease these days.  I sewed the new Chalk & Notch Hayes Dress with the open back cutout, which is View A. The other two options are a closed-back dress and a two piece set. I was a tester for this charming pattern, and I can confirm the two piece set is also gorgeous and really fun to wear. I have looked forward to sewing this version for weeks!  Please...