Made By A Fabricista: Lilly Pulitzer Inspired Dress

Hello again, Fabricistas!! It's been a while since I blogged last, but I've been lurking about and occasionally sewing. While doing my daily (yes, daily, I am not shy to admit it!) rundown of Fabric Mart's new arrivals, I fell in love with this cotton pique lighthouse print fabric instantly. I did some research for inspiration and quickly figured out this material was for a Lilly Pulizter shift dress in 2014-- I love the Designer Fabric section... I've picked up some sweet designer surprises before in that category. It was not labeled with the designer's name, but I plugged into my search engine a few descriptive words about the print and up came a list of fashion bloggers wearing the original dress and then again on the designer's website.

I made a version of the Lilly Pulitzer Delia Shift dress to fit my figure with a reprinted vintage 1960's pattern, Simplicity 1609. I used View C and cut a 16 bodice and made the skirt much more of an a-line, somewhere about a 20 or so. I also tweaked the overall fit on the side and back center seams, adding here and removing there slightly to fit my shape better.

I originally added my usual 1" on to the length of the bodice, but had to remove it after making my muslin up. I did add an inch to the hemline afterwards.

I have sewn up limited numbers of vintage patterns, and every time I've found that the upper back is monstrously humongous!! I had to remove about 3" total from the front and back upper bodice in total. You can see the before and after on my red and white polka dot muslin below. I also removed the front center seam to keep the print one continuous piece. With that, I added a couple darts at the upper neckline. I extended the back sleeve opening by about 5/8" for my wider back shoulder.

With such simple clean lines, I wanted to get the finishes super nice! I added a lining, it's a lightweight 100% cotton. I used an invisible zipper and of course hand sewed a blind hem.

Overall I'm really pleased with this sweet little dress. I know a die-hard Lilly Pulizter aficionado will be able quickly see it's not an original without the special imprinted hem tape that bares the designer's name... and the fact that my name is sewn in it! Now I'm totally ready for my weekend at the beach, which is exactly where I will be when this blog post goes live!

Happy Sewing!!

~Kathy
Kathy Sews

Made By A Fabricista: Date Night looks for Valentine's Day

Happy New Year! I am excited to be back blogging in 2023 with Fabric Mart. Over the past few weeks, I spent quite some time reflecting on what truly brings me joy and a personalized form of self-care. Sewing was on the top of the list and I truly enjoy making my own clothing. During the winter break, I wanted to create some basic looks that I can jazz up for a wedding or rock on date night. When I read Johanna’s blogpost and came across the Vogue 1835 pattern that she made last month, I saw endless possibilities with the pattern. I knew it was perfect to hack to make a mini, midi or maxi dress and a staple pattern to have. My original plan with the lycra foil printed knit ( here ) fabric was to make a formal infinity wrap dress that I saw on instagram. I will be attending a formal event later this month and felt it was perfect. Knowing that I would only wear the infinity wrap dress once or twice per year, I decided to make separates that I can dress up or down and maximize the w

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Made by a Fabricista: YouTube Edition | Marty - Let's Make Some Activewear!

Do you ever see a fabric, and it reminds you of a fabric in your stash, so you just have to combine the two and like... annoy the world? Now I'm not saying that these colors are horrible together, but I definitely feel like a high visibility vest while wearing them. The neon orange and hot pink are just that striking of a combination. And I still can't get over the pocket detail I did on the color-blocked pair. Along with everyone else I set a New Years goal to be more healthy. To improve my relationship with food, my body, and the world around me. And these leggings bring me so much joy. Not, go run a marathon in July joy. But maybe some Yoga and outdoor adventures in August kind of joy. From beginning to end, figuring out these legging patterns has been a lot of fun. Before this, it had been almost a decade since I had worked this seriously with knit, and I think I need to do more, to be honest. I apologize for the awkward photos. I just finished a cross-country move and am s

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