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: Fall Capsule Wardrobe with Pattern Emporium

Hello fellow fabric lovers! At long last the very best of all seasons has commenced and I'm ready to embrace the impending chill. When Fabric Mart held their sale for 65% off knits (!) I had a ridiculously fun time curating a little collection for myself to sew into a wardrobe that would be perfect for both warm and cool days since fall likes to tease with temperature changes. Can you even believe this whole stack (and thread!!) came in just under $50?! Mind blown. I wear a lot of light wovens in summer to keep cool, and switching to more cozier knits really marks a welcome change in my wardrobe. There are many designers I simply adore, but the reason I chose Pattern Emporium's patterns for this project is because the garments are already created to pair well with many other designs in the collection. Since I've previously sewn all of these particular items and own just about the entire expanse of PE's patterns, this was a relatively easy decision and I had no doubts a

Made By A Fabricista: A Designer-Inspired Jacket in an Embroidered Silk Suiting

Hello my sewing friends! When September rolls around many of us look forward to wearing cozy sweaters while sipping pumpkin spice lattes. However, I live in a warm weather state – umm, scratch that – I live in a hot weather state, and I wear layering pieces rather than cozy sweaters. Like this jacket! Vogue 1831 is a Gucci-inspired jacket pattern that was released a few months ago. The fully lined jacket looks like a basic jacket from the front, but turn around and you’ll find an inverted pleat with an adorable bow detail! I wanted to sew this jacket to wear with jeans and when I saw this embroidered silk suiting, I knew I’d found my fabric. There is a gold metallic swirl embroidered into the fabric that glitters slightly when the light hits those threads. Trust me, the photos don’t capture the beauty of this fabric. Although this fabric was listed as dry-clean, I preshrunk it in the machine using a gentle cycle with a cold wash and cold rinse. I placed it in the dryer on low heat

Made By A Fabricista: Chanel Inspired Boucle Jacket

I've always admired the iconic look of a Chanel Boucle Suit Jacket. The Chanel Jacket style is versatile and classic. Over its rich 100-year life span, the jacket has appeared with collars, zippers, buttons, pockets, trim, fringe, and many other variations. It is worn by everyone from movie stars, royalty, first ladies, and just everyday women. Why? Because the luxurious silhouette, boucle fabric, and tailored fit look great on everyone! Having admired the Chanel Boucle Suit Jacket for most of my life, I set out to acquire one. After a few Google searches for Chanel jackets and a glaringly steep $6,000 price tag (believe it or not, that was for pre-owned Chanel.) I knew the only way I'd ever wear a jacket like that is if I made one. Enter in $50 of fabric from Fabric Mart, $30 in notions, a $10 sewing pattern, and my Chanel dreams could become a reality. I started my Chanel look-a-like jacket by researching sewing patterns that would help me capture that iconic look. I wanted

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