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

Week 4: Jeansmaking- What They Made

This is it, the final round! And we certainly did not go easy on our three remaining contestants this time. This round they had to make their own pair of well fitting jeans. I think they all did an absolutely outstanding job! Take a look what these ladies accomplished & be sure to vote for your favorite! (Link at bottom of post.) And, don't forget to show us your me-made jeans on Facebook or Instagram. Details at the bottom of this post. Danesha from Classyfied Life So first I must say that this entire challenge has been just that...a challenge! Two weeks ago there was hurricane Irma and I was blessed enough to not lose power and then I went out into the aftermath to capture some photos of my submission. Then two weeks ago I had a big trip planned so I had to do EVERYTHING in two days . Then the BIGGEST challenge of all...THIS week! I got the challenge and I was super excited to have an extra few days and then before I could even get started I ended up in the eme

Made By A Fabricista: A great tee shirt pattern – or three!

Hi fellow sewists! It’s Andrea @happy.things.here and I’m here today to talk tee shirts! I love a good tee pattern…or two…or four. Despite having more than enough of them in my pattern collection, I’m always up for trying a new one. And I also have my favorites and tried and trues (TNTs). I love the versatility of a good tee pattern – dress it up with fancy fabrics to make a work wardrobe piece, use a high quality solid to add some basics, or anything in between. Today I’m sharing three patterns I’ve used multiple times and with many different kinds of fabrics - all a little different and all great beginner patterns too. First up is the newest addition to my pattern collection – the Upland tee and crop top by Rivet Patterns. They are a newer designer who I recently discovered when this tee pattern caught my eye. I love that it has multiple bodice options including a classic design tee and also a crop version with different separate and uniquely shaped bodice pieces. I first made the

Made By A Fabricista: Dreamy Florals | A DIY Dress Inspired by Son de Flor's Spring Collection

Hi everyone! When I saw this floral print linen/cotton blend make it’s way onto the to-be-described table I knew I had to make a dress from it. I’d been staring dreamily at all the dresses from the brand Son de Flor who had just put out their spring collection and thought, maybe I can throw together something inspired by them! I grabbed three yards of that floral shirting and a yard of SWC5682w to line the bodice with. I used Simplicity’s S8946 for its simple bodice block. This pattern has a gathered rectangle for the skirt, but I’m a sucker for a circle skirt so that’s where I decided to start. I folded the fabric twice and cut out the longest circle the fabric would allow. Then got to work on the bodice, sewing up the darts and attaching everything. Now, I don’t love installing zippers. I ha d a lot of trouble getting them to sit right, and no matter how much mental gymnastics I do when first pinning one side is always put in the wrong way. So while I did have to unpick and

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