Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: Border Prints Blues (and Whites)!

(Normally you only see me here once a month, but this month I have two posts scheduled, this special post on border printed fabric, and next Wednesday's, which is still a surprise!)

In April, we had our annual school auction to raise money for our school.  Every year it has a theme, and every year I try to make a dress that will be an appropriate match for the theme.  The first year I sewed my own dress for the auction, it was a "Kentucky Derby" theme, and I chose to make a Burda 7137 dress.  The next year was a "Space" theme, so I chose to make a dress using a galaxy printed fabric using McCall's 2401.  This year was "My Big Fat Greek Auction," so in keeping with tradition, I made a dress.  ;-)


We were asked to try and wear blue and white, and I figured I had best get on finding some blue and white fabric, because even though I have a ridiculous stash of fabric at my house (thank you, Fabric Mart!), I didn't have any blue and white fabric.  Wha?  But fortunately for me, Fabric Mart at the same time I was searching for some fabric, had a GORGEOUS border printed (in what appears to be a dutch tile motif) stretch cotton sateen from Maggy London (used in a similar way as it turns out here and here for non-pinterest people).  Not much was left in stock, and I was lucky to get the two and a half yards I did, which was just enough to fashion a really special dress for the occasion.

With the fabric in hand, I decided I needed a special dress pattern to highlight the amazing border print.  I didn't need a lot of special seaming, but I did know that a princess seam would likely fit better, so I knew I wanted a princess seamed bodice.  I also knew that a full skirt would best show off the border print (or at least make a big impact), so I chose a pattern with that as a feature, too.  (I have seen some amazing shift dresses in a border print fabric, but because this fabric's border print was aligned so the stretch would be gone if I placed the border at the hem, I knew that my hips and I needed something less "wiggle" and more "full.")

I ended up choosing Vogue 1499, a cap-sleeve dress from Anne Klein.  The original version is on the cover of the pattern, but there are also other versions floating around, like this one.  The dress seemed to nicely fit what I desired, and even though I knew that I would have to work around some of the seaming with careful pattern placement on the fabric when cutting, that it would still look pretty and unique overall.


Because this was a border print fabric, I knew that I would have special challenges when working with it, and I can definitely say that these are things to keep in mind with most border print fabric projects.

1. This fabric, though a stretch cotton sateen, had the stretch only perpendicular to the selvedge.  The border print was placed parallel to the selvedge, which means that if I wanted to use the very ornate and dramatic border at the hem, I would have to negate the stretch wherever I placed it.  In my mind, I knew I wanted that super beautiful border at the hem of the skirt, so I knew that I would have to lose all stretch at the skirt, which is also where I hold my weight, in my hips and thighs.  This is why I specifically chose to not use a shift/sheath dress.  (However, it would work if I had placed the cool border going up and down the dress, which would still look awesome--especially with a center seam!)

2. The bodice retained the stretch because the pattern in the center was equal and spaced the same whether up or down.  I was relieved that I could make the bodice fairly fitted without losing comfort.

3.  I definitely had to watch how I placed my floral motifs.  Those suckers were big!  If I had placed them off by a bit here or there, it would have been immediately noticeable.  I think the time spent on that and the extra fabric use was very much worth it, though, since the motifs line up properly, and the skirt's hem is at the right spot on the leg.

4. I had to add pockets because the original didn't include pockets.  I think that's a shame, but because the Vogue markings are similar amongst patterns, I was able to take a pocket pattern piece from another Vogue dress and make it work.


The dress itself was straight forward enough to make (my pattern review is here), and the make was fairly quick and painless once started.  The cotton sateen sewed up very well, and this is why cotton sateen is my absolute favorite fabric to work with.  :-)


The hemming part was my favorite part since the hem was at the selvedge, it required no finishing, and it was easy to visually press up and pin into a proper position.  This is a bonus for working with border prints, so yeah!


I absolutely loved wearing it that night, and felt like I had definitely taken on the challenge of the "Big Fat Greek" auction well.

I look forward to reading more about your border print makes (include links to your photos, would love to see the projects!).

Talk with you all again next Wednesday!

P.S. If any you are just desperate for this exact fabric, the Maggy London/London Times dress does pop up on ebay, but I know most of you would prefer to make your own.  :-)

~Dina, My Superfluities.

Comments

  1. What a gorgeous dress! Your print placement is perfection!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's PERFECT!!!! I love border prints and that color is so vibrant!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love this print and I love the fact that you have themes for your dresses!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my gosh! What a gorgeous dress! It looks perfect on you. You did an excellent job. I like pockets too. Because we sew we can create whatever we want!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I wanted some of that fabric so bad and it sold out before I could make up my mind! Your dress is AMAZING! You picked the perfect pattern to highlight this awesome fabric! Fantastic job!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The dress fits you perfect and the fabric is beautiful

    ReplyDelete
  7. The dress fits you perfect and the fabric is beautiful

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dina, this is one of my favorite dresses that you've made. It looks so lovely on you and that FABRIC!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I LOVE THIS DRESS! It looks fab on you!!!! This dress is perfection!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great dress...great sewing technique...great explanation. Wear your dress proudly and often.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Fantastic matching and placement of motifs!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Gorgeous print and the dress fits you beautifully!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Dina-
    You did an amazing job with this one! So creative and so beautiful! This dress highlights your best features, and you look like a model!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Superb! Your placement is flawless. BTW...love the shoes :)

    ReplyDelete

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: Milo + Citrine

Hello sewing friends! It’s Andrea - @happy.things.here on IG and today I’m on the blog to share some sew inspo on one of my favorite kinds of garments to make – cardigans! I absolutely love making them and wearing them year-round, whether it’s an extra layer for around my house in the winter, as my outermost layer in Spring and Fall, or paired with a dress on a cooler summer evening. I love love love cardigans! And there are so many great cardigan patterns out there – chances are that each of your favorite pattern companies offers multiple cardigan patterns. Button-less cardigans are great beginner patterns, and a handmade cardigan is a lovely personalized gift since it’s more forgiving for fit and you don’t have to know someone’s exact measurements to make one. And you can make them in all sorts of knit fabrics too.  Today I chose two cardigan patterns to share with you that I think bring a little something extra to the table. They are the Seamwork Milo and the Made by Rae Citrine.

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: Revving up your style in the Dana Marie Moto Jacket

Hey friends - I am so excited to have been invited to participate as a Fabric Mart Fabricista this month!  This year is the year I challenge my sewing skills.   I have wanted a moto jacket for some time.  Not just any moto jacket but one that has a classic and timeless style. I saw the Dana Marie Moto Jacket pattern on the Fabric Mart website and knew that was the one.  The fabric I used was a beautiful porcelain white/black/silver 100% polyester plaid weave boucle suiting.    Remember when I said I wanted to challenge my sewing skills?  😉 This fabric was beautiful but fragile to work with.  It was a great mental challenge that had me problem solving before sewing to avoid any potential problems.  I first traced out the pattern onto tissue paper to determine the fit.   I used scrap cotton fabric to sew up a “practice run” of the jacket.    I was pleasantly surprised at how easily the jacket comes together.   I sewed up the muslin in one evening.  It was time to cut into the beautifu