Made By A Fabricista: A Breezy Summer Birthday Dress

Happy birthday to me!! I try to sew a breezy, easy wearing summer dress every July in the loudest print I can find (like this one from a couple years ago.) This year I pulled out my BurdaStyle stash and found 5/2014 #117, the epitome of casual summer dresses!

I picked up this "palm trees at sunset" print rayon challis and it was on!! I cut a straight size 42. Normally I size up in the hip, but clearly this has a very full skirt and is totally accommodating to the pear shaped gal.

I added 1" to the bodice length, a normal alteration for me to work for me at 5'8"-- Burda's patterns are designed for someone who is 5'6". I excluded the pockets on the hips. Who doesn't love a pocket?!! Me. I find they add too much bulk exactly where I don't want it, so bye bye hip pockets.

I love those narrow, little straps. But I severely dislike the way Burda said I should sew them where you have to turn them right side out by pulling them through themselves, struggling, screaming profanity and nearly giving up 1/2 way through strap #1... blah blah blah. I just fold them in half a couple times, iron them and zip them through my sewing machine. I could care less if I see a line of stitches on the straps on this super casual maxi dress. If I had some cute ribbon, that would have been a great option for the straps and tie on the bodice, too.

Bras are an issue here, folks. A regular bra with straps can be okay-- if the straps are lined up right, they can blend in, appearing like another strap on the dress. But I opted to do a strapless bra. If you have a figure that can handle being bra-less, you're a lucky one.

I love the drape and weight of rayon challis, plus is sews up so well on both my regular machine and my serger. And it washes and dries nicely if you pull it out of the dryer ASAP-- no ironing for me. I don't iron ever, unless it's a special occasion or I am in the process sewing.

Hopefully I am eating cake and ice cream while you are reading this, not spilling my birthday yummies all over my sassy new dress.

Happy Summer Sewing!!

~Kathy

Kathy Sews

Made by a Fabricista: Spring is for Shirtdress

I love shirt dresses! My pattern collection reflects this (I may or may not have eight shirt dress patterns) but somehow my closet does not. I have just two DIY shirt dresses (Mimi G's Katie dress and Simplicity 8546) and maybe two RTW versions. So it's high time that I added some to my wardrobe.

This polyester blouse weight twill by Milly has the perfect weight and drape for a relaxed shirt dress. If you prefer a more structured look, stick to a cotton shirting or light weight sateen. I loved this fabric and print so much that I grabbed both colorways. Unfortunately this fabric is sold out, but you can browse other shirtings and blouse weight fabrics here.

This fabric has a somewhat slinky feel, but isn't truly slippery. There's also a slight sheen without being shiny like a satin. It was easy to cut and sew, but I did get a few snags when pinning so make sure you use sharp pins and a fresh machine needle. I serged my pieces before assembling the pattern because as m…

Fabricista Guest Post: "Julie's Picks" Goes to the Opera

Hello, fellow fabric enthusiasts and sewers alike ! My name is Mary Martha and I am thrilled to be presenting a guest post for Fabric Mart's Fabricista blog. As a bit of background, I fell madly in love with opera in 2015 when I attended my first performance in a movie theater as part of the Metropolitan Opera's "Live in HD" simulcasts, which projects live staged operas in New York City into cinemas worldwide via satellite. (They're fantastic !) Since the start, I have dressed the part of the characters when attending these performances, beginning with outfits fashioned from scarves and skirts in my mother's closet to more ornate costumes. It was during this time that I taught myself to sew using a sewing machine and I haven't looked back ─ my life was changed forever !
In December 2018, I subscribed to Julie's Picks swatch club as an educational experience: I wanted to expand my knowledge of different fabrics besides the typical polyester satins I h…

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