Skip to main content

Winner of Week 1 + Week 2 Challenge

And the winner of week 1 challenge is....



We have TWO winners in this weeks challenge!!! Congrats to Jennifer AND Tee! This is the first time in Challenge history that we had a tie. You both win 3 patterns of your choice from our hand-picked Pattern Collection. See the patterns available to you HERE

Unfortunately, Brittany had the lowest score and did not make it on to the next round. All the ladies did an excellent job in this week's challenge. As we said many times, it was very hard to choose a winner! 

The winner in our Reader Participation section is: SewMeAdorable, Lilmrs_winslay & Virginiasdaughter on Instagram! You all win a 3 yard cut of the lovely sweater knit that was used in the challenge. 


___________________________________________________________

Week 2 Challenge:

The Trench Coat Challenge

A trench coat is a must have this time of year. 

The trench coat was invented by Burberry and Aquascutum back in the 1850s. Later it was used as a raincoat by the British and French soldiers in WWI. The name "trench coat" came to be because it was used by Army officers in the trenches. During this time, the design was modified to include details such as shoulder straps and D-rings, all added for specific reasons. The wrist buckles, for example, were added to keep the rain out when using binoculars. A classic trench coat was usually made of a waterproof fabric such as a heavy gabardine, leather or poplin. It could have a removable lining, raglan sleeves and ranges in length. It is double-breasted with 10 front buttons, wide lapels, a storm flap, belt and pockets with button closure.

While we probably don't use trench coats for these reasons today, we still see a lot of these features on trendy coats of this time. 

This week's challenge is to sew a trench coat to fit your personality. It can be a classic trench or a more trendy one. You can use classic fabrics or live on the edge with a unique fabric. It can be lined or unlined. The only thing that is a requirement is that it goes past your bottom so that it resembles a trench coat in some way. There should also be some type of lapel, whether it be classic and tailored or loose and floppy like trends you see today. There were some interesting takes on a trench coat at Stylecaster.com. Be sure to tell us a little about your personality, too!

If you're interested in learning more about the Trench Coat, see Wikipedia.




We will be judging on a 1-10 scale (10 being the highest) using the following criteria:

Fit – Does the coat proportionately fit you? The coat doesn't pull at the shoulders? It closes in the front? If there's something about the fit that you think we would challenge, please tell us why you chose to do what you did.

Craftsmanship - Did you put a lot of care into the construction? Top-stitching straight, seams match, careful overall construction, etc? The hemline is straight?

Overall Execution - Did you create a trench that fits your personality? Does it look finished and ready to wear, not messy and rushed?

Presentation - While we totally understand not everyone has a professional camera and the perfect backdrop for photographing their creations, (Me included!!) you are in front of a world of other sewers. Make yourself look presentable. Submit a photo of the front, back and side view of the garment, as well as a "presentation photo" (this should be the best photo!) Detail photos are also requested so we can be better judges. So if you do some embellishing or a specific technique, zoom in and share with us! Not all the photos may be used in the blog post, but for judges reference.


Judges: This week's judges are the mother/daughter duo -- Pati Palmer and Melissa Watson!

Pati Palmer is driving force behind the Palmer/Pletsch publishing company, of dozens of sewing books and how-to DVD’s and creator of eight Palmer/Pletsch sewing notion products, including PerfectFuse™ Interfacings. Palmer has been designing for The McCall Pattern Co. since 1980, and Vogue prior to that. She has written the guidesheets for over 250 patterns that include fit and sewing tips. Palmer/Pletsch workshops are offered in Seattle WA, Portland OR, Richland MI, Philadelphia, PA, and Hartford, CT. Pati is so excited that her daughter Melissa Watson is following in her footsteps, joining a number of talented young women new to the fashion sewing industry.

Melissa Watson specializes in designing modern casual patterns with a great fit under the Melissa Watson for Palmer/Pletsch brand for the McCall Pattern Company. Melissa attended the Parsons School of Design and has spent her early career in NYC designing for ready-to-wear companies such as Theory, Ralph Lauren and Faherty Brand, sewing, and dabbling in teaching pattern fitting classes for the next generation of fashion sewists. She has a line of sewing patterns in which she uses the Palmer/Pletsch Tissue-Fitting method. These patterns can be found under the McCall's Pattern line.

Due Date: All photos, text, etc is due on Tuesday, September 20th. The finished projects will be revealed for reader voting Sept 21-22 and the winner will be announced on Friday, September 23th.

Attention readers! Don't forget to vote for your favorite piece! A link for voting will be provided on reveal day.

Prizes: This week's winner receives a package of Palmer/Pletsch PerfectFuse Sheer fusible interfacing and the Palmer/Pletsch PerfectFuse DVD. All courtesy of Palmer/Pletsch.


Reader Participation:
This week's challenge for reader's is the same thing as the contestants! Post a photo of the finished trench coat on Facebook or Instagram using #FabricistaFabricMart by Sept 22. One winner will be chosen to win the prize pack shown below:



Get started....NOW!

Comments

  1. Congratulations!!! to BOTH winners and ALL participants! Excited to receive this fabric! Thanks a bunch!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congrats Jennifer and Tee! Great job. :)

    Good luck to the contestants on this next challenge...sewing a whole trench coat in 4 days is a very, very tall order.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congratulations to both winners! I am sure it was hard decision to make judging from all the entries I saw. It is interesting how different designs are accomplished with the same fabric. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nice work ladies!!!! I can't wait to see the trench coat challenge. I am sure we will see awesome creativity from each contestant. Judging will be tough. Good Luck to the judges and the participants!

    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: Sewing Summery ITY

Hi sewing friends! I’m dropping in to share a few makes sewn with ITY fabrics and inspire you to try out this slinky, cool-to-the-touch fabric for hot weather if you haven’t yet, or to recommend some patterns that work fabulously if you already love it. This is by far my favorite knit to wear in summer. Since it moves easily there’s lots of airflow, and it just skims the body. More often than not, it has a four-way stretch that doesn’t grow when worn, so it works great for loads of styles.  ITY stands for Interlock Twist Yarn and the knit gives it some wonderful drape and stretch. There are lots of different weights and even some differing textures. Because it’s so fluid, the fabric really resists most wrinkling. I’ve sewn three different weights and prints here to show off just what ITY can do!  This white floral is a lighter weight and features a slightly crepe-textured finish, and I think that combined with the large and spread-out floral makes it quite elegant and eye-cat...

Made By A Fabricista: Effortless ITY

Clothing made from  ITY  (Interlock Twist Yarn) fabric is effortless, almost like wearing secret pajamas. It is silky and cool to the touch, with a beautiful drape and amazing stretch. ITY fabric is incredibly versatile, and some of the best dresses, skirts, and athletic wear I’ve owned are made from it. Thanks to Fabric Mart’s recent influx of unique ITY fabrics, I was inspired to add some additional ITY items to my wardrobe.  I found two beautiful ITY fabrics on the Fabric Mart site that stopped me in my tracks. The first fabric I loved was a funky off-white and multi-color flora and fauna print from a New York Designer. I ordered two yards of this print with a top in mind. Next, I saw a beautiful  ITY fabric panel  featuring off-white and blue floral print. I’m usually hesitant to buy fabric panels without a plan of how to use them, but I threw caution to the wind this time. I ordered 5 panels, hoping that would give me more than enough fabric to showcase the...

Made By A Fabricista: Basics vs Fun Clothes

Every summer I make flowy, pretty dresses because they are so fun for me to make, wear, and they keep me cool as temperatures rise. But when the days get shorter and autumn rolls around, I’m not always confident on how best to transition my summery dresses into garments that will allow for the seasonal changes. In an effort to be more intentional about maximizing the use of my clothing, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to make for August. It’s been a hot summer in New Jersey. From what I can see, it’s been a hot summer across the US. Looking for clothing that will keep me cool, perhaps hide some sweat stains, and allow me to transition between seasons, I decided to make separates that would pair well with each other and allow me to mix and match with the rest of my wardrobe. For the top, I wanted a basic tank top, something I could layer later on. For the bottoms, I wanted flowy, summery pants that can last into brisker weather or become phenomenally cozy in front of my wint...