Made by a Fabricista: Perfect Weekend Dress

I hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable Thanksgiving! I know I was ready for a break. For those of you who love Black Friday I hope you grabbed all the doorbusters on your list!

FINALLY! Fall is creeping in here in the south. It was warm through Halloween here, but a chill is definitely in the air now (well at least in the mornings). Summer is probably my favorite season to sew for, simply because I love sundresses and they are such a breeze to make. However, I do enjoy creating certain cold weather looks like sweaters, jackets and capes. One day I'm going to make a true coat, but that's not today.

Paired with argyle tights and wedge booties.

Today I bring you this perfect weekend dress. Whether you are headed out to run errands, to meet your girlfriends for brunch or to meet up with the crew to watch a football game you'll be dressed for it. This dress can be worn with tights and booties, fishnets and heeled boots or legging and chucks. Just change out a scarf for gold jewelry and you've instantly gone from day to night.

New Look 6298 is a raglan sleeve knit dress with several options; a scoop or V neck, a narrow hem or a band hem, three-quarter or full sleeves, knee length or below the knee and lastly pockets are no pockets. I've had this pattern in my stash for at LEAST a year, maybe two. Though very simple, I remember instantly picking it up. For once I think it was the pattern model that got me! She looks comfortable and put together and that's what I want.

Paired with knee high boots, bright tights and a DIY infinity scarf..

I chose this wool blend knit because I wanted this to be cold weather dress. I love this wool knit, though I wished I picked another color for the sake of better photos, it has a great feel I can't quite explain other than to call it luxe. It feels just like a ponte or double knit but with the coziness of wool. My biggest fear was that it would itch, but in the time I worked with it and wore the dress for photos I had no issues. I'm not the most sensitive to wool though. Sadly this fabric is sold out and unfortunately I didn't grab a screenshot of the description. I believe it is a double knit as it is similar in weight to most of the ponte knit I own. Fabric Mart currently has several wool blend jersey and interlock knits to choose from that I believe would be similar in feel just lighter weight. Take a look here.

I sewed View B minus the pocket, because I did not have enough fabric. Let this be a reminder to you (because it was for me) to always check the width of fabric while ordering. At 54" wide (instead of 60") I could not layout the pattern as shown in the instructions. I had to get very creative with my pattern piece placement to squeeze everything on my 2yds and the pockets didn't make the cut.

This pattern was a breeze to sew up as it only has 4 pieces, front, back, sleeve, neck band. I found it interesting that the raglan sleeve had a dart but I looked at a few other raglan sleeved patterns (like McCalls 6992) and I realized this was not unusual.

Sleeve dart

Other than that everything was simple and straight forward. I've heard/read others sewists say this pattern runs large and perhaps it does. I haven't sewn enough New Look patterns to have a go to size. I cut a 16 based on the finished bust measurements and knowing I wanted a looser fit. However I did end up taking a half inch out at the back center seam. I graded from the top of the seam out to a half inch so that I wouldn't have to make any adjustments to my neck band. Next time I may go down a size on the back piece for a more fitted look.

I took in about a half inch tapering from the neck of the center back seam.

Even though I've been sewing for three years, this was my first time attaching a V neck band. I've heard they could be tricky and I was certain it would take a few attempts. To my surprise I got it on the first try. I'm not sure if it really isn't that difficult, the instructions were incredibly clear or I was just lucky, but everything came together once I got all my markings lined up correctly. My topstitching could be better but I am pleased with it.

My first V neck band

I will definitely be making this dress again likely with a different color of wool knit if Fabric Mart gets more in stock. I'll be keeping a look out for a bright red or a deep green. This time I'll check the width so I can add the pockets!

Dressed up a little with patterned fishnets and booties.

Head over to my blog, TipStitched, to see more pictures and to read my full pattern review.

Made By A Fabricista: A Tipsy Martini Transitional Three Piece Look

Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Sharon with Sharon Sews with my latest Fabricista make – a three-piece set I can wear as the weather transitions to fall here in Texas. It may look like a summer outfit but there will days filled with sunshine and high temps well into November. At first glance it looks like a nice, lightweight jacket, top and pants. But look closer – it’s sewn from the designer Tipsy Martini cotton sateen that was originally used by the designer for a pajama set. Now I could have sewn myself a pair of pajamas using the Closet Core Carolyn Pajama pattern (available at Fabric Mart) and replicated the designer pajamas. But if I had gone that route the only ones who would have seen this adorable kitschy fabric would be my family. This print is much too cute to hide out at home. This Tipsy Martini cotton sateen fabric was lovely to sew. I used black thread, an 80/12 universal needle, and Palmer/Pletsch Perfect Fuse Medium interfacing (link here). Note that this is a rayon fu

Made By A Fabricista: Hooray for Cozy Fall Sews!

Greetings, all! I am in such high spirits with the best-of-all-seasons just beginning and change is finally in the air. I always rejoice when the sweatiest time of the year passes and we can all take a deep breath and gear up for cozier times. Neighborhood Patterns is a new-to-me designer, and I came across them on Instagram in late summer and fell in love with the Plain Jane Skirt. This is such a simple A-line skirt, but with nice details like large inseam pockets and an optional drawstring, and though I’m sure I could draft this style myself, the appeal of having it all done for me was too tempting to pass up. A sew such as this is a lovely palate-cleanser and this was the first project I sewed after returning from a cross-country trip. Perfect! The gorgeous plaid flannel is exactly what I want to be wearing in the fall. The fabric is SO soft and a pleasure to snuggle up in. Because flannel does not have much body and is prone to stretching or shifting with all its mechanical give,

Made By A Fabricista: Quilted Jacket Chronicle

What do you get when mixing the best things about apparel sewing and machine quilting? A quilted jacket! It's funny that I elected to sew myself a quilted jacket for this Fabricista blog because I don't consider myself much of a quilter. I can count on my hands the number of quilted projects I've made over the last few years. While I fully appreciate the end product of quilting, I don't normally gravitate toward starting quilting projects. That's why making a quilted jacket is a new and exciting project for me! It gives me the fun of making a quilt on a much smaller scale. If you are an avid apparel sewist and are new to quilting, this is the perfect project to take for a quilting test drive! For my quilted jacket, I used the Seamwork Easton Jacket pattern. I decided to stick with a solid-colored fabric for the jacket's exterior and ordered 4 yards of Dark Umber Brown Lycra Stretch Canvas Suiting from the Fabric Mart website. I wanted a contrasting color for the

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