Made By a Fabricista: Warm and Cozy Sweater Dress

HI Fashionistas!

It's getting so cold and I plan on doing everything in my power to stay warm!

I am that person who is always cold. So when I saw this sweater knit with a fleece backing, I was intrigued! I made this dress and have a little bit leftover that I am hoping to use for a top.

I used this fabric, which is a sweater knit that feels like fleece on the inside. It is very nice and warm. This is my 1st time sewing a sweater knit and I loved it. It is very forgiving as the texture hides and sewing mistakes :)

I made the sleeves super long so they can be pulled over the hands, something I do often in clothes I make (Don't you love how we can customize our clothes ?)

For the pattern, I used McCall's 6886 that I previously used HERE

Here is the back view:

And front:

LOVE the drape on the cowl. It is self-lined, so super warm . I free-handed the cowl neck. It was very easy to do. I will be adding a tutorial on this on my blog soon.

You probably did not notice it yet, but the cowl neck is stand-alone

I really was opposed to doing this initially, but eventually decided to do it. I have been wanting to simplify and downsize my wardrobe, so having pieces that can mix and match to create more looks is key. Deciding to make the cowl separate allows me to wear both pieces many ways.

The black dress can be worn with many other scarves, and the chunky cowl can be added to other looks as neck warmer.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. I would love to sew with this fabric again! I highly recommend it. Let me know what y'all are working on. Love to hear about your sewing projects.

XOXO

-Vatsla at Fashion Behind The Seams

Made by a Fabricista: A Work Wardrobe with a $50 Fabric Budget

Can you save money by sewing your own clothes? Well, that all depends on a lot of factors! I decided to challenge myself to make a new Spring work wardrobe with a $50 budget for fabric. I know, I know- that doesn't include your patterns, notions and miscellaneous things like interfacing and lining. For me, those are already sunk costs, because I already have them. By ordering during one of Fabric Mart's $2/$3/$4 sales, I was able to make 8 items- 2 pants, 1 skirt, 1 dress, and 3 tops. Here's my exact order:

This took me about 6 weeks once I started. I usually sew after dinner for about an hour or two every day. It's my relaxation time. I dove right in the deep end with the jacket first.
I absolutely love this fabric! It is so bright and cheery. I made the jacket with Vogue 2957, an out of print Anne Klein designer pattern.

The fabric is a Milly Cady suiting which I found challenging to work with. It feels delightful, but it is tough as nails. I started…

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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