Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: Mixing Business with Pleasure


Hello…

Hope all is well!  As spring approaches, I cannot help but get excited about all of the fun dresses and looks that I want to sew.  I have already planned out a long list of “to-makes” and my hope is that I will find enough time and energy in the day (or night) to get at least 50% of my sewing “to-makes” done.  

To get started on dresses, I made a version of Simplicity 1881 and the Morris Blazer by Grainline Studios.  My initial intent was to style these two pieces together.  However, after finishing both pieces, I decided the look was not working for me.  I felt the dress could stand alone and wasn’t made to be covered, and the blazer deserved its own spotlight as well.  Therefore, my plans changed at the last minute.  I used a big scrap of the bow tie print fabric to make a skirt to wear with the blazer instead of the dress.  I made the skirt using New Look 6035.


So let me talk about the fabric!  I am excited to see that Fabric Mart is offering a lot of options for fabric made with viscose.  Many of the RTW clothing items that I love seem to have some level of viscose content.  So when I saw this black ponte knit made with viscose, nylon, and lycra, I hopped on the opportunity to get it.  Viscose can be found in several other types of fabric such as this crepe here, this jacquard here, this jersey knit here, and this suiting here.  I also picked up a few yards of this super cute yellow and black bow tie print ponte knit found here.  I wanted to make the blazer and bodice of the dress in black and make the bottom of the dress in this print. 

After seeing the final looks, I thought to myself I created a “work” look and a “fun, happy hour” look, with the same fabric for both, which made me think of the phrase “mixing business with pleasure”!



Ok, let’s first start with business.  The Morris blazer is definitely a quick and easy sew.  This pattern is designed for an unlined blazer using either stretch woven or a mid-weight knit.  Therefore, my fabric choice was perfect!  I really like the slanted blazer front and the top-stitching along the entire blazer.  



With this fabric, I found that a ball needle 80 worked so much better than a stretch needle.  I used scraps of the fabric to make capped sleeves on another project with a stretch needle and I found that the stretch needle skipped a lot of stitches.  To top-stitch, I used a small stitch width zig-zag, so that the top-stitching would have the appearance of having a straight stitch look versus a very noticeable “Z” shaped stitch.  For the seams, I zig-zagged then serged.



The skirt was very easy to sew.  The skirt front and back uses the same pattern piece and there is one pattern piece for the back and one for the front waistband.  The pattern is designed to have the zipper on the side, but I moved it to the back.  Therefore, I cut the back into two pieces and added seam allowance to insert the zipper. For the most part, I usually switch side zippers to the back, because it is easier for me to take the sides in. 


Now moving on to a little pleasure…this dress makes me feel soooo good! I love the flowy, effortless, and chic look of this dress.  


The shoulder seams poke up a bit, which I am sure can be fixed with a little more snipping of my seams on the inside and pressing.  I believe I left too much excess bulk in my seams.  It is an easy fix.  Just a matter of undo-ing a little of the top-stitching and snipping a little more seam allowance out.



I love the keyhole, gathered bust, and waist details of the bodice.  The pattern instructions advise to cut the lining for the waist in tricot, but I went ahead and lined the entire bodice with tricot instead of fabric.  In this instance, the bodice would have been too bulky using the fabric for the lining too. Besides, I was down to scrap fabric pieces anyway.  Interestingly, I re-purposed tricot that my grandmother had started making a slip out of a very long time ago.   


Now this dress has a side zipper.  As a learning lesson, I left the zipper on the side, because I was interested in learning how to construct a side zip that has lining and stops midway in the garment. Luckily, I did not need to adjust this dress at all on the side bodice, so it worked out.



Instead of using two buttons, I used one small frog closure on the back of the collar.  


Last year, I donated one of my sewing machines along with a narrow hem foot.  I could never quite grasp the hang of that foot, so I gave up on it.  However, I have a few things that I want to do where a narrow hem foot would make my projects and life so much better.  So I decided it was time to give it another try.  I picked up a new one recently, which is referred to as a rolled hem foot, and decided to try it out on this dress.  To my surprise, it worked with no issues!  One of the you-tubers that I watched pointed out that the key is keeping the fabric folded and touching a certain spot on the foot while it is rolling through it.  Sometimes little simple tips can make all the difference.  Now I can’t wait to get the narrow hemmer for chiffon, silk, and like fabrics, I have so much of that type of fabric that I can’t wait to work with!


Well off to think about what I want to do for next month’s Fabricista Fabric Mart Blog post, until then, happy sewing!

Yours truly,


Tee


Comments

  1. What a lovely combo ... FIESTA ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really love the dress! I eyed this bowtie fabric but couldn't think of what I could do with it! The skirt works really well with the blazer! Good thing you had enough fabric for it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Frougie! I think you would like working with this fabric. It's so nice and flowy. Great for a spring/summer dress, beautiful color too!

      Delete
  3. Very pretty! I really like the dark bodice with the lighter skirt. And the red shoes! Great combo!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Ann! I just love color surprises. Color is a really fun aspect to play around with!

      Delete
  4. U look incredible in both outfits. All your hard work paid off- the quality of what u made is no doubt better than what people buy in the shops. U take such beautiful pictures. ;) x x x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I am practicing more and more with each project to make them look quality made and finished! So thanks for noticing!

      Delete
  5. Love both projects and how you stilled them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love these looks. The dress flows so well. Great fabrics and creative sewing. I'm impressed. The shoes add a flair that says stunning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Michelle!!! I cannot wait to see your version! I know it's going to be spectacular!

      Delete
  7. I have my Morris blazer pattern all ready to cut out, love the mix business and pleasure and I love the mix of colors. -Michelle

    ReplyDelete
  8. I adore your makes, especially the maxi dress and the blazer. Whenever FM is showcasing black ponte with a lot of viscose/rayon in it, I buy it up. I think I have about 5 yards of the stuff now and I need to dig my (never-used) Morris pattern out. This so inspired me!!!!

    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: A Mother’s Day Gift - Making my Daughter’s Prom Dress

Happy Friday All! As a mother and sewist, I am always planning months in advance for any special occasion dress. Due to the pandemic, my daughter missed all the activities at the end of her elementary journey and I was truly heart broken. She did not have any promotional ceremony, field trips or activities for the last few months of elementary school. I made a vow to myself that in Middle School, no matter what life throws us, I would make the perfect Junior Prom dinner dance dress even if she had to twirl in it at home. When I came across this beautiful blue lycra sequins fabric, I was thrilled. My daughter Arielle and I spoke a few months ago about the perfect Grade 8 Junior Prom dinner dance dress. She found an inspirational photo on Pinterest back in December which was a one shoulder maxi dress that sparkles and she was excited about me making her special dress. At the time she wasn’t quite sure of the shade of blue she wanted but after our trip to Jamaica during Spring break, she

Made By A Fabricista: Rayon Challis Separates for Me!

This month I decided to take a minute to sew something for myself! Knowing that I was about to move house (I'm excited to be getting a nice big sewing room!), I opted to use some tried-and-true patterns that I knew would be quick and easy to sew: Jalie Michelle and Jalie Geneviève . I've really loved seeing garments made in crinkle challis lately, so I selected a solid mustard yellow crinkle challis with a plan for either pants or a skirt ( Geneviève is a skirt, but there's also a culotte option available for it), and two sateen challis prints for a top (Michelle can be made either as a top or a dress). I considered making a reversible top with both fabric prints, but upon playing with them in real life, opted for two separate tops with a facing. Given that challis tends to be a bit shifty, it's best to starch it before you begin cutting out your project. It's also best to cut it out on a large surface with a rotary cutter so the fabric doesn't get distorted.

Made by a Fabricista: YouTube Edition | Marty - Let's Make a Spring Dress

Light Cornflower Blue/Fern Green/Imperial Red/Multi 100% Rayon Floral Print Challis 54W I don't have much to say about my project this time. Other than I can't be happier with how it turned out. I think it'll make a cute romantic dress for summer but also blend into the high-fantasy wardrobe that I want to create. It'll be fun to play with and explore. Hopefully, next time my life will be a little more put together and I'll be a little less stressed. But for now, I hope you all enjoy this project as much as I do. With all the chaos included. MARTY   |  @scrappypatterns Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly! You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following category,  CHALLIS .