Made by a Fabricista: A DIY Summer Dress in Polka-Dot and Flowers.

[Dress was made for and modeled by my daughter Mori]

Summer is here, kinda...... over here in PA the weather gets warm then cool, then rain then warmer, then cool. When it comes in full swing Mori will be prepared with all the dresses I've sewn this week. For this DIY dress I used Butterick pattern 6453 will be a summer staple for sure. It's sew cute and sew easy to make. I made three different versions of this dress and the other two are posted on my blog, so stop by and check those out.

The pattern is pretty straight forward no issues and the possibilities of hacking this pattern are endless. The pattern does not call for an invisible zipper, just a regular install. I used a peach color zipper which will give some peek-a-boo color action in the back. I think an exposed zipper would work magic back there with a simple print or solid. I may try that if I make another dress from this pattern.

I purchased this sateen border print when I visited the retail store last year and I bought two panels to make a midi skirt. I never got around to it so it was a perfect choice for this dress. Now the question was what fabric do I use for the top of the dress, no solids in sight, so a polka-dot print it was. Fabric Mart doesn't have any border prints in stock right now, but check back periodically. I think any floral print would make a fabulous dress.

For those of you who know about the sewing magazine I am publishing, I wanted to let you know it's coming along and the Go-Fund-Me is still open for a few more weeks. If you wanted to donate there is still time, just click the picture. All donations big or small are appreciated.

That's all for now folks!

Michelle @ That Black Chic

Made By A Fabricista: Embracing Winter in Wool Boucle

As winter drags on, the cold weather is such a bummer to me and feeling uncomfortable and cold so often is rough. Meanwhile, I listened to a podcast all about how people in very northern countries deal better with the onset of dark, freezing winter with a radically different mindset of embracing the inevitable season by reframing the chill as refreshing and the opportunity to spend most time indoors as cozy. I can do that! I found a gorgeous, quintessential wool boucle suiting in black and white to make myself a luxurious outer layer while I’m outside attempting to embrace the sting of dry winter air… It’s kind of working. So classic, so chic! Wearing boucle is always an uptown move and I certainly do feel sophisticated in it. This black and white houndstooth combination feels especially Old Hollywood, and what a treat to make something with this! I sewed the Daphne Jacket from Vivian Shao Chen. There are no closures, and the shape is boxy and very easy to wear over multipl...

Made By A Fabricista: Valentine’s Day Cozy Lounge Set

What comes first: the pattern or the fabric? How do you make your sewing plans? Throughout the month of January, my social media feeds were flooded by fabulous sewists sharing sewing resolutions and goals, and designing thoughtful plans for their 2025 makes. While I am a big planner in my day-to-day life, when it comes to my creative hobby, I am much more spontaneous. I find that fabric design and texture often inspires me most so I typically look for fabulous prints or bold colors and let the fabric tell me what it wants to become. As I turned my attention to my first-ever (!) Fabricista make, I wanted something to get my creative juices flowing. One evening, Fabric Mart shared an Instagram story that highlighted their Dusty Mauve Sweatshirt Fleece . It had a nice stretch, was fleece-backed, and was a muted baby pink that spoke to me. It was soft and feminine, perfect for a cozy day or night by the fire. I immediately knew I wanted to make a cute pair of sweatpants for a fun Vale...

Made By A Fabricista: Sewing + Running

It’s not every day that I get to mix two of my favorite hobbies. Especially when one hobby is sewing and the other is running. You can’t sew and run at the same time, but, you can go running in something that you sewed! With this realization, I embarked on my first hobby-merging adventure. We’ve had some frigid temperatures in Pennsylvania this winter. Since I’m an outside, stroller-pushing runner, I bundle up my son and myself before I hit the road. The temperature feels 20 degrees warmer for outside runners than the outside air. For the children being pushed in the stroller though, it feels about 20 degrees colder. With these differences in temperature for each of us, layering is the only thing that ensures that we both stay perfectly warm. My running wardrobe has been lacking a warm top layer. My son’s wardrobe would also benefit from having another warm layer, so I knew pullovers were what I should make. Inspired by a name-brand ¼ button-down fleece pullover I saw,...

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