Made by a Fabricista: A Love Affair with Leopard Print and Black

Happy Saturday ALL!!

Hope you are all READY for HOLIDAYS! I am super excited as I am on break for 2 weeks and can't wait to finish up a few sewing projects before 2017 is over. For the holidays this year, I opted and plan to make garments that can be worn year round, creating staple pieces in my closet rather than focusing on seasonal items or prints. I have always wanted to create a leopard print cardigan or sweater and when I came across this beautiful print on sale, I had to grab it.

I love any animal print which is less of a trend and is more of a classic print. I have always grabbed anything in cheetah or leopard print that catches my eyes. My favorite sweater in cheetah print has been worn so many times the last 4 years and is now in a dump pile. When I found this print, I knew it was perfect to replace the sweater that I loved so much.

I wanted to mix the print with the black ponte knit and add my own twist to it. I opted to use the print only in the front and on the cuffs.

I wanted to create a wearable muslin and a simple view from one of McCall Winter Holiday collection pattern M7688 (here) and wore it over my little black dress. I created view A without the pocket as I wanted the remaining black ponte knit to create the dress below.

Can you believe for the last 3 years of sewing, I have never made a black dress?

I have been looking for a thick ponte knit fabric for the last 2 months and came across this great find on sale for 50% with a pre-cut cardigan kit (here). I was so happy to grab the last kit with almost 3 yards. Based on the amount left over from my sweater, I knew it was just enough to create a little black dress without sleeves so instead, I used some black polyester sheer lace from my stash to jazz it up. Fabric Mart has a similar lace available in stock. (here)

The pattern that I hacked is Mimi G's - Georgia knit long sleeve turtle neck top pattern (here). I decided to create a midi dress instead of the top and omitted the ruffles from the sleeves.

This dress is so perfect for a NEW YEAR'S EVE party!

I am totally in love with my first lace sleeve dress and plan to add my own flare to future sewing projects and take more fashion risk with commercial and self drafted patterns. I can't wait to cut into some amazing fabric the next 2 weeks while I am off. I am super excited about 2018 and plan to step out of my comfort zone and sew more often than I did in 2017.

Thanks for stopping!

Happy Holidays and Cheers to the New Year!

Overdrive After 30!

Made By A Fabricista: A Mother's Day Treat

Hello everyone! I am so excited to be back for my second blog !!! Every Mother’s Day I treat myself to a new dress (ok… shoes, too!) and my husband treats me to brunch. For inspiration this year, I watched several runway shows online. I liked the comfortable laid-back look, but not the Little House on the Prairie or tiered styles. I was attracted to the floaty, loose fitting maxi-length tent dresses with big sleeves; they reminded me of the 1980s. The silk dresses I liked cost thousands; the discounted ones were priced over $500. No way was I going to pay that much for a dress, especially when I can sew it for less! Besides, the colors were not for me. I decided to make a similar dress; Vogue V1699 maxi was the right silhouette. I searched the Fabric Mart website for several days until one day, THE fabric came at me - a silk and lycra stretch Charmeuse in geometric print of black, white, and pale yellow! The colors were energizing, bright, and happy. It had been awhile since I

Made by a Fabricista: A Fruity Spring Dress

After a year in yoga pants and sweatshirts all I want to sew are dresses. Big, over the top, wonderfully floaty dresses. I loved this fruity chiffon border print from the moment I saw it and knew it had to become one such dress. Much like florals, I absolutely adore fruit prints on fabric, so to find a fabric with both was a real treat. Chiffon is one of those fabrics a lot of sewists seem to be afraid of, and I don't blame them, it can be very tricky to work with. However, I strongly believe in doing difficult things, because the end is so worth it and you have the chance to learn new things along the way. I've only sewn with chiffon a couple times before so I decided to go with a pattern that didn't have any tricky closures and or require a lot of careful fitting. I ended up settling on Simplicity 8872, view A – a maxi length pullover dress with a tiered skirt and cap sleeves. I started with a small bust adjustment (SBA). I do this with nearly every pattern because I tend

Made by a Fabricista: Living in Linen

As the warmer weather approaches linen is probably one of my favorite fabrics that I feel often gets overlooked. It drapes well, it’s cool and comfortable and you can make almost anything out of it. For this feature I used 4 yards of designer linen to create a vintage inspired look. I had an image of a vintage Butterick pattern from the 60’s that I had saved on my Pinterest board. I love the versatility and easiness of the style. Since I did not have access to the pattern, I used similar patterns from my stash along with my own pattern drafting to replicate the style. In the end I created 4 pieces total allowing for interchangeable looks. To create the skirt I used McCall’s pattern 7981 which is almost I identical to the on featured on the vintage pattern. The shorts pattern was McCall’s 7962. They are perfect to wear underneath the skirt for a layered look or by themselves. The bralette was self-drafted, I took my basic bodice sloper and moved the dart to create a center fron

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