Made By A Fabricista: A Kimono Duster In Emerald Green

HI Fashionistas!

I am so so excited to share my latest project with you. I made a kimono duster/ topper. Something like this would have typically taken me 4 to 6 hours to make, but I promise I spent more like 20 hours on this one, working at a turtle pace, in the final two weeks of my pregnancy. Matter of fact, I finished the sash on Saturday Feb 10, and ended up going into labor that afternoon. Had I known that baby Connor for waiting on me to finish sewing, I would have wrapped up this project a lot sooner :)

Well, baby is out and he is one week old today... what a week it has been.. to think a week ago we were in the hospital. Moving on to this gorgeous Kimono... Here it is!

The kimono can be worn with or without a sash. I will probably wear it without a sash. That is more my style, but I wanted to have the sash, so I sewed that up in the solid green color.

I will show you how it looks belted as well. The kimono is unlined as you can see. Here is the back view:

This is the fabric that I used. The fabric had a solid green panel on of the selvage sides, I used that to create the belt/ sash

I used Vogue pattern number V9253, View B with the following variations:

Eliminated the center back zipper
Left the centre front open
I also had to make my skirt front and back panels slightly less flared as my fabric was not as wide as the pattern suggested.

Here are the pictures of the Kimono belted:

And this is just me being goofy... because life is too short to be serious all the time :)

Here is the back view belted..

Oh! Mom is in town visiting from India.. she gifted me these gorgeous earrings that happen to go so well with the kimono, so I wore these :)

Here are some "behind the seams" info of the garment in the making.

I always like to do a practice run of the thread/ tension/needle combo and make some samples before I take the garment to the machines. This eliminates any surprises and lets me test out the fabric.
I ended up serging the CB Seam and the side seams first, then stitched them and pressed them open. For the rest of the garment, I stitched the seams together, pressed them to one side, and the serged as one. Typically I like to press seams towards gravity, but in this case, I serged the waist seam before sewing it, and pressed the seams open, mainly to reduce bulk.

That is all I have. I am so ready to get started on the next sewing project. Not sure exactly what I am making next but I have been thinking about either an off white peplum top, somewhat structured, or a knit hi low maxi dress. I will be looking for some sewing inspiration before I commit to the next project. I hope you all are well. Once my baby is a bit older, I will sew for him and I am sure he will make his debut here on the Fabricista Blog!

XOXO- Vatsla from Fashion Behind The Seams

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Made By A Fabricista: Closing 2025 with a Lined Jacket

Hello again, sewing friends! It seems we have arrived yet again in the grandest season for layering, all this oncoming cold weather. I like ending the year with something warm and very useful. Seems based on my past Fabricista posts, I love to sew year-end outerwear, and this round is no different! I challenged myself with a new lined coat (wait, jacket? Coat? I feel like the presence of wool changes things?). Anyhoo, since the lovely Chalk & Notch Den Jacket has been in my queue, I proceeded ahead. I like the large pockets, the option to line or not, and the extra bodice and sleeve seams for topstitching. Sewing this coat is not at all difficult, but the many pieces and loads of topstitching will take a bit of time. My version took me a few multiple-hour sessions to complete. I sewed a size 2, which matches my measurements, and I made no alterations. Hint: for a quick size test, just employ the lining pieces. Gorgeous, muted blue as a soft wool flannel ? This is ...

Made By A Fabricista: Chalk and Notch Wren Dress: My Buffet dress for the Christmas season!

I recently sewed the Chalk and Notch Wren dress using a beautifully soft black voile from Fabric Mart, and it turned into such a satisfying, enjoyable project. The pattern itself is very easy to understand and straightforward with clear instructions, intuitive construction, and a relaxed fit that makes the sewing process easy. A buffet dress in the sewing community is a dress that is loose fitting, so you can eat at the buffet without your dress being uncomfortable afterwards, lol! Because the voile I chose is extremely thin and transparent, I opted to line the bodice and first tier. Adding a lining not only provided modesty but also gave the delicate fabric a bit more stability, especially around the neckline and button placket. A helpful tip when sewing a lining into a lightweight bodice is to treat the lining and the main fabric as one. I sewed the bodice as you would for a lined bodice, and the first tier I sewed the pieces together with a basting stitch to make the process...

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