Made by a Fabricista: Easy Ponte Knit Pencil Skirt or Dress!

"Don't make things too complicated. Try to relax, enjoy every moment, get used to everything." Angelique Ferber

One hour or less, Ponte Knit pencil skirt or dress!

Have you ever created the perfect plans mentally, sketched it on paper and ready to start and then something happened and you lost the desire to create it? Lately, I have been uninspired to sew projects that will take more than an hour. The last 2 weeks I honestly lost my sewjo and I truly need it back to get ready for Spring/Summer.

Teaching these last few weeks have been hectic as I have been preparing the students that I teach and my children for the Mathematics end of year state exams. I have been so exhausted and the past few weekends I have only completed easy sewing projects that would take an hour or less. I am counting down the days to this year's summer break (perks of being a teacher) where I can truly travel, relax with my children and sew more. I am excited and looking forward to my first Sewcation event planned at the end of July with other sew sisters (Check out my blog here for more details or follow the page on Instagram here). Sewing in my own world has NOT been fun lately and I wish I had a sewing group to connect and meet up with at least once per month.

I really wanted to hack a few patterns and make a mommy and me look but all the plans were sidelined after having a failed peplum top using this bodice. I love this pattern especially the bodice and maxi dress views with the color blocking option. With the great fit of the bodice, I had to save it and create a bodycon dress. The bodice that I use was McCall 7121 which is so versatile and fun for color blocking.

I am thankful that I had extra fabric to work with as I do not create muslin and I tend to make adjustments directly on the pattern. This bodycon dress came out better than I imagined and with the perfect shoes in my closet, it was icing on the cake. I actually draft all my pencil skirts directly on the fabric using my tape measure, curve, and my quilter's ruler.

I love dresses that are perfect and versatile for different occassion such as an outdoor wedding, a business happy hour event or even a date, so I opted for a sleeveless look that I could rock with a jacket, kimono or totally by itself.

Fabric Mart has a variety of spring and summer colors in Ponte knit fabric here which are perfect for maxi or body con dresses, pencil skirts or a more structured or fitted look. I always grabbed a few yards when they have the great deals in a variety of colors as I truly love working with Ponte knit versus jersey knit. This summer, I plan to create more everyday garments such as jackets, pants, skirts, and dresses using more structure knit that I know I will wear more than once or twice.

Pencil skirts, tees, and tanks are my favorite to wear during Spring/Summer months and it has been a few months since I created one. Saturdays are my days for errands and a pencil skirt with converse goes a long way.

What are your sewing plans for the Spring/Summer season? Do you sew more or less during these months? Thanks for reading and don't forget to stop by the BLOG and check out the details for the Sewcation 2018 event!!

One Love!

Marica (OverdriveAfter30)

Made By A Fabricista: Workwear Ready

I'm excited for my first post in 2023! At the beginning of the year, I recently went back to working in person so now I am looking to make and wear pieces that I can wear to work. The goal is to be functional but also very fashionable since I am a fashion design professor. I saw this blue denim fabric and knew I wanted to make some pants; I just wasn’t sure what kind. I decided to make Mimi G x Simplicity S8985 View B pants. I liked the oversized flare look, I just made one slight modification to them by adding a pintuck along the front. This was easy to add since the waistline was called to be slightly gathered to fit. The fabric had a hand closer to linen and was very lightweight which was great and very satisfying to sew. I lengthened the pants by 3” and finished with a 2” hem. The top I used Simplicity S9707. It’s an oversized partial button down top. I decided to create a high low hem by combining two different views. I loved the print of the fabric but honestly as s

Made By A Fabricista: Spring into 2023 with Liberty of London!

Hi Fabricista Fans! I'm excited to be back with my first FabricMart project of 2023 and my second with Liberty of London Tana Lawn ! This fabric is so luxurious and wonderful to work with, I just can't pass it up whenever I see it come on sale! With such a high thread count, Liberty of London doesn't easily crush, and although it's 100% cotton, it's so flowy that it's perfect for billowy dresses, blouses, and skirts. With my $50 budget this month, I purchased 2 yards of Tana Lawn and made a Peony Patterns Rosemary Dress with inseam pockets for my youngest daughter. This is a gorgeous button down dress with long and short puff sleeve options. After cutting it out, I realized I had plenty leftover for a skirt for my eldest, so I whipped up the FREE Peony Patterns Apple Berry Skirt for her. Since she needed a top to go with it, I raided my stash for some additional fabric, and found a lovely eggshell Fabric Mart Rayon Lycra hidden away. (Don't worry, I still ha

Made By A Fabricista: A Denim Set for Spring

Happy Friday All! I am ecstatic to share my latest make that I had on my to make list for a while. My goal for the month of February was to sew a mini vacation capsule for a trip, but unfortunately I did not get a chance to. I was able to make 3 of the 6 pieces including this denim set. When this beautiful denim fabric arrived, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I have been wanting to recreate a linen look I made a few years ago using the Montoya coat pattern with a few adjustments. I created VIEW A without the peplum and lengthened it by 6 inches. Instead of sewing the tie inside the seam of the top like I did here, I wanted to make it separate so that it looks like a jumpsuit. (Read the blogpost here ). Moreover, my body has changed and I needed to cut a size larger so that I can rock it as an open vest or a top tucked in. I love the way it turned out but wish I had extended it by 8 inches instead of 6. For the pants, I went to my tried and true simplicity 8605 pants pattern and

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