Made by a Fabricista: The Classic Erica Dress

Happy Saturday Loves! I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday and a great start to the New Year! I really did NOT do any sewing as planned during the last week of 2019 and this first week of 2020. I pretty much spent the break relaxing, sleeping and working with my Cricut machine. Honestly, I did NOT feel guilty as I sewed more than 52 items in 2019. I could NOT believe how many items I made after I tallied up the garments. 2020 will be a slow sew year as I am focusing on more crafting and building specific sewing skills such as couture design and coat making.

My first make of 2020 is "The Erica Dress," an indie pattern collaboration with Erica Bunker and Style Sew Me Patterns.

When the pattern was released, I knew it was a must make as I fell in love with the open back, the sleeves, and the side slit. I requested this beautiful designer Boysenberry Rayon/Nylon/Lycra Ponte knit the minute it was posted on Fabric Mart. If you know me personally, the knit I mostly sew with for my Fabric Mart makes is PONTE knit.

I just love the fact that Fabric Mart designer Ponte knit has great recovery and stability. I have sewn with Ponte knit quite a few times in 2019 (here, here and here). Unfortunately, this color fabric is sold out, however, any medium weight knit or Ponte knit will work for this pattern.

My favorite blend, of course, is the rayon lycra nylon blend ponte knit as it is a little bit more structured than a polyester blend. The viscose blend is also great for cardigans as it drapes beautifully and falls between the rayon and lycra.

Based on my curves and a more fitted look from the waist to below the hips, I graded between several sizes from the small bust to the medium waist and the large hips. I also wanted it to be longer so I decided to cut the XXL length. The look I was going for was for it to be shorter than a MAXI and longer than a MIDI dress.

The dress is shortened by folding over the waist area!

I opted to size down for specifics reasons to see if this pattern could give a fitted look from the hip down to the thigh area to see how it would drape if hacked into a maxi. To create a shorter dress, I folded over the midsection, for a cute flirty look.

Here are a few tips when grading between multiple sizes from my own failures and personal experience:

Grade at the same place for all pattern pieces (front and back pictured here).
If grading between multiple sizes eg. small to a large, grade from the small to the medium and them to the large.
If grading between 2 or more sizes, try grading with a meter stick first then a curve ruler especially for long skirts and pants.

I definitely see a few hack possibilities with this pattern and have already cut my first one which is a top for Valentine's day with some PINK Ponte knit. I shortened the sleeves to fit above the elbow and reduced the neckband by 3 inches. In addition, I will be using 2 buttons on the back of the neckband for closure. I am so happy that Erica Bunker did a YouTube video sew-along of the pattern and top hack which definitely helped as I am a visual person.

I am back in the swing of things and will be making a few cardigans over the weekend. Thank you so much for reading and don't forget to stop by my Instagram page to watch my IGTV video saved on the grid with an up-close look of the dress. What are you working on this weekend? Do you have any specific sewing goals for 2020?

One Love,
Marica - Overdriveafter30

Made by a Fabricista: A Wardrobe Staple for Spring - A Denim Coat

Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Sharon with Sharon Sews with my latest Fabricista make – a denim coat for spring. Denim is a wardrobe staple for many of us, and even more so this year with denim on denim looks coming back in style. The denim I used is a medium weight cotton/lycra blend with about a 20% stretch selvage to selvage. Fabric Mart always does an amazing job photographing and describing their fabrics, yet I still gasped in delight when I opened the package containing my denim. It was even better than I had anticipated. This fabric would have worked well for a traditional denim jacket – one with button front closure, chest pockets with flaps, and a collar. However, I have wanted to sew this open front coat with kimono inspired sleeves and big patch pockets since February 2021. I saw it in that month’s BurdaStyle Magazine, bookmarked the page, and promptly forgot about the coat. It’s coat #105 if you’re interested in sewing one for yourself. Fortunately, I went on an organ

Made by a Fabricista: Revving up your style in the Dana Marie Moto Jacket

Hey friends - I am so excited to have been invited to participate as a Fabric Mart Fabricista this month! This year is the year I challenge my sewing skills. I have wanted a moto jacket for some time. Not just any moto jacket but one that has a classic and timeless style. I saw the Dana Marie Moto Jacket pattern on the Fabric Mart website and knew that was the one. The fabric I used was a beautiful porcelain white/black/silver 100% polyester plaid weave boucle suiting. Remember when I said I wanted to challenge my sewing skills? 😉 This fabric was beautiful but fragile to work with. It was a great mental challenge that had me problem solving before sewing to avoid any potential problems. I first traced out the pattern onto tissue paper to determine the fit. I used scrap cotton fabric to sew up a “practice run” of the jacket. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily the jacket comes together. I sewed up the muslin in one evening. It was time to cut into the beautifu

Made By A Fabricista: My Version of the Infamous DVF Wrap Dress

Just in case you are not aware, the iconic Diane Fustenberg wrap dress has turned 50 this year. In celebration, Vogue has re-released the DVF Wrap Dress pattern, which now comes in extended sizes. This dress is so classic and fits many different body types. I got a hold of this pattern and decided this would be my birthday dress this year. This pattern is categorized as a Very Easy Vogue pattern, and I would have to agree with that. Wrap dresses are usually relatively simple to put together since there aren’t that many pattern pieces to sew together. I made View A in a size 22 and the only modification I made was to shorten the hem by 6 inches. I will say that since I used a Ponte Knit , I could have gone down to a size 20. I didn’t read the fabric suggestions before picking my fabric. I’ve always remembered seeing the DVF Wrap dress in knits. After reviewing the fabric suggestions, they do say that you can use soft fabrics, like a Challis or a Chambray. As I mentioned, I’ve alwa

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