Made by a Fabricista: Spring is for Shirtdress

I love shirt dresses! My pattern collection reflects this (I may or may not have eight shirt dress patterns) but somehow my closet does not. I have just two DIY shirt dresses (Mimi G's Katie dress and Simplicity 8546) and maybe two RTW versions. So it's high time that I added some to my wardrobe.

This polyester blouse weight twill by Milly has the perfect weight and drape for a relaxed shirt dress. If you prefer a more structured look, stick to a cotton shirting or light weight sateen. I loved this fabric and print so much that I grabbed both colorways. Unfortunately this fabric is sold out, but you can browse other shirtings and blouse weight fabrics here.

This fabric has a somewhat slinky feel, but isn't truly slippery. There's also a slight sheen without being shiny like a satin. It was easy to cut and sew, but I did get a few snags when pinning so make sure you use sharp pins and a fresh machine needle. I serged my pieces before assembling the pattern because as most twills it is also prone to fraying.

I chose to sew McCall's 8030 mainly because it's the newest shirt dress pattern in my collection. Also because it was a more relaxed style with dolman sleeves. In my opinion details like the sleeve cuff and collar would be lost due to the graphic nature of the print so I chose view B. I did change the hem because I love the shirttail hem of view A, but prefer the length of view B length. To make this modification I traced the curve of hemline the view A onto copy paper and then traced that curve to the hemline of view B.

I love sewing firsts and this is my first D ring belt! There's nothing difficult about it. It's basically constructed the same as any tie belt, but you need to interface and loop one end around two d-rings and stitch.

I am in love with the dress and so happy that I still have the yellow version to use for another project. Can't wait to end social distancing so I have somewhere to wear it too. Stay safe!

See you next month,

Tiffany of TipStitched

#stayhomeandsew

Made By A Fabricista: Back In The Saddle

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Made By A Fabricista: Simplicity 8847

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Made By A Fabricista: A Wooly Wearable Blanket.

Twirling in a me-made outfit! I live in a small town where the nearest fabric shop is a road trip away, so I almost exclusively shop for fabric online. Having access to an online shop like Fabric Mart with a solid search engine is incredibly helpful. But by far my favorite aspect of Fabric Mart is what I call the “Drape Picture” included in each listing! This picture gives me all the information I need and I find it more helpful than the exact weight per yard/square meter. Seeing how the fabric falls close or away from the body gives me a clear idea of how it will behave and inspires me to make it into something that will highlight the fabric’s nature. When I saw the drape of this “Baked Plum” wool suiting , I immediately wanted to immortalize those beautiful folds into a skirt! I opted for a simple self-drafted pleated skirt with a deep hem. I wear my dresses year-round and rely on wool skirts that I layer under or over my dresses for warmth. I cut two panels for the front ...

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