Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Hello Fabric Mart friends! So nice to say hey again!  Just want to take this opportunity to wish my awesome, sweet and amazing firstborn a Happy 5th Birthday this week.  It's hard to believe he's already FIVE! Like many folks I've been spending a lot of time at home this Summer, which has translated into lots of sewing.  I've often had a thoughts about sewing for the upcoming season to get maximum wear out of garments, but often seem to be playing catch up for the current season.  But not this time:  here are my first transitional pieces for Autumn, entirely inspired by the wonderful sweater knits I kept spying at Fabric Mart. First up is the cardigan:  Helen's Closet Blackwood Cardigan This is the third Blackwood I've made, but the first of the shorter iteration (view B).  It makes me want to sew up a 3/4 sleeve cropped version! The fabric is a delightfully mottled abstract blot poly/lycra sweater knit.  Unfortunately, it's so

Everyone meet Dee & Dory, also known on their YouTube channel as the Design Dreamers. These two wonderful ladies are our newest Fabricistas! Dee & Dory will be sharing their makes on their YouTube channel & we will be sharing them with you here as well. Before we get to watching their first make, we thought we would share a quick Q&A... 1.) Tell us a little bit about yourselves... Dee - I retired after 35 years of being an RN.  My faith is very important to me and takes first place in my life.  I was raised on a small farm and loved it.  I feel no matter what a persons age is there’s a lot of life to live.  I’m married and have 2 sons. I have only one sibling, my sister, who is very important to me. Dory - I’m 64 years old and retired from the Michigan Department of Transportation. I’m married with no children.  My husband and I served 3 years as missionaries in Eastern Europe, where I learned the Latvian language. I love traveling and have been in over 12 diffe

I've been wanting to make something with the exclusive chambray linen since Fabric Mart introduced it. Having used and loved the  designer quality linen ( here , here and here ) I knew this new line would also be amazing. I mean chambray and linen are two of my favorite fabrics, combine the look of one with the feel of the other and you can't go wrong. This fabric is available in 23 colors so you'll find one just right for you. It was extremely difficult to pick just one, but I selected this carolina blue  because it gives the look of a classic denim chambray. There isn't much of this color in stock right now, however it will be restocked soon. Fabric Mart describes it as a lightweight,100% linen fabric with a chambray look with most colors being yarn-dyed with a color and white. They suggest that it is best for a shirt, skirt or dress and warn that a lining may be required for some garments. It worked pretty well for this jumpsuit, but I can un

Hi there sewing friends! What a doozy of a year this has been...and the wild thing is, we are all going through this together. We are all in the midst of challenging times, all mourning changes that are out of our control, all wishing for happier days with more equality and more unity and more love! Sewing has been a sweet reflecting time for me, where I can unplug from the worries around me and just think in quiet solitude! How have you been handling the ever changing world that is throwing curve balls your way? Well this month's sewing projects led me to comfort...ha, comfortable clothes that is! I sewed two projects this past month, one for myself and one for my sweet teen. Let me show you her comfortable new sew first! I sewed the Hey June Handmade Brunswick Pullover in 100% cotton french terry. Nothing says comfort like french terry! French terry is usually one of the first fabrics I search for when I'm shopping for fabric online. It's rare to find go

Happy Saturday All!!   This summer break seems to be flying by so quickly and I only have one month before I return to virtual teaching.  After parent surveys, union, and school board meetings our school district is returning to virtual teaching and learning next month.  The cases in Miami Dade County have surged over the last few weeks and with over 70K cases in the county where I teach, and a growing 300K + cases in Florida, I don’t even know when things will return back to normal due to COVID-19. I have been heartbroken but the only thing I can appeal to others is to stay safe and wear your mask. I am blessed so far to have no immediate family member affected by this pandemic. It has been a tough year for most of us but I am pretty sure that this too shall pass. Now let’s get into my summer sewing plans!!  Last month I selected 2 prints: a zebra chevron and an animal print and knew I wanted to make maxi looks for summer. Unfortunately, both challis prints are sold o

Hello Sewing Friends!  I hope all of you are safe, healthy, and feeling good about life in general.  These are crazy times we are living in!   As I was debating what to make for my July blog post, I ran across a few garments made from lightweight sweater knits and decided to look through FMs selection.  I found this gorgeous black, white, and gray floral that I made my dress out of.   It appears to be sold out right now, but here are some other great choices. Sweater knits   I like checking on FMs site on a frequent basis as their selection is updated often.  I always seem to have my eyes closed in at least one photo! For this post, however, I knew I wanted a summer, yet trans-seasonal garment since this fabric is just so lovely, soft, and I am such a sucker for floral prints that I wanted to wear this as much as possible.  Do you ever come across fabric and feel the same way?     I didn't have to do anything special or out of the ordinary with this

Hello again and happy July!  In April, I started sewing a work wardrobe in red and black, and I decided to expand that work wardrobe to include blue and white.  I just love the combination of blue and white especially in the summer!  For my work wardrobe, I want fabrics that do not wrinkle easily, can be laundered, and can mix and match with other fabrics.   I ordered several coordinating fabrics- a white ponte , a blue chiffon print , a blue geometric crepe de chine, and a blue double weave suiting .  Most of these are still available as I write this, but are in the 60-70% off categories, so if you like any, I would order soon! Have you ever used a Burda Style pattern magazine?  I used to always subscribe the Burda Plus magazine which is for larger sizes, but they stopped making it in English and I stopped my subscription.  I missed it so much, that I took a chance and ordered it in French directly from France on burdastyle.fr .  It wasn't expensive- about $15 total inclu