Made by a Fabricista: Sewing and Skating

Along with many people it seems, I've picked up roller skating during this time of social distancing and staying at home. A girl can never have to many hobbies, right? Like many other 80s babies I spent a ton of time at the rink as a kid and had some roller blades in the 90s. I even worked for a little while as a Sonic carhop and skated orders out to customers. During college I borrowed a friends rollerblades and bladed around campus. I always really loved skating so when the gyms were closed and I wanted an activity that would get me moving and outdoors I figured why not skate? It's so much more fun that just walking and I HATE running.

Well the next step was definitely to blend my two hobbies and since controlling a foot pedal in skates doesn't seem practical, skating in me made outfits was the obvious way to go. I knew I wanted a cute pair of retro shorts and a matching top.

I chose this black and white interlock fabric to make the set. The black has sold out, but green and white are available here. Interlock is a weird knit to me. It's medium weight like a ponte, but without the recovery. I felt like this style of retro gym shorts are typically made with interlock, but if I had to make it again I'd go with a ponte instead.

For the top I used the recently released Studio Calicot Liv tank. This is a great staple racerback tank! It used just under a yard of fabric, even for the largest size, making it a great scrap buster. I opted to add the white neck and armbands for the retro contrast. This is really a quick satisfying sew. So many options! I could see this extended into a dress.

It's really all about the shorts! I used Purl Soho City Shorts pattern because they have the exact retro shorts look I wanted. These shorts were designed to be sewn out of a woven, but because this knit doesn't have a great amount of stretch I was able to achieve a good fit by going a size down. Bias tape is called for for the trim along the hem of the shorts, but since I used a knit fabric simply cut 2" strips by the width of the fabric. To attach the trim I sew the strips to the hem using a 1/2" seam allowance then folded the strip over to enclose the raw edge and to the wrong side of the fabric and topstitched it in place

I love how this short set coordinates with my skates!

Have you taken up any new hobbies in the last few months?

Tiffany

TipStitched

Made By A Fabricista: Speaking My Truth

Happy Saturday All! In these unsettling times, I hug my children a little tighter, spend quality time embracing them, and cherish every moment even more. This pandemic has allowed me to appreciate deep conversations about racial injustice, police brutality, and their feelings about growing up black . My daughter Arielle, a happy go lucky child, shuns away as she is always being questioned about her race and which box she checks off on an application. She hates the fact that she is consistently asked by her peers and teachers at school if she is biracial, Hispanic, or Black . She has often times questioned her own identity, yet she gladly responds to anyone who asks, “ I am black and I am a part of the human race ”. My son despises the news media (especially social media) and doesn't watch it at all. The death of his older brother and guns triggers a fear that we pray he overcomes. Over the past few weeks, I have read some of the most unreal remarks and comments about "

Made by a Fabricista: A Work Wardrobe with a $50 Fabric Budget

Can you save money by sewing your own clothes? Well, that all depends on a lot of factors! I decided to challenge myself to make a new Spring work wardrobe with a $50 budget for fabric. I know, I know- that doesn't include your patterns, notions and miscellaneous things like interfacing and lining. For me, those are already sunk costs, because I already have them. By ordering during one of Fabric Mart's $2/$3/$4 sales, I was able to make 8 items- 2 pants, 1 skirt, 1 dress, and 3 tops. Here's my exact order: This took me about 6 weeks once I started. I usually sew after dinner for about an hour or two every day. It's my relaxation time. I dove right in the deep end with the jacket first. I absolutely love this fabric! It is so bright and cheery. I made the jacket with Vogue 2957, an out of print Anne Klein designer pattern. The fabric is a Milly Cady suiting which I found challenging to work with. It feels delightful, but it is tough as nails.

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