Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: Rediscovering Flannel

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, a little over an hour from Seattle. I was a teenager when grunge was king and everyone was wearing flannel. Everyone but me apparently, because I honestly cannot remember owning more than handful of flannel clothes in my lifetime.

That extends to sewing as well. I almost never sew with it except for pajamas or non-garment items. However, I was perusing the Fabric Mart website one afternoon and came upon this beautiful floral cotton flannel. My love for floral is deep and well documented, so immediately I had visions of a soft and cozy blouse that I could wear in our damp, chilly late winter and early spring.

Folks, I am a convert! Why oh why did I avoid wearing flannel for so long? This blouse is a dream! First of all, the fabric is gorgeously soft and not too heavy. Second, I can now wear my beloved florals and stay cozy even in the early days of spring when I want to feel light and cheery despite the cold weather.

I made the Carme Blouse by French designer Pauline Alice. I'm a little obsessed with pintucks at the moment so the bib on this blouse had me hooked right away. The pintucks are time consuming but so worth the effort. It also has a neat little placket and sleeve tabs for rolling up your cuffs. It's definitely designed with the rolled cuff in mind, but on the 40 degree day that I took photos I really appreciated the long sleeves.

If you're intrigued by French patterns this a great place to start. The instructions are available in French, English, and Spanish and the PDF pattern pieces can be printed on US Letter (many French patterns only print on A4 which can present a challenge to us American sewists). The instructions are a bit sparse, but luckily the designer offers a sew-along on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/PaulineGuillet/featured) that I found extremely helpful. I think it would be a great pattern for the adventurous intermediate sewist looking to expand their skill set.

I made a size 40 and the only made a few minor changes. I cut the sleeve slit binding on the bias because I find it eases in and lays a little neater. Also, made a facing for the hem since I had exactly zero desire to hem those curves. I finished it off with some seriously gorgeous vintage mother of pearl buttons that matched the green in the fabric perfectly.

Because I'm a little extra I decided to use the bit of flannel I had leftover with some pink stretch corduroy from my stash (also from Fabric Mart) to sew up a pair of Ash Jeans from Megan Neilson patterns. Now my pockets are as cozy cute on the inside as my top is on the outside. They are VERY pink pants but I think they go perfect with my blouse so I'm going with it. Bring on Spring!!

KRISHA  @buttercupthreads 


Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics in the following categories:
FLANNEL & COTTON

Comments

  1. Great match of fabric and pattern! Lovely garment.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is such a beautiful outfit. I love flannel shirts in all seasons because they are soft. In summer I can use them as covers against the sun and the rest of the year they provide something that can be layered as needed. I have never tried a blouse of flannel but it does make sense so why not?

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is such a great outfit! Your choices are beautiful. I had been looking at some of those beautiful floral flannels myself, and have also had my eye on a number of Pauline Alice patterns. Great pairings of fabric to patterns.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love both and especially the detailed blouse! Beautiful sewing! I am checking out the designer!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks so much for the great tips on the bias cut slit facing piece and the lazy faced hem. Both brilliant! Such a lovely outfit, it’s just perfect.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Revisiting a Pattern After Five Years

Have you ever used a sewing pattern and then immediately vowed never to sew it again? Well, I have. It all began in the spring of 2020 at the start of the pandemic lockdown. I tackled sewing projects that were more challenging to help me grow as a seamstress. There was one pattern in particular that almost did me in, the Seamwork Penny shirt dress. The Penny dress pattern has a classic button-up dress shirt style bodice with a gathered skirt and pockets. It is a beautiful take on a shirt dress, and my sister and I loved it. The only downside is that it was recommended for intermediate-level sewists and I was only an adventurous beginner back then.  I think I had only ever made one button-up shirt before attempting this Penny Dress and it didn’t even have a collar! Despite all of this, I thought “Why not try it, what’s the worst that can happen?”  Thankfully the worst didn’t happen, and the dress turned out surprisingly wearable, but I had some intense frustration at the end. I...

Made By A Fabricista: A Simple Frock for Spring

Hello friends! I’m really into sewing and wearing tent dresses at the moment. A tent dress is basically a wide A-line style gown. For this month’s project, I’ve opted to try out The Assembly Line’s Square Neck Dress. This style is a little avant-garde in its enormity and shape, and boasts the squared neckline it’s named after, plus some cute hem side slits.  All that volume is fun to move around in, plus there’s loads of air circulation which is cooling. This dress’s main feature–its wide and high squared neckline–really piqued my interest recently, and I added it to my Make Nine plans for 2025. I find it so satisfying to check off those boxes as I sew!  This beautiful shirtweight linen is a color I simply adore; a muted medium blue. Stormy skies, worn-in denim, and ocean waves all come to mind, and that is exactly what I want to be all wrapped up in. While I think a wild or large print would be amazingly on display in this big canvas of a dress, I also thought that a subtle ...

Made By A Fabricista: Bold Aspen Dress for Spring

 As I write this in mid-April, central New Jersey weather is showing small signs of spring. My neighbor’s daffodils are blooming and our magnolia tree is trying to unfold its vibrant magenta petals. I am in the midst of preparing my wardrobe for the warmer months, even if we are still huddling against windy 30 degree days. For me, warm weather means linen. I love breathable, floaty linen sundresses and drapey, loose linen wide-leg pants. My vision for a spring piece was something bold and bright, inspired by the natural colors of blooming flowers, but also something that could transition well between the warmer and cooler months. When I saw Fabric Godmother’s Apsen Dress, I knew that it had the sensible transitional opportunities I was looking for while also providing a blank canvas for fun prints, patterns and colors. With the pattern in mind, I then turned to the stunning linen collection that Fabric Mart always has on hand to see what colors or patterns would best suit my visio...