Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: Spring Has Sprung

Spring is finally here! Yay! Have you had a chance to smell the fresh blooming flowers yet? I encourage you to go outside and see, feel, and touch the beautiful blooming flowers, if you live in an area where you can do so.I find this to be calming, and I feel inspired to get back into my sewing room and make pretty garments. 

Hello friends! My name is Tea and this is my first post as a Fabric Mart Fabricista. Today I’ll be sharing my recent experience sewing the Lenox Shirtdress by Cashmerette that I made with this gorgeous Silk Cotton purple fabric that was sponsored by Fabric Mart. 

Fabric Choice

I chose this beautiful purple fabric because it is perfect for spring time, and it reminds me of lavender fields, which I love!  Also, I am a huge fan of cotton apparel fabrics. So when I saw this beautiful fabric on the Fabric Mart website I was instantly taken by surprise, and immediately thought of making a shirtdress. This fabric is a 55” wide medium weight non-stretch woven with a soft hand and a silky finish. I ordered 3.5 yards of this fabric as the Cashmerette Lenox Shirtdress pattern calls for approximately 3.25 yards to complete.

This fabric was fun to work with because it sewed up well and was easy to manage. However, I would recommend using a serger as this fabric frays quite a bit. In addition, this fabric is dry clean only; therefore, pay special attention to care instructions to maintain the longevity of your garment. 

Although this particular fabric is no longer available on the site, you can purchase similar fabrics that are silk cottons in different colors. Currently, there are four colors of this silk cotton fabric available on the website – Deep Hot Pink, Electric Blue, and Muted Mocha

Dress Pattern

I selected the Lenox Shirtdress for this project  because it accommodates the fabric and the style of this pattern reminds me of a spring shirtdress. This pattern consists of two views of a button front  V-neck dress with pockets, midriff, collar, cup sizes, and  princess seams. This is the ultimate shirtdress. The pattern also calls for light to medium weight fabrics such as rayon, voile, lawn, and chambray. This purple silk cotton fabric from Fabric Mart was a perfect match. 

I used 13 buttons that are 5/8”, and I made the short sleeve pleated version of the dress; this dress has 6 pleats in the front and 6 pleats in the back of the dress. The length of the dress is perfectly designed for spring because it is a knee length dress. 

I styled this dress with a pair of red kitten heels and a red lace camisole, although the camisole is barely noticeable in my pictures it makes for an excellent detail. I love the red and purple combo; it’s one of my favorite color combinations. 

Recommendations & Care Instructions

You may notice that my dress have a few wrinkles. Cotton fabrics are prone to wrinkling, and since this fabric is dry clean only you don’t want to press this fabric too much. I recommend using a low heat silk setting and a pressing cloth to reduce wrinkles, and press the fabric or garment while slightly damp. In addition, I would use a needle designed for light to medium weight woven fabrics such as a 70/10 or 8/10 needle. If you must, use a Woollite solution and wash the fabric on a delicate setting or hand wash, and air dry. 


This was a wonderful experience; I loved working with the fabric and the pattern. I think the two compliments one another beautifully, and I’m hoping to get much wear out of this garment. Thank you for stopping by and reading my first blog post as a Fabricista! I look forward to hearing what you think about my finished garment.

Best regards, 

TEAMEAKA @crumpetsteaandsewing


Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following categories: SILK & COTTON.
You can also shop our entire collection of Cashmerette Patterns HERE.

Comments

  1. Great dress! It’s a lovely color on you and that top stitching is gorgeous

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beautiful dress! Tea could you tell us some more about the pattern. Did it require a lot of fitting adjustments? Did you find the full bust options accurate? Was the waistline at an accurate length for a full bust?
      It looks great on you. Just wondering if you had to basically make a LOT of adjustments.

      Delete
    2. Hi Farm Girl! Thank you so much for your interest in my thoughts and review! Yes! I can tell you more. Firstly, it didn’t not require a lot of fitting adjustments. Although, that is subjective and depend on what you consider a lot. Cashmerette patterns are designed beautifully and I rarely make many adjustments. For this pattern I chose a size 12, which is approx. Bust 42”, waist 33”, Hip 71”. This pattern has cup sizes C-H which shape the bust and decrease issues with fit. I wouldn’t say the full bust options are 100% accurate; however, it’s very close. At least for the size I selected. I had to pinch out excess fabric on the side front under the breast, however. This may be due to the way my body dramatically drop in size from the bust to the waist though. I found the waistline to be accurate and didn’t make any adjustments there, and I’m short waisted. So that was a surprise because the pattern is drafted for 5’6” women. I hope I answered all of your questions and concerns. Please feel free to respond if you have more questions. Thank you so much for supporting me!

      Delete
  2. What a beautiful dress!! I love red and purple too. 💜 Great job, thank you so much for the details

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I'm excited to know you enjoyed the post.

      Delete
  3. This may be one of my favorite Fabricista makes of the year! Your top stitching and buttonholes are amazing, wonderful skills.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh wow! Thank you for the compliment Pat! Those are inspiring and uplifting words. 😁

      Delete
  4. Just beautiful and perfect for spring Tea. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you E.P. I appreciate you stop by and reading my post! Blessings!

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. Thank you Barbara! I appreciate your comment!

      Delete
  6. Love your attention to detail with this pattern. This is a gorgeous shade of purple on you. I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. You look amazing in this dress and your sewing is so beautiful- wear it proudly!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful details. I take the risk of washing my dry clean only fabrics before cutting and sewing them in order to avoid dry cleaning. I have hand washed silk blouses labeled dry clean only my whole life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are some fabrics I take the risk with! Some I do not! However, I always tell beginners and novelists to avoid washing such fabrics. I have on numerous occasions washed dry clean only fabrics though.

      Delete
  9. Great job. Your stitching is so straight. I can only hope to get that good. Really cute style on you - prefect spring color.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! 😊 you're compliments inspire me.

      Delete
  10. This is beautiful Tea :-) I agree the topstitching and buttonholes are perfect :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Beautiful dress and very professional looking details in the construction. This dress looks fabulous on you.

    ReplyDelete
  12. very lovely dress and so well sewn. the topstitching and the buttonholes are perfection.
    i too like the purple and red together. it makes a striking contrast that looks so nice on
    you. congrats on a job well done.

    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: Workwear Ready

I'm excited for my first post in 2023! At the beginning of the year, I recently went back to working in person so now I am looking to make and wear pieces that I can wear to work.  The goal is to be functional but also very fashionable since I am a fashion design professor. I saw this blue denim fabric and knew I wanted to make some pants; I just wasn’t sure what kind.  I decided to make Mimi G x Simplicity S8985 View B pants.  I liked the oversized flare look, I just made one slight modification to them by adding a pintuck along the front.  This was easy to add since the waistline was called to be slightly gathered to fit.  The fabric had a hand closer to linen and was very lightweight which was great and very satisfying to sew.  I lengthened the pants by 3” and finished with a 2” hem. The top I used Simplicity S9707.  It’s an oversized partial button down top.  I decided to create a high low hem by combining two different views.   I loved the print of the fabric but honestly as s

Made By A Fabricista: Spring into 2023 with Liberty of London!

Hi Fabricista Fans! I'm excited to be back with my first FabricMart project of 2023 and my second with Liberty of London Tana Lawn ! This fabric is so luxurious and wonderful to work with, I just can't pass it up whenever I see it come on sale! With such a high thread count, Liberty of London doesn't easily crush, and although it's 100% cotton, it's so flowy that it's perfect for billowy dresses, blouses, and skirts. With my $50 budget this month, I purchased 2 yards of Tana Lawn and made a Peony Patterns Rosemary Dress with inseam pockets for my youngest daughter. This is a gorgeous button down dress with long and short puff sleeve options. After cutting it out, I realized I had plenty leftover for a skirt for my eldest, so I whipped up the FREE Peony Patterns Apple Berry Skirt for her. Since she needed a top to go with it, I raided my stash for some additional fabric, and found a lovely eggshell Fabric Mart Rayon Lycra hidden away. (Don't worry, I still ha

Made By A Fabricista: A Denim Set for Spring

Happy Friday All! I am ecstatic to share my latest make that I had on my to make list for a while.  My goal for the month of February was to sew a mini vacation capsule for a trip, but unfortunately I did not get a chance to. I was able to make 3 of the 6 pieces including this denim set. When this beautiful denim fabric arrived, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I have been wanting to recreate a linen look I made a few years ago using the Montoya coat pattern with a few adjustments.  I created VIEW A without the peplum and lengthened it by 6 inches. Instead of sewing the tie inside the seam of the top like I did here, I wanted to make it separate so that it looks like a jumpsuit. (Read the blogpost here ). Moreover, my body has changed and I needed to cut a size larger so that I can rock it as an open vest or a top tucked in. I love the way it turned out but wish I had extended it by 8 inches instead of 6. For the pants, I went to my tried and true simplicity 8605 pants pattern and