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

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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.