Made By A Fabricista: Red Ikat Dress

Hello, everyone! I am back! Today I want to share my latest project that I am super excited about! I have so much that I want to share! Are y'all ready?

This dress was love at first sight, again! The Sofia Dress! I have wanted to own a garment with shirring for a while. When I saw the Sofia Dress, I had to have it. It's not just because of the shirring but also because it has a lovely square neckline and beautiful puff sleeves. Even the sleeves have shirring! I was sold! Because of these lovely details, I thought that this would be a big project for me to jump right in (at least in my head at the time, Lol), so I decided to take baby steps.

First, I wanted to be familiar with shirring, so I made two tops, #M7901 and Mimi woven top from Style Arc. Please refer to my blog or IG for more details and pictures. I think they came out nicely. Because of these tops, I became very comfortable making shirring. And then I made a Sofia top with a wearable muslin.

The Sofia Dress has sleeve options, and I like them all! I like patterns that have options that allow me to wear the item for multiple seasons, wouldn't you? I think it's very well thought out. I found a YouTube tutorial by Kristiann, the designer of the pattern. I was so impressed with her tutorial. From my perspective, there wasn't anything she didn't tell us on how to work with shirring. I really enjoyed watching her complete guide on YouTube.

Now, I want to talk about the fabric. Normally, I know exactly what type of fabric I want to use for a project. But this time, it took a while to find the fabric that I wanted. Now that I think about it, my heart was set for a certain type of fabric and color.

But just wait, Fabric Mart keeps having a variety of fabric selections! This fabric, Rayon Crinkle Challis is gorgeous! It drapes beautifully. I love how it flows when I move. It moves with my body!

By the way, have you ever tried their matching thread?

As I was making shirring, I was saying, "Wow! Look at this color of thread! It's the perfect match!" The button for "Add Matching thread" on your cart appears after putting the fabric in your cart. I hope you will give it a try!

While I was searching for the fabric, I decided to play with my new skill that I learned that I am super excited about! This was inspired by Tipstitched a while ago, but I could not figure it out at the time. But I do now with my own twist! I used some of the fabric from Fabric Mart and created inspiration images with the line drawings of the Sofia Pattern in Adobe Illustrator. What do you think?

The scale of the fabric is not accurate, but for me, this is way better than trying to figure it out in my head. I am a visual person. I can understand things better if I see them.

Oh, by the way, I have a question for those of you who have sewn crinkle fabric. I noticed this fabric grew after I cut it. How do I prevent that next time? I have read that fuse interfacing to the horizontal seams before doing anything else AFTER I made the dress, LOL.Would you please share if anyone has tried this method? The area that I saw it grow was on the sleeves and seams on the skirt. I left the sleeves as is, but they have three shirring rows. For me, it's not noticeable. For the skirt, I let it hang on my dress form overnight and trimmed it after I measured with a chalk hem marker.

This pattern is made for the height 5' 7", so I needed to shorten 6" since I am 5' 1". My usual adjustment I do for most of patterns is to shorten 1" from the bodice, another 1" from the sleeves, and then shorten it to my liking. However, when I made the wearable muslin, it came out too short for me. So, I added 1" back in for this dress. For the skirt, I shorten it 2" in three areas. One is at 1/4 length, another one is 1/2 length, and the last one is 3/4 length from the waist. I let my skirt hang on the dress form overnight and took 1" from the hem and also where the fabric grew.

I love this dress! I bought more patterns that have shirring during the Fourth of July sale. I can't wait to sew them.

Y'all have a great weekend!

Happy Sewing!

MEG | @meggisews

Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following category: CHALLIS.

Made By A Fabricista: Pattern Emporium’s Lyrical Top Featuring Fabric Mart Fabrics

Sewn in a lightweight rayon challis , this top combines style, comfort, and fluidity. There’s one thing I love in a summer sew: effortless drape—and the Lyrical Top by Pattern Emporium delivered just that. This pattern is a new release, and when I spotted this dreamy rayon challis from Fabric Mart Fabrics, I knew it was the perfect pairing. Lightweight, breathable, and with just the right amount of movement, the fabric really brought the pattern to life. Today, I’m sharing all the details—from fabric choice and construction to styling and fit—plus a few thoughts on why this top might just become a repeat sew. Pattern Overview: The Lyrical Top by Pattern Emporium The Lyrical Top is a relaxed-fit design with bloused sleeves and a gently flared frill cuff. It comes with three sleeve lengths and two neckline variations. I chose the tie-neck view, but there’s also a collar option for a slightly different vibe. I’ve been looking to add more stylish tops to my wardrobe this year, a...

Made By A Fabricista: Oversized Jenna Shirt for Summer Fun

I may or may not have had several meltdowns during the making of this Closet Core Jenna Shirt… But let’s back up first. During the month of May, I promised to wear handmade garments every single day for the popular sewing challenge “Me Made May.” I really enjoyed thoughtfully putting together my outfits each day. While I was doing this, I was taking notes of the gaps in my wardrobe. Particularly, I don’t have many transitional shirts that could work for on-camera work attire and be comfortable for the weekend. When I saw this delicious cotton lawn on the Fabric Mart website, I knew that I wanted to make a button up shirt that would be both work appropriate and a nice overshirt for summer evenings over my tanks and tees. I have made a few button up shirts before using a vintage Stretch & Sew pattern but I decided to try my hand at the Closet Core Jenna Shirt (up to a 60” chest) which has had rave reviews on social media and pattern sites for being a great pattern with e...

Made By A Fabricista: A matching set and a happy error.

Hi sewing friends! Today I’m sharing a new outfit I made inspired by looks I’ve been seeing pop up in my Facebook and IG feeds a LOT this year. I’m talking about those monochromatic matching top and bottom outfits, sometimes in linen, sometimes in a flowy knit - the ones that advertise they go effortlessly from loungewear to office wear to going out wear. So I decided to “sew the look” using Fabric Mart fabric and a few patterns I already in my massive pattern library. First, let me share that I have very few solid color pieces in my closet. I’m so taken in by whimsy and geometric prints that this is still a gaping hole in my wardrobe - a matching solid color set was actually a practical addition for me. So let me walk you through how I created this look, and also tip you off to an error I made while cutting that worked out pretty well after all. Can you spot the error? Hint - it’s somewhere in the top: Here’s how I went about building my matchy match outfit. And here’...

Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Search This Blog