Made by a Fabricista: A Summer Staple – The Flowy Summer Dress

Hello Everyone! Today I’m sharing my latest summer sewing project. I’ve been wanting a pretty flowy summer dress and once I saw this fabric I knew I had the perfect pattern for it.

When the new summer patterns were released earlier this year, I reviewed them all and made a list of my favorites and hit up JoAnn Fabric during their pattern sale. One of the patterns I picked up was McCall’s 8215. This dress is the perfect summer dress because both views are sleeveless and have a flowy panel skirt. I chose to make view B which has a tank top bodice and the skirt is tea length. Did I mention that the dress has pockets? I don’t know about you, but a dress with pockets is always a win for me. The dress also has a small split in the front.

Initially I cut out the size 16 bodice. I basted the bodice together and once I tried it on, I decided that I could go down a size so I ended up making a size 14. For this very reason is why I usually make a muslin of the patterns I make. I would hate to have made the entire dress just to realize it don’t fit. Been there, done that. Once I decided the bodice fit how I like it, I cut out the skirt the same size.

My favorite way to finish the hem on a knit dress or skirt is by using HeatnBond Soft Stretch Ultra Iron-On Adhesive. I swear by this stuff! Here are the steps I take each and every time.

1. Sew a basting stitch around the hem using the seam allowance you want to your hem to be.

2. Turnover and press the seam allowance using the basting stitch as your guide. Doing so saves you having to measure all round your skirt.

3. You can remove the basting stitch at this point.

4. Press the tape in place and remove the paper and adhesive will now be on your garment.

5. Fold over your hem on the adhesive and press.

I would suggest you do this in sections and also make sure it’s Soft Stretch HeatnBond because there is also regular HeatnBond for wovens and you don’t want to use that on a knit because it does not stretch and your hem will not look good. Been there, done that too.

The fabric I selected to use for my flowy summer dress is this Dark Magenta Rayon/Lycra Jersey Knit. Unfortunately, this color is sold out, but there are other beautiful colors left. I always find that every time I receive fabric from Fabric Mart, the fabric is always more beautiful in person, then it is appears to be online. This was no exception. This fabric is so soft and the drape is amazing. This fabric is a 4 way stretch which is probably why I had to go down a size. McCall’s 8215 calls for a 2 way stretch. Another thing I love about this fabric is that it is not too thin and is perfect for this pattern.

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed my dress as much as I do. If you are looking for a great summer staple, then give McCall’s 8215 a try. Also search for Rayon/Lycra Jersey Knit on the Fabric Mart site or select Jersey Knit from the Fabrics section and you can see all the other colors available.

Until Next time!

JOHANNA | @soveryjo

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

Made By A Fabricista: Why Sew A Muslin

Here it is, my September blog post featuring Newlook N6692 and this pretty rayon challis from Fabric Mart! This pattern style is so in right now. The square neckline, cute puff sleeves and the tiered skirt are all exactly what I was looking for in a summer dress. As always I started with making a muslin first! Let’s get into why it’s important to start with a muslin. A muslin is basically a practice garment. It prevents you from cutting into your good fabric prematurely. I usually use a muslin fabric (natural cotton) but you should also consider using a fabric that is the same weight as your fashion fabric. This will give you a truer gauge of how the garment is going to lay in the final fabric. Anytime I try out a new pattern company I make a muslin. This was my first time using a Newlook pattern so I need to know what the ease would be like for this pattern. Also I need to see how the bust would fit me and where I would need to make adjustments. Plus there were some new techniques

Made By A Fabricista: The Love of Sewing - Basic Pieces for a Beginner

Happy Friday All! It has been a while since I made myself a dress. I am excited to sew after not making anything since my last post (whew) and finally sharing some photos. This past summer has been a roller coaster journey with plans to release a small collection and then deciding that right before the launch to postpone. Sewing has brought me joy over the past 8 years and the mere fact to sew daily for orders had me in a panic mode. I really don’t want to walk away from my craft due to burn out and decided that if I do sew for others, it would be only for local clients. Moreover, If next year I decide to launch, it would be seasonal and not year round. I really want to share my talent and love for sewing with others but don’t want it to be a full time job and lose the passion in me. After a bit of soul searching, teaching and sharing my talent with my community will always be my first love. For the past 2 summers, I was blessed to partner with two nonprofit organizations’ local sum

Made By A Fabricista: End of Summer

Summer is nearing to an end but here where I am in Texas the heat isn’t letting up any time soon! I still have plenty of time to get a few more summer looks out of the way. In this blog I will be sharing two separate projects. The first project is this denim set; I had the inspiration saved on my list of makes to make. For this project I got this gorgeous denim and matching thread to start my project. Yes, Fabric Mart will match the thread to your fabric perfectly and with my favorite thread brand Gutermann. The denim had a very great weight and wasn’t too stiff. It was very starchy when it arrived, so I did a prewash before working with it. I’m so glad I did because it had a lot of dye saturated in which would not have been great for the skin and other clothes. For the first part of the set, I drafted a corset with the scallop edge cups, such a cute detail! To start I used my bodice sloper to make the corset, I was not worried about the design details and focused more on

Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Search This Blog