Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: The Perfect Plus Size Dress

Image
By

Hi everyone! 

Fall is here & even though it’s technically fall, the weather in Indiana hasn’t caught up yet. I’m not really complaining though, because this is my favorite time to wear all my favorite fall dresses, before it gets too windy & cold. 

Today I am sharing one of my new favorite dresses. This dress can easily be worn in a dressy style on date nights or to weddings, or even dressed down with sneakers for a walk in the park. I made this dress using a very beautiful floral bubble crepe. The fabric is a light lavender purple with flowers going multidirectional. This made it simple when considering pattern matching & cutting pieces out. For this particular dress I used 3.5 yards & had no fabric left after cutting. I would not consider this crepe to be a beginner’s fabric, because it was very slippery when cutting and also when sewing, however with patience and ample time many things can be achieved. There are also ways to help stiffen a fabric when cutting or sewing such as: light starch, but the crepe material is intentional for having a soft hand, so it would defeat the purpose. 

The pattern that I chose for this dress was McCall's 8195.  This pattern has many options to create different variations of this dress and/or “hack it” and create something completely new. For my dress I chose pattern C, which was fitting for fall. It has a fitted bodice that flares into a circle skirt & is zipped in the back to enclose it all. The pattern was very simple to follow and was not difficult to sew at all. I didn’t find myself stopping much, because I didn’t understand something, but the dress pattern did not extend to my size, so I graded it a few sizes up & to my surprise it ended up being too big. Usually I do pretty good with grading patterns considering that I used to professionally do this, however sometimes I run into issues when I grade patterns made by other people. 

My favorite part of this dress is the overall silhouette. When being plus size, sometimes it can be hard finding things that flatter your body especially in relation to patterns or even resources in the sewing community. This dress defined my wait & enhanced my curves, while still being very moderate & appropriate. The circle skirt also was very flattering & the fabric draped over everything perfectly. 

MACY  | @macycamile

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

Comments

  1. SteffersOctober 18, 2021 at 11:06 AM

    That fabric is beautiful and fits that pattern well!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownOctober 18, 2021 at 12:37 PM

    This dress is so lovely and looks great on you. Thanks for sharing your make. I can see how versital and flattering it is.

    ReplyDelete
  3. bpatricia74October 19, 2021 at 8:03 AM

    I love the fabric, and the style is beautiful on you. The square back is lovely too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. marjenannOctober 19, 2021 at 8:05 AM

    Tremendous style!

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownOctober 19, 2021 at 10:02 AM

    Super cute and flattering. One of my peeves is the lack of really nice fabrics and cuts in plus sizes. Burda sometimes has plus patterns I cut down to fit me because they don't phone it in on the larger sizes and I often prefer those styles. I am just in between regular and plus on my bottom half and go both ways. I have thought I might sew for some of my larger friends so they can have luxury too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. ROctober 22, 2021 at 5:43 PM

    Really stunning. Just a perfect style, lines, and fabric choice. Not to mention a great fit!

    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.

Recent Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Summery Stripes Set

By
Warm weather and linen go hand in hand! Our summer has been slow to show up with the heat, but bright, sunny afternoons have me all ready for light, swingy garments to stay cool. Wearing matching sets has been one way to make getting dressed easier when I hit decision fatigue since reaching for two items that already go together removes the need to plan or do any rearranging.  This is a lovely lighter-end-of-mid-weight linen in the most beautiful and subtle seaglass hues of grays and greens. This color combo strikes me as so calm and sophisticated, and a little stripe-play is perfect for details.  My tank pattern is the brand-spankin’ new Matchy Matchy Sewing Club Sunny Side Tank, just released this week. It’s a perfect little cropped A-line shape for wearing with high waisted pants or showing some midriff.  I made no changes to the extra small. The wide neckline is so elegant and this shape still gives full bra coverage to boot.  These really cute pants are the Mat...
3 comments
Continue Reading »

Made By A Fabricista: A Fresh Take on a Classic Shirt Dress

By
Summer has arrived! That means longer days, soaring temps, and the perfect excuse for me to add another linen garment to my wardrobe.  Lightweight linen and summer weather just go together, don’t you agree? That’s why I choose this striped linen for my next Fabricista make. Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Sharon from Sharon Sews ready to share my summer dress with you.  The tiny blue and white stripes combined with navy buttons give it a bit of coastal charm, while the details make it anything but a traditional shirt dress.  The fabric is a Ralph Lauren 100% shirt weight linen. The stripes are so small that from a distance the fabric almost looks like a solid color. One advantage of those small stripes is that I didn’t worry about whether they matched as I would have with a wider stripe :-)  The pattern I choose is McCall’s 8556, a shirtdress that, instead of a typical straight silhouette, has a gathered bodice, a fitted waistband that sits just above the waist, short, c...
3 comments
Continue Reading »

Made By A Fabricista: The Ultimate Secret Maternity Dress

By
When you find the perfect summer dress pattern that also happens to be 100% bump-friendly, you don't just celebrate—you immediately plan to make it in every single color of the rainbow. At least, that’s the executive decision I made after sewing my first Tilly and the Buttons Mabel Dress for the Fabricista Blog. It all started with a classic late-night scroll on the Fabric Mart website, where I fell hard for a gorgeous midnight blue cotton lawn block print. I knew I wanted an easy-to-wear, breezy summer dress that could accommodate a growing bump, but I didn't want to buy a pattern I’d only wear for a few months. So, I turned to the internet.  After researching bump-friendly patterns, the Tilly and the Buttons Mabel kept popping up. Sewists everywhere were praising it for its ability to adapt to a changing body. Could it really live up to the hype?  Now that I’ve made one, I can confidently say: Yes. Absolutely. Here is what makes the Mabel so magical: ● The Silhouette: A...
3 comments
Continue Reading »

Made By A Fabricista: Art In Motion

By
Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Tira from TIRACOOKS and I am so excited to share this project with you. When I first spotted this fabric, I was drawn in by how stunning it looked it reminded me of a living art piece. Then, when I looked closer, I noticed painted hanging plants in the print, which made it even more special. This fabric is one of my all-time favorites: chiffon. It cuts so smoothly, and the best part? Any wrinkles come out effortlessly with a steamer. Before cutting into anything, fabric prep is essential! Chiffon must be prewashed by hand in cold water with a gentle detergent or baby shampoo. Always serge or zigzag stitch the raw edges to prevent fraying. Submerge and gently swirl the fabric to wash never wring or twist it then air dry flat. I used a 70/10 needle in my Juki DDL, which is perfect for lightweight fabrics, alongside my Juki overlock machine. Look One: The Duster & Dress I was lucky enough to create two completely separate outfits from this fabric. The first...
2 comments
Continue Reading »