Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: Christmas Sparkles & Fur, Oh My!

With just a few days to go before Christmas, I knew my final Fabric Mart make of 2021 needed to be fancy Christmas dresses for my daughters! Ignoring all the dire warnings from sewists on the Internet, I bravely selected some cranberry sequined stretch velvet, panther black polyester faux fur, and polyester stretch lining. And then I crossed my fingers and hoped I wouldn't have serious regrets! 

Using the Peony Patterns Periwinkle Dress, I created the girls' dresses first. I love the statement sleeves on this knit dress, and thought it would showcase the sequins perfectly! To minimize scratchiness on the inside, I lined the dress bodice and sleeves with some knit lining from my stash. I also cut the sleeve cuff in half lengthways so that it could be lined as well. I did try to remove some of the sequins from the seams, but laziness ultimately won the day, and after it was completed, I sealed the exposed armscye and waist seams (the side seams are enclosed in the lining) with some knit SewKeysE Tape. 

Cutting and sewing the sequin fabric wasn't the worst thing ever. Though I will likely find sequins in my sewing room until the end of time! I cut the fabric with both rotary cutter and scissors, and used a size 90 universal needle. Depending on the fabric, you may find a microtex needle a better option. 

To finish off the look, I decided to create a fur layer using the Oliver+S Red Riding Hood cape. Like sequins, fur is also messy, but the coziness of this fabric made up for that! The cape was fairly easy to sew up, though the fabric choice made it a lot more time consuming than I had expected. 

Fur has a "nap" on it - this means the fabric texture has an obvious direction to it. Because of this, it's critical that you cut all your pattern pieces the same direction, following the "grain" arrow on the templates. 

Since the fur has a thick pile, I found it more effective to sew it with a slightly longer stitch length (3mm). I used a universal needle (size 80), though I think a microtex would have been better as the universal wasn't ideal with the woven lining. 


Seeing the huge smiles on my daughters' faces when I showed them their new dresses and capes made this project absolutely worth it! 

Thanks for reading along today. I hope you have a very happy (and sparkly!) holiday too! 



NATASHA  @auschicksews

Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following categories VELVET, SEQUINS, & FAUX FUR.

Comments

  1. Oh my goodness, what beautiful little ladies in their sparkly new dresses. Good job mom!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love those dresses and capes. The colour is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful models and Beautiful work!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pretty. Both, the dressess AND your daughters. Mary Cristmas.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your daughter's dresses and fur capes are very nice! I agree too, that they are beautiful little models.

    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: 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

Made By A Fabricista: Three Spring Basics – With a Twist

Hello Sewing Friends! By the time spring rolls around I am ready to pack away my winter wardrobe and wear my warm weather clothes. Since I don’t go into an office setting – and I like to be comfortable - basic essentials in my wardrobe include t-shirts, cardigans and knit dresses. The Cardigan The idea of sewing elevated basics came about when I spotted this fabulous FTY knit with a sequin floral and scrolls pattern.  With sequins for daytime being a spring 2023 trend, I decided to use the fabric to sew a cardigan. This is not your typical cardigan. Not only did I choose a sequin knit, but I chose what I consider to be a unique pattern, the Cascade Dress from The Sewing Workshop (now out of print). I have sewn it a few times but never with sequin fabric. My cardigan is actually a top that is designed to button down the front but I made a few small changes to the pattern. I lengthened the front by four inches, removed the front plackets, and added a button and fabric loop at the front n

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