Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Hello Sewing Friends! I hope everyone is enjoying a great start to their new year.  This is often the time that many of us sit and set goals and plans for what we want to accomplish during the year.  I know I've set my goals for all aspects of life and I'm excited about what I have set as goals specifically with sewing. Now I am still on my mission to sew chic yet comfortable clothes, given my current work from home situation. In 2022, I plan to replace many of my Ready to Wear items in my closet that are out of style or don't fit well with handmade items. I have several very comfortable and casual dresses that I am just not that excited about. So for this Fabricista project, I decided to batch sew several replacment dresses. I really like batch sewing patterns that are tried and true. I took a leap on the pattern that I chose because it was new to me. But I could tell by the cover that this would be a great option for the simple yet stylish dress I was going for.  I picked

It’s been a while since I have sewn with a sweater knit, and now I think I seriously have a Sweater Obsession going on. This Michigan weather absolutely calls for a cozy sweater but why not look comfy and cute all at the same time.   I’m completely in love with this Thick Rib Sweater Knit fabric in the color Heathered Cream . I love a beautiful cream color in the winter months and to combine it with a sweater knit, makes it perfect. If you are like me and tend to get hot quickly, this fabric is for you. While it is labeled as a thick sweater knit, it is not very thick at all, making it easy to wear under coats and jackets all while still being perfect for anyone looking to make a sweater with this fabric. This fabric is so soft and while it is not a thicker sweater knit in my opinion, it still seems to hold it stretch pretty well.  I chose to use my own self-drafted dress pattern and jazz it up a bit by adding a cute Bolero/Shrug . I have had the Butterick 5797 in my possession for

YouTuber's Dee & Dory are back on the Fabric Mart blog today with their most recent Fabricista Makes. Make sure to click play on the video below to hear all about their fabric choices & how their projects turned out! Dee The fabric is a Double Brushed Polyester/Lycra Floral Knit with a soft hand, flowing fabric.  Wearing so comfortable, you would think you are wearing active wear!   I decided to go easy with the patterns, using simple basic ones.  The look comes from melding  3 elements from these patterns to complete the look.   McCalls 8061 view C for the skirt.  A simple 3 pieces, front,back and a waist ban that encases elastic!  Then Simplicity 1073 view A for the basic top.  Raglan sleeves (my favorite) and a jewel neckband.  Easy peasy! I wanted to have some warmth for my neck and added versatility so I opted for an infinity scarf from New Look 6632! I now have 3 pieces to wear as a coordinated outfit or wear each piece with other items in my closet! In my book a grea

I saw this fabric and instantly knew I needed to make another Olympian God dress. It could be nothing BUT Hades. The design took a little bit more wook and brainstorming. I knew that I wanted some sort of Halter top for it, but beyond that it was fuzzy.  With the help of a few friends and a late night design session I came up with the design. A little more bold than I expected, but not too bold for the God of the Dead. I hoped.  This dress was an adventure in patterning. It's amazing how things fit differently when 90% of the back is missing. But with fittings and patience I got the fit I wanted. The skirt was easier. I used an 1890's walking skirt pattern and altered it to allow for the waist high slits. This allowed me to have the full skirt that I wanted without having to completely pattern a new one. I also made all of the jewelry for this outfit, that was a week of audiobooks and annoyance. I won't say I'll never make jewelry for a dress again, but I will say it&#

Happy new year! This year my husband and I are looking forward to a late spring river cruise to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary.  Since I started last year sewing my outfits for the various excursions on land, the only garment pieces left to sew were those I will wear on the ship. I wanted these to be interchangeable, so I picked gray as my base color.  I wanted very comfortable garments for ease of movement around the ship. Luckily Fabric Mart was running a huge knit sale and pattern sales were going on in many stores and online. For lounge wear, the heathered medium gray polyester/lycra double brushed knit (SKU: DLD3889d) was perfect for a jacket and a pair of pants. I used McCall’s M7294 pattern for the loose-fitting unlined jacket and Butterick B6137 for the semi-fitting pants with elasticized waistband, pockets, and leg bands. For me, attaching the leg bands gave a better finish than hemming.  For the top, the golden yellow/off-white polyester/rayon/lycra tie-dye French ter

Happy first Friday of a brand New Year! I hope you and your loved ones are healthy going into 2022.  Whew, 2021 was a roller coaster year but it allowed us to truly appreciate every single moment. I am excited to return as a blogger with Fabric Mart and will definitely be sharing more beginner sewing tips and tricks. When I was packing for my trip to Jamaica in November last year, I noticed I had nothing to bring that had a tropical print. I knew for my next make, I would select fabric that reflected my love for warm, tropical weather and Jamaica my island home. When I searched and came across these rayon challis prints , I knew right away it would be palazzo pants or a faux jumpsuit  to rock on my next getaway - Spring break. I absolutely love the lola tank and dress pattern I made here and yes I decided to make a few more over the holiday break using some ponte knit I had in my stash from Fabric Mart. Our temperature here in South Florida has been in the mid to high 70s for most of