Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: When in doubt, trust the description!

So happy to be back this year, posting on a blog that has taught me so much! If you have read any of my previous posts, THANK YOU! If not, let me make a quick and honest introduction. Actually, these three last words can define my sewing tendencies: quick (I love instant gratification projects), honest (I acknowledge flaws and errors), introduction (I am far from being a pro). And one last thing: I love colorful and flowy fabrics that go so well with the eternal Floridian summer. 

The project I am sharing today has all these qualities! I made it a couple of years ago with one of my first Fabric Mart purchases. I found the fabric sticker to tell you precisely what it is: a great Polyester/Lycra Tropical Floral Print ITY Knit. At the time, I was an absolute beginner, so I purchased fabrics by just trusting 100% of the website description. Let me tell you: it works!

The ITY Knit Fabric section on the website says that “ITY knits are easy to sew with and quite popular for tops, dresses, skirts, and flowy pants. They come in a wide array of prints and solids. It’s great for traveling too because it does not wrinkle.” All true! 

This fabric was definitely easy to sew. I had little-to-no experience with knits at the time I made this dress. I followed a free tutorial from BBlueDIY, which includes instructions to make your pattern. Knit doesn’t fray, and this one doesn’t even roll up, so I could sew it quickly. You can make this dress if you only know how to sew straight lines! I slightly modified the pattern by adding a waistbelt (in a beginner’s world, that counts as a modification). I opted to sew the bottom hemline with a decorative stitch for some reason. I guess I was still discovering my sewing machine and wanted to innovate a little! In hindsight, I would probably have made a subtler choice. Even an invisible stitch would have made the dress more elegant. 


The colors on this fabric are vibrant, and the flowers are very detailed. The colors described on the website were: “Cool Silver/Amber/Ocean Blue/Sea Green.” I wasn’t sure about that “silver” component: the fabric looked white to me. Even in the pictures, under the sun, this dress looks white. But in person, the fabric base is - very light – silver, indeed! Unfortunately, there was no way to reflect that in my photographs. But one more time: the fabric description was on point. 

Finally, saying that this fabric is “great for traveling because it does not wrinkle” is an understatement. My dress looks freshly ironed in these pictures, right? The truth is: it had been rolled up and squished at the bottom of my suitcase for a week, just before I took these shots! Another truth: it may look like a sunny summer day, but it was 44 degrees at that moment! But I was traveling, the setting was dreamy, and it was worth it! As they say in French: “il faut souffrir pour être belle [No pain, no gain!]”

As I usually do, I want to end this post with some “thank yous”. First, thanks to my photographer. This time, I was lucky to be photographed by my dad, on a beautiful winter morning, in a quaint street of Torroella de Montgrí in Spain. Yet another great thing about posting on this blog: it creates memories with the people I love. Thank you, Fabric Mart, for keeping me on board for one more year! And thanks to you, for reading! See you in my next post! 



INES  @bynunis

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

Comments

  1. I agree, the descriptions are accurate, and totally trustworthy. I love your dress - you must have been so thrilled as a beginner to make it and have it turn out so well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! And yes!!! Wearing handmade garments is always thrilling, especially as a newbie!!

      Delete
  2. Very Pretty Dress! Thank you for Sharing! P.S. Thanks to Dad also!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! My Dad is so happy to see he gets comments too :D So fun!

      Delete
  3. It looks fantastic! Don't worry about the hem; you added a personal touch that makes it all the more special!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the perspective! You are so kind!

      Delete
  4. You and your Dad did a wonderful job of showing your creation in it's best light. Love your dress and you look carefree in it. Thanks for sharing your creation and a bit of your vacation too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for reading and commenting! This dress will remind me of goos memories, definitely!

      Delete

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: Celebrating warm weather with Spring sewing!

Hi sewing friends! I don’t know about you but boy, was winter cold and dreary this year! The weather here in the Philadelphia area has been slowly improving, but Spring sure did take her sweet old time to arrive. So by April, I was definitely in the headspace of needing to sew up things that were either bright and cheery or meant for the warmer weather I am very much craving right now. I recently purchased a few SewBexx Patterns so I took them on a test run to create some Spring makes. First on my list was to make a top using this absolutely gorgeous ITY fabric I picked up last year. I had two yards which was enough for a long sleeve shirt. I chose the Olivia top, which is oversized with a drop shoulder, has multiple lengths and a split hem. I think the pattern is intended for heavier fabrics but I was envisioning how lovely this top would look with the drape of ITY knit fabric, and it did not disappoint. It came together for me quickly and was a straight forward sew…and I love the br...

Made By A Fabricista | Chasing Time: My White Rabbit-Inspired Look for Atlanta Frocktails

For this year’s Atlanta Frocktails, I found myself captivated by a character who’s been quietly tugging at my imagination for years—the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. There’s something so relatable about his frantic energy, always checking the time, always running late. While he’s worried about being on time, I’m usually calculating how late I can be and still technically arrive on time. Spoiler: I’m often wrong. It’s a cycle of procrastination and anxiety that I know all too well. So when I imagined my look for Frocktails, I thought—why not honor the White Rabbit? After all, time has been chasing me too. But this look isn’t just about Wonderland whimsy. It’s also deeply inspired by this year’s Met Gala theme, Tailored for You, which includes a focus on Black Dandyism—a celebration of Black elegance, intellect, and expressive style. I’ve been obsessed with this theme since it was announced. As a Black creative, I find it powerful and moving to see style used as a way to reclaim...

Made By A Fabricista: Getting into the Spirit of Summer

I'm not gonna lie y'all, I had a completely different project I wanted to do, but that's gonna take more time, and I wanted something cute, comfy and fun to wear for my birthday on the 19th. When I saw this goldenrod & off white linen jacquard , I thought it looked a bit like the design on a Koroks body, especially Makar from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker! I started with the bodice from the free Elderberry dress pattern from Mood, but deviated for the skirt, it felt a little plain of a design, and I had scraps of a Korok fabric that I knew would be a nice accent with some cut out pockets. I've made these pockets once before, deciding the cut out was based on aligning with the seam on the bodice for how far in, and as for how low depended on where I wanted the pouch of the pocket to start. From there I cut the visible part of the pocket, making sure to match the curve of the waist and following the line of the side seams of the skirt, as well as cutting a facing to...