Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: Floral Spring Dresses & Swimsuits

Hi Fabric Mart friends! I’m excited to bring you my girls’ new spring outfits that I created with just $50 worth of fabrics from Fabric Mart! This month, I was drawn to two gorgeous florals - a floral border print cotton poplin, and a floral swim fabric. Once I settled on these two fabrics, I hunted for some coordinates and found some pink waffle weave sweater knit, and a solid pink and solid olive swim knit. It can be a little nerve racking while waiting for fabric to arrive, that your fabric actually does coordinate, so I’m thankful that Fabric Mart’s photos are always so accurate, and the colors all worked perfectly together! 


I decided to work on the most time-consuming thing first, the dresses for my girls! I used the Peony Patterns Lantana Dress with a sharp collar and vintage length skirt. I spent a bit of time playing with the templates on the fabric, trying to find the best placement for the floral on the dress. I decided to cut the fabric on the cross-grain to achieve this, since the print runs down the center between the selvedges. I’m so happy with how this turned out! 



Since weather can still be a bit unpredictable this time of year, I wanted to make a cardigan and leggings to go with it. Jalie’s Helene cardigan pattern was perfect for the waffle knit. I really love the ingenious pocket design in this pattern, and of course, my girls love that they have pockets! This waffle knit is super soft as well, so my youngest stubbornly refused to take her cardigan off during our photoshoot until the very end! (Lured with the offer of a piece of candy!). 


I made each of my girls a pair of Jalie Stella leggings with the pink swim knit. This knit was a bit transparent, so it will be fine under dresses, but for other purposes it would need a lining. The leggings are very easy and perfect for beginners! With just one pattern piece, you’ll have lots of leggings sewn up in a few hours! 

Finally I made swimsuits! I loved this floral so much - I just had to have it! I have always been drawn to the Boo Designs Infinity Leo - although it’s intended for gymnastics, it works just as well as a swimsuit. This is a more complicated swimsuit to make - I wouldn’t suggest beginners tackle it, but if you’ve made a couple of suits before, this is a super fun one to wear! 


The Infinity Leo comes with various design options - I used the sleeved crop and high rise bottoms for my eldest, and the sleeved Leo for my youngest. The pattern has instructions for lining the front, but with the design in the back, it’s not possible to line it in the same way. For the back, I use quilt spray basting spray (one of my favorite things of all time!) to baste the back lining and main fabrics together, before treating them as one piece. The suit is sewn in such a way that all the seams are hidden inside the lining, so it should be really comfortable to wear! 

I hope you’re inspired to create some lovely spring outfits this season! 


NATASHA  @auschicksews

Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following categories COTTON, SATEENKNITS, SWEATER KNITS, & SWIMWEAR KNITS.

Comments

  1. How do the swimsuits perform in the water with those flutter sleeves? Beautiful job, Natasha! Your girls are precious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They won't work for competitive swim, but for beach and recreational swimming, they're fine! Thanks!

      Delete
  2. You do amazing work and your daughters are the cutest models!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well done. Your sewing and fabric matching skills are inspiring. Such sweet and very lucky little ladies.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love your creativity and the girls outfits. They are adorable and I can see they love your work too, through those beautiful smiles!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your girl's outfits are exquisite!

    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: 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...