Made By A Fabricista: Flounces, Ruffles & Ikat-Inspired Prints-Yes Please!

Hello Sewing Friends,

I am excited to share my May Fabric Mart Fabricista projects with you all. I stumbled upon two beautiful Ikat inspired printed fabrics and knew I needed to sew something for my Spring/Summer wardrobe. The fabric with the black background is a double border print cotton sateen shirting.

The other fabric is a rayon/cotton print voile. Originally, I was considering using them together to make a garment. But when they arrived I realized they did not work well together and needed to stand alone.

I decided to make dresses using Butterick 6677, and make some modifications.

I made version A with hemline variations and love how both dresses turned out. For my first dress, I wanted a midi length dress and a ruffle hemline. So I cut out view A as well as the ruffle for vies B & C. Then, instead of creating a single layer ruffle, I folded my assembled ruffle piece in half, creating a double layered and shorter ruffle. This created the exact length I wanted. I also lined the bodice as this fabric is a bit light weight. I wanted a little more structure to the bodice to hold the flounce detail. Instead of lining the skirt portion, I decided to wear a half slip.

I love the flounce detail as well as the pockets! The elastic at the waist cinches the dress in and makes it very flattering and easy to wear.

The pattern instructions were easy and pretty clear. The flounce is stitched on to the bodice and not under with seaming. Since the flounce is single layered, you do want to be careful of fabric selection. You do not want fabric with a distinct wrong side as it will be visible.

For the second dress, I knew I wanted to show off the border print. I cut view A again, but this time I lengthened the dress as shown below so I could show off the border at the hemline of the dress. Basically, I placed the hemline cut line of the shirt pattern piece at the top of the border. This way, I’d get the maxi dress length of B/C but with an a-line hemline.

I like this dress so much, I’ll probably make one more with a border print, but I would make it the length of view A instead. After making these two dresses, I realized my closet is full of maxi dresses but I’m lacking in knee dresses.

I really love this fabric. The strong contrasting colors and the colorful border makes this 100% cotton fabric a real showstopper.

Both dresses are great additions to my handmade dress collection. The ikat-inspired fabrics, the ruffle and flounces and the pockets are all a yes for me.

Let me know in the comments, so you like Ikat and Ikat inspired fabrics? What about the dress pattern-have you made Butterick 6677 before?

See you all next time!

Hugs,

SHEREE | @shereesalchemy

Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following category: COTTON, SHIRTING, & VOILE.

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...

Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Search This Blog