Skip to main content

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.

Comments

  1. Great makes, especially the cotton sateen border print.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very nice! Thank you for sharing your 2 lovely dresses and commentary with us.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I usually look at what you ladies sew and don't comment, but both of these dresses are so pretty on you! Both perfect choices for the fabrics.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very nice dress. Love the black with boarder

    ReplyDelete
  5. Both are so beautiful! I love that pattern and the prints.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful dress, love the teal shoes!

    ReplyDelete
  7. nicely done, very beautiful

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love both dresses and fabric choices. They look great on you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beautiful dresses!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Both dresses aré beautifull

    ReplyDelete
  11. Beautiful, I can see I have start thinking out of the box!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sheree, these dresses are fabulous on you! You know how to pick just the right styles and fabric choices. I love your Youtube channel as well.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Very attractive, however in my opinion the border print is just stunning.

    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.

Recent Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: A Fresh Take on a Classic Shirt Dress

Summer has arrived! That means longer days, soaring temps, and the perfect excuse for me to add another linen garment to my wardrobe.  Lightweight linen and summer weather just go together, don’t you agree? That’s why I choose this striped linen for my next Fabricista make. Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Sharon from Sharon Sews ready to share my summer dress with you.  The tiny blue and white stripes combined with navy buttons give it a bit of coastal charm, while the details make it anything but a traditional shirt dress.  The fabric is a Ralph Lauren 100% shirt weight linen. The stripes are so small that from a distance the fabric almost looks like a solid color. One advantage of those small stripes is that I didn’t worry about whether they matched as I would have with a wider stripe :-)  The pattern I choose is McCall’s 8556, a shirtdress that, instead of a typical straight silhouette, has a gathered bodice, a fitted waistband that sits just above the waist, short, c...

Made By A Fabricista: The Ultimate Secret Maternity Dress

When you find the perfect summer dress pattern that also happens to be 100% bump-friendly, you don't just celebrate—you immediately plan to make it in every single color of the rainbow. At least, that’s the executive decision I made after sewing my first Tilly and the Buttons Mabel Dress for the Fabricista Blog. It all started with a classic late-night scroll on the Fabric Mart website, where I fell hard for a gorgeous midnight blue cotton lawn block print. I knew I wanted an easy-to-wear, breezy summer dress that could accommodate a growing bump, but I didn't want to buy a pattern I’d only wear for a few months. So, I turned to the internet.  After researching bump-friendly patterns, the Tilly and the Buttons Mabel kept popping up. Sewists everywhere were praising it for its ability to adapt to a changing body. Could it really live up to the hype?  Now that I’ve made one, I can confidently say: Yes. Absolutely. Here is what makes the Mabel so magical: ● The Silhouette: A...

Made By A Fabricista: Mechanic Chic!

When it comes to buying ready-to-wear garments as a sewist, I only ever spend in three categories: heavy duty winter jackets (life in Maine!), bras… and jumpsuits! I love a good jumpsuit, but unfortunately the ones I used to buy have been impacted by the tariff situation and I can’t get them affordably anymore. This can only mean one thing, folks: it’s time to roll up my sleeves and sew my very first jumpsuit!  When I started planning for this project, I knew I wanted to use a heavyweight linen for cozy comfort in the fall and breathability in the summer. I wanted something that would wear beautifully and soften with age, and something with neutral tones that could go with everything. Naturally, when I came across this 100% linen canvas on Fabric Mart, my heart skipped a beat! I love the ikat-inspired geometry and something about it reminds me of leopard spots too. Bold yet wearable! I am pretty sure this fabric was intended for home decor which I don’t mind at all and in fact of...

Made By A Fabricista: Tried and true summer basics that fit.

Happy Summer Friends! As I am writing this, we are headed into a nasty heat wave…so the timing could not be better to share two of my favorite summer patterns and fabrics.  But first, let me tell you about the fail I had heading into this month’s blog… As Fabricista’s, we get to pick out fabric for each of our blog submissions. I fell in love with this gorgeous lilac jacquard knit that I thought would be perfect for a pop of color in my summer wardrobe. But I made a fatal error - I grabbed a pattern I haven’t made for years, quickly went up one size to account for a few new pounds, and sewed them up. And they don’t fit, will NEVER fit, and will never be worn. Sigh…when will I learn?? Here’s a flat lay pic so we can at least look at the lovely fabric: The lesson I learned (relearned!) is that just like with off the rack clothes, the things that worked well for me years ago don’t work well for me today.  And that’s the case with both tops and bottoms. So I went back to two patt...