Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: The Fabric of Summer

Even though it is not quite yet summer, it is VERY close, in Indiana it still has been raining cats & dogs, so hello from my studio! One of my favorite fabrics to wear in summer is linen. Linen is an absolute all-time favorite of mine. It’s light-weight, beautiful, and breathable. There are so many options of garments you can make when it comes to linen. You can make shirts, shorts, pants, dresses, etc. When I think of linen I usually think of more neutral colors, or a one colored fabric, but the dress I’m showing today is a printed linen & I am just blown away! The fabric is of great quality & has a gorgeous print. 

This fabric was extremely easy for me to cut & work with. My favorite part was pressing it; it really held the seams well, but also retained the heat for a bit so I urge you to be careful. If you have not worked with linen there are some things to consider such as: making sure you cut it accurately, because it can pull & warp & mess up the actual piece. I would also note that linen, can wrinkle easily but do not let that deter you away from making your next beautiful linen piece!

For the dress, I decided to make the Fiona Sundress by Closet Core Patterns. This pattern was made well. I had little to no issues with anything matching up as far as notches, hems, or side seams, which is excellent because sometimes when I use other patterns I have those exact issues. My dress was created with a mashup of View A & B; I opted for the bodice of View B, with the lower back but the midi length from View A. I really loved the details on this dress, such as the cris cross back & the 21 buttons! Speaking of buttons… did you see that I created mine with an ombre effect? It was such a cute after thought. 

This project was fairly simple to understand, but I would consider it to be more intermediate than beginner friendly. The linen fabric can be hard to work with sometimes if you have never worked with it before. You must be careful cutting & sewing it because sometime it can flex, or warp & it will be off. The pattern, however, had a couple techniques that I probably wouldn’t think to be beginner friendly, but if you are considering a small challenge this would be the perfect project for you!

MACY  | @macycamile


Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following category, LINEN & SHIRTING.
You can also shop our selection of Closet Core Patterns HERE.

Comments

  1. A perfect summer dress! I've always been afraid to work with linen but you have given me encouragement.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lovely dress, looks great! I know what you mean about the linen warping.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have several yards of white linen that I haven't had the nerve to cut yet. I'll definitely check out the printed options. Your dress is lovely

    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

Return to work wardrobe in ITY – which is your favorite?

In June of this year, after spending nearly 11 years at my place of employment and after restructuring and cost cutting, I took a separation package. I was so fortunate to be able to take a few months off, and also to very quickly find a position with a new company. I start my new job on September 14th and I’m super excited!  This new position is also different for me in that it is local to my area (whereas before I worked remotely and traveled to the office every few weeks) – so I’ll be going into the office three times a week. So of course I needed to sew up some new outfits! I’m a huge fan of ITY knit fabric ; ITY stands for interlock twist yarn, which describes the way the yarn is knitted together. I love it for tops, dresses, skirts, and even pants: it’s comfortable, easy care, low wrinkle, and comes in so many beautiful prints. I sewed up three new outfits over the last two weeks and I’m excited to share them with you today! Oh, and also – I need help choosing what to wear fi...

Sometimes The Fabric Chooses The Pattern

Have you ever fallen in love with a fabric and immediately envisioned exactly what you wanted to make, only to realize halfway through the planning process that the fabric had other ideas? That’s exactly what happened with this project. I used Fabric Mart’s Black/Dark Cobalt/Smoky White Poly Foliage Print Chiffon , and while I initially had plans for a detailed dress, the fabric ultimately led me in a completely different direction—and I’m so glad it did. When I first saw this gorgeous chiffon print, I was immediately drawn to the rich color palette and beautiful movement. The dark background paired with the cobalt and smoky white foliage creates a striking look that feels both dramatic and versatile. My original plan was to make a dress with princess seams, buttons, and more structured design elements. However, after spending time with the fabric, I realized that all of those seam lines and construction details would compete with what makes this chiffon so beautiful: its drape, moveme...

Sewing With Intention: New Look 6106 and a More Coordinated Wardrobe

Sometimes a sewing project begins with a beautiful piece of fabric or a pattern you just have to make. This one began with my closet. Recently, I did a major closet purge. I took a good look at what I actually wear, what I kept reaching for, and—maybe more importantly—what was missing. Once the pieces I no longer loved or wore were gone, something became very clear: I want to be more intentional about what I sew next. Instead of sewing individual pieces that I love but don't necessarily wear together, I want to build a wardrobe where my handmade garments coordinate with the clothes I already own—and with the pieces I'm planning to sew next. For this month's Fabricista project, this beautiful lightweight shirting from Fabric Mart turned out to be a wonderful place to start. The Fabric That Started It All Fabric Mart provided this beautiful oatmeal and black heathered shirting , along with the matching thread for my project. One of the things I love most about this fabric is ...

Hillhouse Nap Dress Dupe with Fabric Mart Fabric!

I have been wanting a Hill House Home Nap Dress for the longest time, but when I saw the reviews that the fabric was too sheer and the price tag—often well over $200—I decided it would be much more fun to make my own! I found this gorgeous abstract navy and white cotton voile from Fabric Mart and knew it would be perfect for the light, floaty dupe I had in mind. Cotton voile is soft, lightweight, and beautifully suited for a shirred dress like the infamous Nap dress. This abstract print gives the finished dress a more modern feel. I love a floral fabric, but I was excited to find this abstract print in my favorite color of navy.  Rather than using an entire dress pattern, I followed Just Lauren Johnson’s YouTube tutorial on how to create a Nap Dress from rectangles. Lauren walks you through how to use your own measurements to calculate the dimensions of the bodice, skirt tiers, and other pieces. I loved this approach because I could create the dress specifically for my measurement...