Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: Springtime challis extravaganza!


Hello, sewing friends! I’m looking forward to sundress weather, full of floaty fabrics and pretty pastels. I was highly inspired by all the splendid springtime prints on the site, and I had loads of fun scrolling through the lengthy challis listings to find a few outstanding floral prints to combine into one bold and (hopefully) cohesive dress. Stuff like this gets me a little giddy, creating all the options and groundwork for something magnificent. I really think the fun of plotting and planning is the main reason I sew for myself; all the possibilities are wonderful to consider. 



I chose to create a Chalk & Notch Marcel Dress in the midi length (there are also a mini dress and tank length included in the pattern). Marcel is a marvelous pattern for color blocking due to all those gathered tiers. Having sewn a few Marcels over the years, I will happily attest that this dress feels wonderful to wear with all that voluminous fabric swishing about. 


This is a loose and billowing pattern, so a lot of fit issues are unlikely outside the above-bust bodice and straps. I gave a lot of care to getting the spot where the straps land on the back bodice just right, shortened them an inch, and that was about all I altered. 

On this particular version, I went ahead and changed the straps to be a top and bottom piece each (rather than having a center back seam underneath as designed) in order to have an open side seam where I could sandwich the shoulder lace. 


Since the Fabric Mart site has had a large addition of trims lately, I naturally found myself skimming through them to see what I could possibly add to this striking gown. I don’t often add trims or piping to my garments, but they are indeed a fanciful detail that I always admire on others. 

When I saw these collar pieces, I realized that they are just about the same shape as a curved shoulder flounce, and they’d make a sweet addition to an already-adventurous dress. I opted to apply them with the narrower portion toward the front and straightened the curved inner edge to align with the strap, and then just sandwiched them into the shoulder strap’s outer seam. The natural curve of the collar edge helped them arch over my shoulders splendidly. Voila! 


Naturally such a conspicuous and fearless dress deserved some love in the tiny details. I carefully thread-matched along the different fabrics of the bottom hem and the bodice.


The final cherry on top? I added my most coveted of Kylie and the Machine woven labels, this absolutely-charming-to-the-max rainbow Handmade tag to the back bodice. 


I simply cannot wait to debut this springtime dress! 

KATIE  @kak513


Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following categories: CHALLIS.

Comments

  1. This is a lovely fabric - great ideas to use for a dress! Love challis.

    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: A Pink Suiting Set for Spring

Spring is here! So is my first blog of the year. I had some inspiration with this one. I saw a picture on an Instagram profile and wanted to make my own. Now, my version ended up a little different, but overall, I really love it. However, I still want to recreate the inspiration pic at some point. For this look, I chose a cotton candy pink double weave suiting . It is soft, has a semi-textured hand, and has a crepe weave on the wrong side. The fabric does have some stretch to it. I absolutely love the color and feel of this fabric. This is a suiting fabric with the softness of a knit. The thing I do not like about it though is it snags. So, I had to be careful using pins and seam ripping to prevent snags. I had the Fernanda Vicki Sews pattern in mind but once I downloaded the instructions and saw how many pieces were involved, I switched to a different pattern, lol. I ended up making the Riana Blazer. It has a semi-fitted blazer with a straight silhouette. A belt and belt loops that yo...

Made By A Fabricista: Youtube Edition - Marty

This is the beginning of a long-term project to make Italian Court Garb for my partner and me. And we are 100% blaming him for this. Because he asked. This project is your standard Venetian-style pants. I originally pulled this pattern for Matthew Gnagy's Modern Marker Vol 2. But over the years, I've made changes to fit my sewing preferences. The build for this was fairly straightforward. Once you get past the volume in the legs, it goes together like any other pair of pants. The only thing that really slowed me down was not being able to find the correct buttons locally (Thanks Joanns). Overall, this was a wonderful project to work on during the deadline season for my job because of how familiar it was. I am excited to continue to work on building his doublet, cassock, and eventually my gown. Be sure to check out my channel to follow along with the full build! MARTY   |  @scrappypatterns (Feeling inspired? Shop  Linen  now.)

Made By A Fabricista: Sewing the Eleonora by Silversaga – A Romantic Dress you need in your closet

I recently had the pleasure of sewing up the Eleonora pattern by Silversaga, and I’m excited to share my thoughts because this one really surprised me—in the best possible way. If you’re not already familiar with Silversaga, their aesthetic leans into romantic minimalism—think timeless silhouettes with poetic details. The Eleonora Dress is a vintage-inspired, chemise-style from the Regency Era of the 1800’s design infused with modern elements like adjustable sizing, soft gathers, and flexible fit details.  The Eleonora is a thoughtfully designed dress pattern with multiple views and customizable features. Some of its standout design elements include: • Adjustable fit via ties and elastic channels at the neckline and waist, allowing it to flatter a range of body shapes and sizes. • Sleeve options, including short or long gathered raglan sleeves, often finished with ruffles for added softness. • A full, swishy four-panel skirt—complete with in seam pockets and a deep hem—that b...