Made By A Fabricista: Breezy Summer Style with Rayon Challis from Fabric Mart.

Hey there my sewing friends! Summer is here and I am all for it. It has been exceptionally hot here in Southwest Florida. We have had temps in the high 90’s. I want to keep cool and comfortable and still look pulled together this summer. That’s why I chose rayon challis for this month’s summer make.

Rayon Challis is lightweight, flowy, soft and extremely comfortable to wear. It’s an excellent choice for summer outfits. It has a beautiful drape making it an excellent choice for maxis, tops, dresses, and shorts. The fabric is lightweight and depending upon your sewing project you may need to use a lining with this fabric. Also use a lightweight interfacing when working with rayon challis. If you are a beginner at sewing, you may find the fabric a bit fiddly to work with, but the end result is so worth it. Fabric Mart has beautiful challis fabric to choose from. I chose this fun tropical print on an off-white background.

This summer season vests are in. I love the ease of wearing a vest style top, so I chose one of my favorite patterns. New Look 6598 view E. I used self-covered buttons to elevate the look and not compete with the fun tropical print.

I paired the vest with elastic waist shorts from New Look 6737 for a fun summer short set. The challis fabric is perfect for the breezy style shorts. I love the movement and comfort of these shorts!

This set can be dressed up or down. When I wear a kitten heel shoe, I feel the outfit is perfect for a summer luncheon event or even to wear to church on a hot Sunday morning. If I’m on vacation, I can wear the two pieces with white tennis shoes as I stroll along window shopping.

With the fabric left over I made a quick wide elastic waist skirt using New Look 6354. The skirt is an easy 2 hour sew. I made view F. The skirt works with the vest beautifully.

Each piece can be mixed with other pieces in my closet. The shorts and skirt work well with tee shirts or button-up/tie front tops. The vest can be worn over a layering piece allowing for wear in cooler environments. Changing up jewelry and shoes makes it easy to transition from day to night with these fun summer pieces.

I have upcoming plans to make drawstring flowy pants and a sundress with a few other pieces of rayon challis that I recently acquired. Make sure you are following my Instagram or YouTube channel to see how they turn out. Thank you, Fabric Mart, for this fun fabric. This is my new favorite summer outfit.

CARMEN | @carmensalome

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

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