Fabric Mart Fabricistas

When was the last time you did something for the first time?  Back in February I went to hot yoga for the very first time.  I remember finding it super challenging and I am pretty sure I looked completely crazy trying to execute the poses for the first time.  Somehow I stuck with it and have absolutely fell in love with the practice.   Nowadays I go into my classes confident, I am able to keep up and get into poses more easily and have seen my strength build.  This has been a catalyst for an overall change in my personal life.  I am back to working out regularly, enjoying yoga and I have even joined a run club! To keep up in my fitness journey I found myself needing more activewear clothing.  Of course I found it to be way cooler to try and make myself new pieces. When I saw Fabric Mart started to offer Beyond Yoga knit fabrics I was really excited.  The quality of fabrics is absolutely amazing, probably some of the best knits I’ve used.  I made two sets and two pairs of leggings that

I recently discovered a new thing: Pickleball. And I’ve become a little obsessed with it! Naturally, I needed new clothes to wear when playing, and when I saw the collection of Beyond Yoga performance fabric arrive at Fabric Mart, I knew I needed it!  After getting some inspiration from the Beyond Yoga website, I selected three fabrics from Fabric Mart with my $50 budget – two Nylon/Lycra “Sportflex” fabrics (purple and olive), and a polyester/Lycra featherweight Jersey knit (blue).  I’m a big fan of Jalie patterns for all things sportswear, so once again I turned to their collection for each of these creations (disclosure: Jalie gifted me the patterns for this project). I decided to use the same top for each of my outfits, and then use various patterns for the bottoms. I struggled to find a simple dress in their collection, so in the end, decided to use the same top pattern, but self-draft a quarter-circle skirt for it. There are a couple of things I’d do differently next time, but ov

Hi everyone! I am back with my last summer blog of 2024. One of my favorite things about sewing is the ability to create higher end pieces for a fraction of the cost. I find that we are now in a place where we are creating more of these duplicate pieces. When making these “dupe” pieces that I find on Pinterest, I change some factor in them, so they will not be an exact replica but close to. When I saw this jumpsuit I immediately fell in love with it & I knew I had to recreate it.  Fabric Mart had the most beautiful red linen fabric & I just knew it was the perfect time to create it. I have such a love for linen! It is extremely easy to work with; it sews really well & I love natural fiber clothing. The hardest part about working with linen is the wrinkles. Linen is so easy to wrinkle & I find that even when it is pressed a lot it will still wrinkle of the course of time. I put a little bit of starch on it to keep it from creasing as easy. I had to search high & low

Activewear is a must for me and I love it when I find bright and fun fabrics to create unique activewear pieces with. For this month's Fabricista feature I snagged a cool activewear fabric in a bright and fun print that I just could not resist. Whether its, yoga, workout or swimming I found this fabric to work well for the pieces I created.  When shopping for activewear I’m usually looking for something that is strong and opaque.While this fabric did not disappoint when it came to creating workout wear, I still felt the need to add some powermesh for a little compression in areas. The back of the print is white and sometimes when stretched can show through the underside or appear to be a bit see-through. I was a little skeptical of that at first but don’t believe that was an issue after actually creating the piece.  For my workout pants I used Knowme pattern ME2051. This pattern was pretty easy to bring together and I love the wide band at the waist. I omitted the pockets for this

For as long as I can remember, I have worn jeans almost daily, in and out of the office. But recently, the Miami HEAT – the real summer hot burning sweaty heat, not the basketball team – has me considering other options. Now that I have tried light, breezy, and wide linen pants, I cannot go back to skinny jeans. I must add that I love dresses, but I work in a freezing office and need my long trousers and closed shoes. So, I basically dress every day for two opposed climates: the scorching desert outdoors and the North Pole indoors. This pattern, the Emerson Pants by True Bias , checks all the boxes. In the realm of woven pants, there is nothing more comfortable than wide legs and elasticized waistbands. These pants have that, but also feature a flat front waistband and pleats that turn it into a casual yet elegant outfit. The pattern was originally made for shorts or cropped pants, but I opted to add 5 inches to the bottom and make them long. It is more my style, and it reminds me of t

Maxi Skirts are everywhere this year! The last time maxi skirts were this popular was in the early 2000s so it's not a wonder that after an almost 20-year rest, maxi skirts of all shapes, styles, and fabrics have become popular again. What I appreciate about a maxi skirt is that it isn't just for dressy occasions. When paired with canvas sneakers and a classic t-shirt, a maxi skirt is just as casual as wearing jeans.  My appreciation of maxi-length skirts has grown since becoming the mom of a little boy. With shorter skirts, I can't crawl around on the floor during playtime or pick things up off the floor without worrying about accidentally showing my undergarments. I often end up wearing a pair of shorts underneath my skirts and dresses for peace of mind. But a maxi skirt is a stand-alone garment with no need for anything extra making it perfect for a hot summer day. With these benefits in mind, I knew it was time to add a new maxi skirt outfit to my wardrobe.  The True Bi