Fabric Mart Fabricistas

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly a decade since I first discovered Fabric Mart Fabrics. At the time, I lived in the Lehigh Valley, specifically Allentown, and regularly traveled 90 miles south to York City, near the Maryland line. During one of these trips, I stumbled upon this gem of a store. The excitement I felt walking through its doors was quickly met with a pang of disappointment—how could such a treasure have existed for over 20 years before I found it? Since that day, it has been a love affair, one that has only grown stronger over the years. Fabric Mart has become an essential part of my creative journey, providing me with not just fabric but the building blocks of stories, resilience, and beauty. Now, as a small business owner with a retail studio serving my community, I take pride in saying that 95% of the fabric in my studio comes from Fabric Mart. Their commitment to offering exquisite deadstock fabric resonates deeply with my mission to create with sustainabilit...

I know it’s been super cold over most of the US recently and even South Florida got a cold front a few weeks go.  It got so cold it snowed several inches in Orlando and Northern Florida! It was during the winter freeze that I was looking for fabric for my next make and came across this Black 100% Polyester Double Faced Faux Fur that is 64W.  This fabric is so soft and luxurious to touch. More on the fabric later though, because I have some tips and tricks I learned along the way. I knew I wanted to make a vest so I started looking through my pattern stash and I came across McCall’s M7695. This is a Palmer/Pletsch pattern that uses the Tissue Fitting Method.  I honestly didn’t use the method.  I just looked at the measurements and decided on making the size 22 because I wanted the vest to be oversized.  This pattern comes with 4 different views.  The view I chose to make was View C with a minor adjustment. I chose to omit using the zipper and just followed ...

I LOVE the Friday Pattern Company Wildergown pattern. I have made 1 in rayon and another in a cotton lawn. I always get a lot of compliments on this dress. When I saw the solid black cotton voile with embroidered lines at Fabric Mart, I wanted to make another Wildergown. Voile is sheer so I doubled the bodice, sleeves and first tier of the skirt.  I really love to sew with French seams. Constructing this dress with 2 layers was a great opportunity to enclose the seams and use French seams. I cut each piece twice except for the bottom tier. I cut 7 tier pieces the same size. I modified the length of the tier to fit my height of 5’10”. I sewed the layers together, trimmed the seam and then enclosed the seam edges and sewed the seam again. I used a label that was perfect for this dress!  I really love how this dress turned out. I love the subtle embroidered stripes! I know I will get a lot of enjoyment out of wearing it when the weather warms up. Cotton Voile is perfect when t...

Dee & Dory are back on the Fabric Mart blog, and they've got some fresh Fabricista Makes to share with you! Dive into their latest video to catch all the details on their fabric picks and how their projects turned out. It's a cozy chat filled with sewing tips and inspiration – just what you need to spark your creativity! Click play and join the fun! Dee Cute pastel bunnies and flowers in a spring meadow. Reminders that soon spring will be on its way! Retro Butterick 6318 with a semi fitted bodice, self-made belt, gathered skirt and a lapped zipper are made for those lazy days of shopping and cute boutiques! Searching for that perfect unique or bargain item. This lightweight 56 inch 100% cotton lawn , Peter Rabbit floral print makes a beautiful dress. Machine washes easily and soaks up without any special attention. I am looking forward to the warmer weather for occasions to wear this happy dress. Dory Dory used this very natural linen/cotton blend fabric to make a “mini wa...

Hi everyone! While we’ve been blanketed with snow out here in Southeastern PA, I decided to conquer my fear of button holes and make NewLook pattern N6749. I was able to snag a few yards of the Jess + Jean print Liberty of London Tana Lawn for it. It’s always exciting when Fabric Mart is able to get Liberty fabrics in! I always make sure to grab some.  Cutting into a beautiful piece of tana lawn is scary every time. The fabric is such good quality, I’m afraid to mess it up! I had to be extra careful as this is also the first directional pattern I’ve worked with. But one of my assistants made sure all of my pieces were laid correctly. Something I wanted to try out with this dress was finishing the inside seams using the overlock stitch on my domestic machine. Normally I would french seam, but it was nice to not have to worry about cutting seam allowance in half, sewing, trimming, flipping, and sewing again. Next time I would cut the seam allowance back before overlocking, but I thin...

I have been eyeing this dress for, probably months now. And when I saw the fabric options this month, I knew exactly what I was making. This summer dress has been popping up on my feed and I have been drooling. Because this was over the holidays and I knew I'd be short on time I used one of my favorite patterns to give me a base for the dress. But even then it was a little ambitious for my available time. Do I regret it? No. Because who could regret something with a flowy skirt and a color-blocked bodice? Plus, I had a lovely friend cheer me on the entire process. So that helped. Enjoy the video of me trying to work around the nopes, getting scared by my partner, and hitting my head on my work table while hunting for my iron. I decided to leave in all of the chaos because it really was part of the process. Love, MARTY   |  @scrappypatterns