Fabric Mart Fabricistas

This month was a lot of fun and an experiment. I have long since been looking at the structured partlets that you see in a lot of late 16th-century Italian Portraiture. I knew that these would need to be constructed similarly to the doublet patterns that I have been working with for years. However, I didn't know what else would need to go into the garment to give it the structure I needed.  Would I be able to partly interline the garment like I did for the loose gown and have it work? Does the ingrown collar provide enough support or will I need to add lightweight boning to the next version? How frilly can I make this without embodying a bearded dragon? All of these are questions I will be exploring in the future because of the outcomes of this project! So watch me play with this glorious linen and try to decide exactly how many needles I can break before I decide to give up. (spoiler, it was more than five) MARTY   |  @scrappypatterns

It's after a July fourth, you know what that means? HALLOWEEN! When I checked my stash of patterns for inspiration I found a witch hat pattern and I couldn't resist since I could style and reuse both the hat and skirt for several characters as well as have a new skirt for my wardrobe! I absolutely love making hats, from beginning to end it's so relaxing for me. Once I had my pattern for the witch hat printed out and assembled, I started by reenforcing my main fabric, a Malibu Pink stretch sateen shirting with some interfacing for both the hat and brim. Taking separate interfacing for the internal structure of the brim I stitched wire to both the outer edge of the brim and the middle since I knew this hat would be a bit heavy, I wanted extra support! Once the support layer was done, I covered the underside (where the wire was attached) I added a layer of batting, then attached the caps to their brims for both the exterior and lining, before sandwiching them together. To fin...

Hello friends,  My Latest Fabricista Make: True Bias Riley Overalls x Red Carmine Cotton/Lycra Stretch Sateen Hi everyone, this is Byrd with my latest Fabricista make! I knew I wanted to make a pair of overalls, and when I saw Fabric Mart’s gorgeous Red Carmine Cotton/Lycra Stretch Sateen ( Bottom Weight ), it was game over. The color? Bold and rich. The weight? Spot on for summer overalls—structured but still breathable. For the pattern, I went with the Riley Overalls by True Bias . I cut a size 20 at the bust and graded to a size 22 at the hips for a custom fit that works with my shape. There are 23 different pattern pieces in this design, so I queued up a favorite audiobook and settled in. This was one of those slow, satisfying makes I knew from the start I’d stretch out over several days, savoring the process. Before I even touched the scissors, though, I made sure to prep my fabric properly. Pre-washing and drying are key—especially with cotton/lycra blends. It helps eliminate...

When I saw a sleek pink mini skirt adorned with a dramatic 3D flower on Pinterest, I was immediately inspired. It had that perfect balance of playfulness and polish—something I knew I wanted to recreate with my own spin. Rather than replicate the exact look, I adapted the silhouette into something more wearable for my lifestyle using a vibrant stretch tweed fabric from Fabric Mart. The Skirt: From Pinterest to Personalized For my version, I used Butterick 5446—a tried-and-true pencil skirt pattern—as the base. I swapped out the smooth fabric from the inspiration for a neon stretch tweed, which adds structure and visual texture while still being comfortable to wear. The oversized flower detail is what makes this piece stand out, and it was surprisingly simple to make. I found a quick and easy tutorial on Instagram for how to create petal shapes and build a dimensional flower. There are also plenty of resources on YouTube that break the process down step by step. Once you’ve got the tec...

May is my absolute favorite month, we get to enjoy spring weather and it is my birth month.  The birthstone for May is Emerald. I think emerald is such a gorgeous color so when I saw this beautiful ombre charmeuse I thought it would be the perfect fabric to make for my birthday dress.  To be honest it took me a while to narrow down on a design.  After a lot of back and forth I ended up going back to my first sketch that I created. I love to sketch out my ideas to figure out the patterning and materials. To create the design I used the method of draping on my dressform.  I used the lightweight muslin that Fabric Mart offers.  It is always best to use a muslin or material similar to your final fabric.  I started first by marking my style lines with some draping tape on my dress form.  I tore out pieces of muslin to fit within those lines making sure I am always marking my grainline. I also used the muslin to determine how I will create the rosettes onto...