Made by a Fabricista: Youtube Edition

Made by a Fabricista: Youtube Edition | Dee & Dory

Freshen up your wardrobe for spring with Dee & Dory! 🌸 They’re back on the Fabric Mart blog with a brand-new round of Fabricista Makes—sharing pieces that are as wearable as they are inspiring.

This time, it’s all about thoughtful updates and feel-good fabrics. Dee leans into effortless style with elevated basics—think a beautifully draped top and easy wide-leg pants that prove simple silhouettes can still make a statement. Meanwhile, Dory brings a playful twist with a super comfortable dress, complete with fun details and styling plans already in motion.

It’s a fun, inspiring episode filled with fabric insights, pattern picks, and real-life sewing wins (plus a few helpful lessons along the way!). Press play and join Dee & Dory as they step into their spring sewing season! ✂️✨

Dee

I needed an update for my wardrobe, style wise. I used Butterick 6966, views A&C. Wide legged slacks and a basic pullover top. Nothing basic about the fabric!

The top is from an polyester/lycra ITY with a slightly slippery feel, which for me, feels elegant. Sewed up without difficulty, but needing attention of pacing the sewing at a slower pace to construct a garment neatly. Worth taking the time as the fabric resulted in draping beautifully on the body. And it feels so good wearing that top. A bonus … the fabric washes and drys as recommended, being wash and wear, wrinkle free.

The slacks are in style being wide legged and simply constructed. They drape so nicely on the body due to the choice of fabric. The fabric is a stable double knit, ponte knit, with a soft drape. It is a Rayon/Lycra and weighty enough for pants. Sewing was a breeze and I loved the one piece pattern for the slacks. They are pull on with an elastic waist and wear neatly. The fabric laundered as per the recommendation without issue.

Thank you Fabric Mart for the beautiful fabric!

Dory

Using the Friday Pattern Company's Dew Top Dress, I made this very fun and super comfortable dress out of one of the recommended fabrics - a scuba knit with a four way stretch. This fabric was very easy to work with and has a really cute border on it, which I ended up using on the sides. I was hoping to use the border horizontally instead of vertically, but there wasn’t enough stretch that way. The pockets on the dress are a lot of fun and add quite a bit to the pattern.

I used a serger to do all the seams and a zigzag stitch on my sewing machine to attach the pockets. I really had no issues at all with making this and am so happy to add it to my wardrobe! I’m going to a “vintage” tea this week and will wear this styled with a fascinator and gloves.

DEE & DORY | designdreamers

Comments

A Yard And Change

Do you have a fabric that you love and has been hanging around but is too small to use? Maybe you found a wonderful fabric with a super cute print but there's only a yard left. I've got a few projects I worked on all with roughly a yard of fabric. And I have a few tips for making that yard and change go further! Cutting Layout: You can get a lot more mileage out of a yard of fabric if you can get creative with how you lay out your fabric. Cutting things single layer will give you the most control. My favorite thing to do is unfold the fabric and fold the selvages in to meet in the middle. That gives me two folded edges to work with. I had to overlap these to get enough width for the tank top. Just make sure that your pattern pieces don't also overlap! This one was especially fun for me because I really loved the print on this swimwear knit but am not yet up to sewing swimwear. But a nice flowy hiking tank is perfect for this! In the future I'd love to experiment with...

Help Our Buyers Shop!

Comment on this post with what you are looking for right now and our buyers will seek it out! I am craving wool gabardines and ponte knits in fun autumn colors. What about you?

Sewing Vintage for Summer

Hello sewing friends! I was highly motivated to try another one of the vintage Polynesian Pattern dresses I’ve collected during our hot weather. The patterns are all dramatic and fashionable and really apropos for summer styling. This one is number 204, the Pilialoha Dress. The gown includes a wide boatneck that many of them feature, plus a very beautiful back gathering and wraparound closure. I always find that the special details on the back are such a chic surprise compared to the simple front. I chose a lemon covered cotton lawn . I am really delighted with the quality of this cotton, it’s luxuriously soft and smooth. The scale of the lemons and blossoms are just right and not overwhelming, and the soft yellow background is beautiful. This could not be more charming and summery! I also chose some excellent lightweight interfacing for my facings, and the real highlight is these Dritz Floral Sew-On Snaps that I’ve had my eye on for months! Finally, the perfect ...

Athletic Wear Refresh: A Bold New Gym Set

There’s something especially motivating about refreshing your workout wardrobe with pieces that feel like you. As part of my ongoing athletic wear refresh, I’m adding another handmade set to my gym wardrobe—and this one might be the boldest yet. Lately, I’ve been taking a closer look at my handmade wardrobe and thinking more intentionally about what I actually wear in this season of my life. Athletic wear has become a big part of that. Instead of treating workout clothes as an afterthought, I want my gym wardrobe to have the same personality, color, and style as everything else I make. And this fabric made that very easy. The Fabric That Started It All The moment I saw this vibrant multicolored paisley, I was immediately drawn to it. The mix of warm reds, oranges, greens, turquoise, and golden yellow against the light background feels bold, energetic, and a little unexpected for athletic wear . There’s something about the print that reminds me of Etro and other higher-end f...

Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Search This Blog