Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: Art In Motion



Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Tira from TIRACOOKS and I am so excited to share this project with you. When I first spotted this fabric, I was drawn in by how stunning it looked it reminded me of a living art piece. Then, when I looked closer, I noticed painted hanging plants in the print, which made it even more special. This fabric is one of my all-time favorites: chiffon. It cuts so smoothly, and the best part? Any wrinkles come out effortlessly with a steamer.

Before cutting into anything, fabric prep is essential! Chiffon must be prewashed by hand in cold water with a gentle detergent or baby shampoo. Always serge or zigzag stitch the raw edges to prevent fraying. Submerge and gently swirl the fabric to wash never wring or twist it then air dry flat. I used a 70/10 needle in my Juki DDL, which is perfect for lightweight fabrics, alongside my Juki overlock machine.



Look One: The Duster & Dress

I was lucky enough to create two completely separate outfits from this fabric. The first look is a long duster coat paired with a thigh-high slit dress. Since this chiffon is quite sheer, I needed a lining that was opaque enough for my comfort. I used black gauze, which was what I had on hand and it worked perfectly. I love how floor-length everything is lots of coverage.



Close Up Look Two: The Two-Piece Set

The second ensemble is a fun two-piece set combining a one-shoulder crop top with a simple pencil skirt. The added glamour comes from this gorgeous metallic silk fabric from Fabric Mart just look at the tinsel sheen and the flow of that cummerbund skirt! I have never sewn such beautiful fabric before. I even kept the scraps just in case for another project needs a tinsel touch.



Sizing

For sizing, I cut a straight size from the size chart without any grading between sizes and cut at a size 18.

Since these patterns are originally designed for knit fabric, I made a modification: I chose to use a nonstretch woven material and went up two sizes to accommodate for the lack of stretch. Most patterns can be adapted this way with a little planning, if you didn’t know that you should give it a try next time you see a knit pattern.




All of the fabric featured in these photos came from Fabric Mart can you tell it’s my favorite store? Chiffon will always be my fabric of choice for spring sewing, and only difficult to sew when you don’t prep your fabric. Thank you so much for reading! It’s always more enjoyable when you’re working with high-quality fabric I cannot wait to be back with more.

Be sure to follow me on social media for all things fashion-related. Thank you, Fabric Mart, for helping me fill my closet with beautiful clothes!

Until next time Happy Sewing!

Tira  |  @tiracooks

Comments

  1. Wow! All the looks are stunning. What a great use of this delightful fabric. (Mine is waiting to become a floaty summery maxi dress.)

    Thanks for the clear and helpful tips for sewing with chiffon, and modifying knit patterns. You achieved a great fit with all of your garments.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tiracooks? How about TIRA SEWS!!!! Stunning!!!!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Recent Posts You Might Like

Made by a Fabricista: What to Make with Silk Taffeta

You may have noticed that Fabric Mart has a *HUGE* selection of silk taffeta right now.  A lot of it is either large plaid or large stripes.   I was curious about it, and not really sure what I could make with it, but I just knew it would be gorgeous fabric and had to play around with it.  Turns out, it's actually great for quite a range of projects!  The dress above is my third project. Let me show you the first two. My first was to make some queen size pillow shams.  They are the plaid ones in the back of the photo.  I also made the two printed ones in the center from another Fabric Mart home dec fabric special!  I wanted to make the covers removable with a zipper, and include a braided trim.  As luck would have it, I found a whole card of braided trim at an estate sale that worked with my taffeta for just $2! To start, I used a zipper foot to stitch down the braided trim all around one side of the pillow. Then I serged ...

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 ...