Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Can you believe it? Spring is here already! Are you ready to freshen up your wardrobe with this season's trends? Black and White Contrast Pure White Veiled details Asian Influence Fabric Collage Flounce Women's suits How many of our sewing friends are going to make a few new pieces for spring? Try your hand at creating something unique! What is your favorite spring trend?

As a fellow fabric addict, I have struggled with ways of storing all of my gorgeous finds. I've tried stacking, boxing, etc. And none of them worked for me. I still found myself frustrated with the appearance of my stash and I could never find that piece of fabric I knew I had (or maybe thought I had, but didn't actually buy yet..) One of my sewing friends told me about these handy dandy fabric organizer boards . We thought they were a swell idea, however, they didn't come with a very friendly price. So I decided to try my hand at making my own mini bolts with no cost. You will need a bolt for 45" fabric that is tri-folded. You can ask for these bolts at your local fabric store. Some places will throw them away, so you can snatch them up for free.  You can get four mini bolts out of one 45" bolt. Using a box cutter, cut on the folds and one in the center of the long piece.  (Where the black lines are in the photo above.)  By doing so y...

The Julie's Picks contest submission process begins today!  Dates to Remember: Submission Period: April 1-15, 2013 Voting begins: April 16, 2013 and ends April 19, 2013. Winner will be announced on April 22, 2013! If you have any questions, refer to our blog post or email julie@fabricmartfabrics.com.

How many times have you gone on a fabric expedition and found a fabric you just NEED but you have no idea how much is necessary for this pattern you know you have but you left at home?   Or perhaps you did remember your pattern but it was thrown into your purse and in a shabby condition once it retreated from inside the time capsle. All you need is:  5 1/2 in x 8 1/2 in binder 5 1/2 in x 8 1/2 in sheet protectors Stick-On Note Tabs Your Sewing Patterns Photo Copier  Once you have your supplies you are ready to make your book. All you need to do is take your pattern and photo copy the front and back. Cut off the excess and insert the pages with the pattern sides facing out into your sheet protector.  Now when you find that perfect fabric you can flip open your pattern book and know exactly how much fabric you will need to purchase. Yep, it's that simple!  Now the hard part is remembering to put it in your purse! ...

  Do you want to be a Fabricista?   Will you help us?! We are looking for 3 Seamstresses/Seamsters to create a piece for a  blog post to feature our readers.     What is the post about? We are doing a post about what to make with different types of knit. Therefore we would like to see what our readers can do with knits.     How do I become a guest blogger? Email us a little bio about you and a few examples of your recent work.  (Especially any pictures of knit garments!) If you are a blogger, please include a link to your blog. Email to fabricmartblog@gmail.com       What will I need? Fabric Mart will send you a gift certificate to order your fabric for the project if you are chosen. You will be able to chose which pattern you will use. We will let you know what type of knit we would like you to sew with by email if selected.       What would I ne...

This is a friendly reminder that the Julie's Picks Sewing Contest is fast approaching! Julie's Picks members have only a few day left to purchase from the March mailer.  We created an event on Facebook to get an idea of how many people are planning to attend.  Join our event now ! Post pictures of your progress and see what others are doing! Remember, Julie's Picks members are the only ones that can be part of this contest. Join Julie's Picks now . Click here  to read the details about the Julie's Picks Contest. We will send out periodic reminders. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up!

Here we are again with some of our favorites from Etsy shops. We love supporting fellow Etsy shop owners! Check out our picks for Easter Dresses that are handmade! Chocolatine Boutique Fairy Free Designs Maliposha Clothes Moose Baby Creations Sweet Honey

We are thrilled to have Lisa on the blog today from Notes from a Mad Housewife. She is one of our favorite sewing bloggers and when we got in some new rayon challis, we couldn't wait to ask her to make something with one of the prints. We're so lucky she agreed! Here is a little about her: A little about me... I grew up watching my mom sew, and even though I didn't do much sewing myself as a kid, I absorbed just enough to get me started when I got my own machine. Initially my sewing was for things like halloween costumes and dresses for my girls. Then about three years ago it dawned on me that I could sew actual clothes for myself and I've hardly bought a piece of clothing since. I'm married and have four young children, so in addition to sewing my wardrobe I've started working on my husband's, as well as supplementing my kids' closets . I'm interested in functional everyday pieces that get worn on a regular basis, not just the fluffy dresses...

Here at Fabric Mart, we love supporting independent pattern designers.  And what patterns are more adorable than those for children? Why buy from independent pattern companies?  Typically there is only one person or a very small team designing and creating the patterns from these shops. Some shops make the patterns by hand or use their technology skills to design them on a computer program and print them or lay them out in an email-able format.  Therefore these are special patterns not mass-produced like familiar brands such as Vogue or Simplicity.  We listed here just a few independent children pattern designers for you to shop:    Bettsy Kingdom Patterns Figgy Patterns  Juvie Moon  La Tee Da Kids   Lily Bird Studio Oliver S. Patterns Lou Bee Clothing Loving what you see? Here are a couple links where you can find more independent pattern companies: http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/27129/...