Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Do you have fabric types that you shy away from? I'm talking about the fabric you look past when shopping in person (walking really fast to get to the next type) or click past online (click, click, click past to ignore its existence all together)? Very lightweight fabric such as chiffon (which I used for the top in this blog post) is my fear fabric. But you can overcome this fear by using some tips from online bloggers or purchasing additional tools for your machine. A combination of this will make the experience more pleasant and make you feel like, "Yes, I can manage a fear fabric and get a result that will make me try again!" Here is my journey using lovely chiffon. My original plan when I first spied this fabric was to make a dress. Not just any dress but a fitted-in-the-bodice maxi dress.  Well, even though I made a muslin, I hated the dress on me and since this was my blog post fabric, I was so very disappointed!  I knew I had to create something so I ...

Summer time is here! Are you looking for something fun to do this summer? If so, you need to check out this sewing event: There are a lot of t-shirt patterns out there. The big 4 pattern companies have a number of different options and the same with the independent pattern companies. Everyone needs a basic t-shirt in their closet right? Well after you make the t-shirt for the tenth time, you might be sort of tired of it. So why not change it up a bit? Over the past few months, I have seen so many creative sewers (professional and ameteur) pattern hack t-shirt patterns and create all new designs. I've seen them alter the pattern into something that you don't even realize was a shirt and I've seen sewers alter their fabric or combine unusual fabrics together to make something really interesting.  This summer, follow the Fabricista blog in our adventure of everything t-shirt. I have lined up some of your favorite sewing experts and sewing bloggers for the "Summe...

This time of the year, I do nothing but blog about my upcoming vacation.  Each year in June, I travel to one of my absolute favorite places in the world, Puerto Rico.  Growing up in NY, Puerto Rico and its people have always been a part of my life and is literally weaved throughout my family.   The island and its culture are something that speak to me and I don't think there will ever be a time in which I stop going. When I think of the Caribbean, I think of bright and vibrant colors.  I remember visiting the Virgin Islands many years ago for my first of many carnivals and being overwhelmed with the colors of the sea, the mountain sides, the homes, and the many colors displayed on the costumes they wore.  The fabric I used for these shorts (yes they are shorts) is a Caribbean Blue 100% open weave suiting that until recently was available on sale @ $3.00 per yard.  This garment is also suitable for Linen which is currently on sale ( HE...

This month I really wanted to sew up matchy matchy Mother/Daughter dresses and my daughter has been asking for a dress with a high-low hemline.  This seemed like a great time to get to work since she really needs a few summer dresses. It can be a challenge to find material that is suitable for my daughter as well as me so when I spotted this colorful ITY knit I knew it would be deemed acceptable by her and by me! It is sold out now, but you can find other ITY knits HERE . Normally I stay far away from polyester anything and everything during the summer but ITY is so thin that it works pretty well for most weather.  For my daughter's dress I used McCalls 6827 and extended it.  After completion I wanted to hack off some of the back of the dress but my daughter likes it and calls it a "cape."  For my dress I used McCalls 7348 and it is a TNT pattern for me.  I narrowed it a bit more around the skirt portion and made two slits at ...

[This outfit was made for and modeled by my daughter Mori] H ow about that snakeskin print huh? I had my eye on this print for a while. I had in mind a wrap maxi dress but the fabric does not flow as I needed it to for the dress, The dress I had in mind would work with a shirting fabric, but not this cotton. This cotton is better suited for a suit....a skirt.... a jacket or maybe a dress that has some body to it. Now because of this (Oops) I still have some wonderful fabric left over and I plan on making a blazer. Grab your fabric HERE! I went with Butterick on both the top and bottom view D for each piece. I stayed pretty true to the jacket only modifying the sleeves 3/4 with a cuff. For the front two seams of the skirt I added metal zippers which I thought would be fun. I purchased three 30 inch metal teeth separating zippers, two for the skirt and one for the jacket. I did not modify anything to add the zipper I just folded the seams under with a on...

I've wanted one of these side-split tees/tops for a good long while. As the releases were rolled out from the various pattern companies, I was consistently on the fence. I'm short. I'm fairly rectangular from the front on. Would I really like this style on me?? I saw cute versions on other sewing bloggers and decided, okay, I'm going for it! I was in my local Hancock store and saw new Simplicity patterns (before they were released!) and scooped up Simplicity 8138. I loved the seaming in back and the cut on sleeve. I managed to miss that there would be a LOT of extra volume in the top -- which the line drawing does indicate! I just didn't pay close enough of attention.  I chose a size 14 and since I didn't want to add a dart, just graded out a bit through the bust and waist.  I was so excited to get it together, that I didn't think about fabric handling. I'd already assembled the back before I decided French seams may have been a good i...