Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Pattern is selected, and now the fabric is picked! You went with... Paint Splatter ITY Knit! I have to be honest, I don't have a lot of white-dominate clothes in my closet. But there are enough jewel-tones in this fabric that make up for it. I'm really excited to see what the dress will look like when it is finished.  If you're coming in late, we are running a sew-along where the reader's pick the pattern and the fabric that I use to make the garment! We will be sewing New Look 6097 , a dress that was voted one of the Best of 2013 on Pattern Review! Interaction with the reader is most important to us in this sew-along. We're giving you two options to share photos of the fabrics you chose, progress photos and finished garment photos. We set up a Flickr group so you can share all of these photos. Don't have Flickr? That's ok. Comment below, including a link to your blog or other photo-sharing space. Join our Flickr Group now! Le...

On Saturday, as I was finishing up my Mad Men Challenge dress, I was thinking about what fabrics I would like to use for the sew-along. I will most likely be choosing something from my stash because I need to use some of it up! In the afternoon, I took a break from sewing and went to Jo-Ann's to pick up a copy of New Look 6097. When I got to the pattern drawers, I almost panicked! They didn't have a divider for the pattern---they had 6096 and 6098 but not the one I needed! So I sifted through the sections and they had ONE pattern left! If you're in the Reading, PA area, you may need to have the pattern ordered in or order it online. Sorry! Before we get started sewing together, I wanted to share some thoughts about what fabrics to choose for the dress we will be making together. Some of you may already have picked out fabric and don't need any advice, but some of you may be working with knits for the first time! Whatever your experience, I'm just glad you are p...

The results are in for the Reader's Pick Sew-Along! And the winner is.... New Look 6097! It was neck and neck between New Look 6097 (dress) and McCall 5894 (pants.) I have to admit I started to think about what fabrics I would like to use for the pants, but when the dress was chosen, I had to change my course!  If you don't have the pattern, place an order on the New Look website or head over to your local New Look retailer. We will begin sewing on April 7th. That will give you two weeks to get your pattern and fabric. It is not required to use Fabric Mart fabric, but if you want to, get your orders in ASAP to ensure you receive your fabric before April 7th! I will be doing a post on fabric choices tomorrow, so if you're unsure as to what fabric to use, I will help you tomorrow! I'm heading out right now to purchase a copy of New Look 6097. I can't wait to get started. Will you be joining? Comment below if you plan on joining in the fun!

Mother Nature can be such a tease.  One day the temps get up to 60 degrees, the next day the temperature is back down to a frigid 20 with snow blowing in every which way.  I have hope though that Spring is just around the corner for us in the Northern Hemisphere. I'm not giving up hope people! This hope is what has coaxed me to put away the sweater knits in exchange for some more spring-friendly knits.  I don't know how many of you got in on the big knit sale Fabric Mart had a couple weeks ago but I sure didn't miss it.  Let's just say I may have went a little overboard.   So what's easy to sew up and even easier to wear?? A basic tee.  There are so many great patterns out there for tees  I thought I'd highlight a few of my favorites.                                    ...

Thank you to those who submitted ideas on patterns you would like to see in a sew-along! I have selected 6 patterns, most all your selection. If you did not give me a specific pattern, but an idea such as a blazer, I selected a pattern. I loved all of the independent pattern company selections you chose, but some of them already have sew-alongs for them either done by the designer or by others. I also decided to stick with patterns that are easy to find for most and ones that have not been used by too many others in a sew-along.  Now it is your chance to vote for the pattern you want to see in a sew-along. You will have until Friday, March 21st to select the pattern you would like to see in a sew-along.  Here are the patterns to choose from: 1) McCall 5894 2) Vogue 1233 3) New Look 6097 4) Burda - Chiffon Blouse 08/2013 #119 5) Simplicity 1538 6) Butterick 5926 I can't wait to see what you choose! This is defin...

I'm sure by now you have seen that Sewaholic Pattern's put out a new skirt pattern, the Gabriola Skirt. This awesome maxi skirt is not your average maxi skirt. It has piecing at the top, creating an a-line silhouette, rather than a boxy, plain maxi. Did you know that Fabric Mart has this pattern in stock?? Well now you do! Not only can you purchase the pattern, but you can browse our website for the perfect fabrics. Head on over to our website to purchase it now! The pattern recommends light-medium weight wovens like challis, lawn, shirtings, cottons, silks and polyester crepes. I picked a few fabrics from our website that I thought would be excellent choices for this skirt.  This challis would be the perfect weight and the zig-zag design is so popular right now! (CQD0521) This peachskin Abstract Geometric would flow nicely, plus it has a cool design. (CQA9166) Go basic with this corded weave shirting. Great color! ( SPC1717) I'm really excited ...

I'm fairly new to the blogging scene compared to some of you seasoned bloggers, and it takes some time to figure out the lingo. While working on a recent sewing project I relied a lot on sewing blogs, particularly sew-alongs. I have to admit I wasn't sure the real meaning of a sew-along except that you're documenting your sewing process. Then I'm thinking, well maybe I've been doing it all wrong! I'm sure there is no right or wrong answer, but I like the idea of a sew along being just that... Sewing along!  I usually like to figure things out on my own, but sew-alongs actually help! After reading a specific step in the pattern directions 10 times and still not getting it, I turned to sew-alongs (and reviews) for advice.  Wow! What a help! It's amazing how real images and different wording can help.  The other great thing about sew-alongs is that if you catch it while the sew-along is actually going on, you can sew with other people, ask questions, get advice...