Fabric Mart Fabricistas

~Do you go out shopping on Black  Friday ?  While Black  Friday  is the official start of the holiday shopping season, for me, it is the official start of the holiday sewing season!  I usually stay home and start my gift giving sewing.  I love to sew pajama pants and robes for holiday presents.  They are easy to fit, easy to sew, and easy to personalize.  You can make it in someone's favorite color, or if they have a special interest, choose a fabric that reflects that.  If you're in a cold climate, you can use fleece or flannel, and if you're in a warm climate, you can use lightweight knits or cottons.  Men, women, boys, girls- you can really make everyone happy with a new robe and pajamas! Although I make them for my family, I had not made myself a robe and pajamas for years, so, I decided to treat myself to a new set.    I live in Illinois where we can get bitterly cold winters, so I chose Fabric Mart's sky blue pol...

And our next new Fabricista is.....Diane from Gatorbunny Sews ! Some of you might remember Diane from last year's Fashion Challenge . We loved her style and are excited to have her here back on the blog. ~My Pinterest boards, like many of yours, are full of all sorts of “wanna wears” and “wanna makes”.  If you were to look at my boards you might say “This girl likes Boden clothing". Their clothes are classic but fun and their fabrics are never boring, something that speaks to the sewist in me. Although it’s been unseasonably hot for a while where I live, I've been wanting to make something for winter and what better project than a Boden inspired skirt.  And I love this one!  It’s cute, classic, easy to wear and it gives me the opportunity to use wool, one of my favorite fabrics to sew with. A  small plaid Shetland wool  f rom  Fabricmart    in muted violets and purples won out as my fabri...

After receiving word from Fabric Mart that I could make up McCall's 6884 in the beautiful olive, brown, and silver wool sweater knit that I fell in love with over at their site, I decided that an outfit was in order, and that I would make the other pieces of this outfit.  I had some stash fabric for the tunic/top I made, but I knew I wanted to make an a-line skirt of something very fall-like, but that also wouldn't cost me a pretty penny to buy. Literally the next day after receiving word that I would be using the sweater knit, I saw that a "buy the piece" Shetland wool in a pink and brown houndstooth came up for sale.  I love Fabric Mart's   "Buy the Piece" category, there are some amazing hidden gems there.  You don't get to choose the yardage, but all the pieces in that category are super discounted.  For instance, this bit of pink and brown Shetland wool normally sells for $25 a yard (though it is on sale today for $15--woo!), but the ...

Next up on our new Fabricista blogger circuit is the winner of this year's  Fabricista Sewing Challange  Dina from My Superfluities ! She and all of our participants this year did an amazing job and we are happy to have her join our team.  ~Every year, without fail, I go with my family to my husband's childhood home in Mississippi, for an extended visit.  Since we only get to the deep South once a year, my husband always schedules us to be there for around ten days.  Problem is we only bring two suitcases ( admittedly the large ones--but we do have three kids, too! ), and that means we don't have the luxury of packing ten outfits to last us the trip.  Instead we do what every good packer does--we bring a few garments and a couple pair of shoes and a few accessories that we can mix and match so we can create ten looks from fewer overall pieces.   I like to pick a few colors to use as a base for my packed wardrobe, and this year when I was as...

We love sharing posts written by sewers in every aspect of their sewing venture. Whether you're just starting out or have been doing it for years, everyone can relate because we've all been there! W e are excited to share them because we know they will inspire someone else to make the move into sewing. Allison, one of our website assistants, has had fashion and sewing in her blood from an early age. She agreed to share with us her interest from childhood to today, when she created her first sewing project since high school! Thank you Allison for sharing your story with our readers! ~Hi, this is Allison. I work at Fabric Mart working on putting new fabrics on the website. After being surrounded by fabric all day I felt compelled to sew something!  This project is my first foray into garment sewing.  I have always been a creative person but not so much of a garment sewer. Recently, I found a picture from when I was 5 years old where I created (with some help from my ...

I am excited to introduce our next Fabricista, Kathy from Kathy Sews!  You might remember Kathy from last year's Fashion Challenge. I had the pleasure of meeting Kathy in person this year when she made the trip up to our store from Baltimore, MD. She was just as warm and enthusiastic as she is on her blog and we are happy to have her join our team!  ~We all have been seeing capes everywhere for fall. I wanted to sew one up with a belted waist, flattering my pear shape much more than many of the fuller styles I've seen and tried on in stores. I also wanted one that allowed for easy arm movement.  Last year I sewed up a Burda cape for the  Fabricista Fashion Challenge   that I loved, but I feel a little overwhelmed in it and my arms and hands are trapped inside when I wear it.  I used Simplicity 1775 for this project and it worked out really nicely... I  can drive in it, grocery shop, use my hands and arms normally and just basically function wh...

I'm finally back from my sewing hiatus. I didn't know how long it would be, but was not feeling it lately...like in the last two months. Between traveling for work and things to do on the weekends, I really had no time to sew. The last time I sewed, I was still thinking summer and now when I think about sewing, I realize I really need to change gears as the temperatures are dropping! But here's the problem...I don't know what to make! How do you get out of a "funk" like this? First, I allow myself to think it is ok not to sew. I think that is the hardest thing for me to come to terms with. As every weekend rolled around, I would thnk about sewing. But as the weekend went on and things piled up on my calendar, I had to tell myself it is ok to not be sewing. Then when I'm in a sewing funk and want to try and get back into sewing, I think about what projects I want to make. But this time around I was having a hard time deciding. I tend to look for somethi...