Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Recently, I've happily been able to reintroduce skirts into my wardrobe! I have really been looking for interesting skirt silhouettes and Vogue 8750 definitely fits the bill. I picked up this J. Crew tweed during a designer fabric sale. It's a 50/50 wool/poly blend with lovely little flecks of orange, brown and pink. It washed up well (the hand of the fabric softened just a bit) and takes a press nicely. I really enjoyed working with it and am so happy to have enough left for a jacket!  I just loved those seam lines on the pattern and was happy to see that the shortest, fuller version only needed 1 5/8 yards of fabric. Typical for me with skirts, I cut a size 16 front and 18 back. There are lots of notches and other marks to help keep everything lined up. Because my fabric is highly textured, I used tailor tacks to keep track of all of the markings. The pattern calls for grosgrain ribbon to finish the waist. When this treatment is used, I like to use strips of ...

I feel like I spend so much time focused on creating clothing that is dressy and unique ( like my last make for the Fabric Mart blog ) that it was high time I go and make something that is more casual and more practical. Enter my foray into the athleisure trend! I decided on two patterns would be perfect for my kind of athletic wear, McCalls 6901 for the pants, and Jalie 2795 for the jacket. I don't run, I don't play team sports in a gym or a field, and I don't work up a sweat in a aerobics class. I do, however, swim and walk. A LOT. And anytime I walk or swim, I do things on either end of the walk or swim. In fact my long walks are usually so I can get exercise AND get someplace. So I decided I wanted these patterns because they don't just look like workout wear, they look like pieces you could wear outside of working out and no one would be wiser. There was also my personal need to stay warm and dry, especially on the days when I swim, since wintertime swimmi...

Hello everyone! My name is Michelle, and I blog about sewing from the Seattle area. I am thrilled to be joining the Fabricistas and want to share my first project with you: a silk peasant blouse: For this project, I used a pattern that I had previously made and loved-- HotPatterns Classix Nouveau Refined Peasant Blouse .   For my previous version of this top, I used a cotton double gauze. I've been wearing that version nearly non-stop, so for my second version, I decided to up the ante and use a silk double georgette from Fabric Mart. Fabric Mart is sold out of this particular fabric but does have other colors available: Silk Double Georgette Fabrics . The pattern itself is a raglan-sleeved blouse with a gathered neckline and a v-neck slit opening. You can see the details a little better when the blouse is lying flat: Outside of being a bit slippery and wiggly, as silks generally are, this fabric was lovely to work with. That's a LOT of gathering in that neckli...

Hi Fashionistas!!! I have missed you. I have been a busy little sewing bee. Earlier this year when I started thinking about my  bucket list , making a winter coat was one of the items on my list. And that is what I have been working on for the last seven days.... When I started thinking about coat making, I had a structured coat in mind. I have always been fascinated with the structure that goes inside a tailored jacket or coat, so I decided I wanted shoulder pads, I wanted hair canvas and pad stitching, I wanted sleeve headings, I wanted it all!!! I chose to go with a design that was a bit millitary-esque. I exaggerated the neckline for a more dramatic look and used custom-made shoulder pads to add structure to the garment. I also used hair canvas throughout the neckline to make sure it would stand up. The fabric is a yummy 100% wool melton coating fabric from Fabric Mart. You can check out their gorgeous selection of wool fabric HERE . I really am in...

I imagine that most of us who love to sew also love to decorate! If you like experimenting with different fabrics, textures, and colors, then sewing for your home is one more way to enjoy doing that. I used to paint the walls a lot- my husband joked that we were repainting every two weeks. These walls have been varying shades of purple, green, and gold over the years! I decided that my husband had a point, and about 5 years ago, I decided to try painting the walls a neutral gray and then when I wanted to redecorate, I would play around with color using fabric in the room- the pillows, drapes and blankets- things that I could sew. So, recently I picked out some fabrics from Fabric Mart to give my living room a makeover. I ordered some sheers, fleeces, and decorator fabrics in shades of blue, cream and grey.  Let's start with the blankets. With winter around the corner, you've got to have a great blanket to cover up with while you watch TV or read a book! I orde...