Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Obviously, the first thing I thought about for this late January post was a red dress for Valentine's Day. My original plan was to whip up  M7534 , one of the new McCalls early spring patterns. It looks like a fairly simple pattern that could be whipped up in a time for Valentine's Day for all you procrastinators (like myself) and could be dressed up or down. I loved this pattern at first sight! Especially View D, wrap bodice, bishop sleeves, maxi skirt...What's not to love.  So I hurriedly check the website for a red fabric to make an exact copy of the pattern envelope. I decided on this  Bright Strawberry Textured Crepe Double Knit  and not so patiently waited for it to arrive. Well as soon as it arrived I knew I would have to change my plan. I guess I was so wrapped up in the strawberry color and the crepe texture that I overlooked the double knit part. This fabric was too heavy for a pattern that calls for crepe, stable knits or challis. My ba...

Hello- Hope all is well! Have you ever wanted to make yourself a comfy chunky sweater, but you don’t know how to knit? Well, my sewing friends I have good news! You don’t have to know how to knit to make yourself a chunky sweater. You can just buy chunky sweater knit fabric by the yard to “sew” yourself a sweater! Many, many years ago, I had the best chunky sweater knit coat a girl could have. I loved my sweater knit coat so much that I wore it even when it began to come apart in multiple places. I did not know how to sew then, but I hand-stitched the holes together. My stitching was very poor and the thread never matched. However, I figured if I stood at certain angles, no one would notice. One day, my beloved sweater knit coat came apart at a side seam, and before I could get home to “fix it”, the entire side of the coat unraveled. It was done! Such a sad day. Not too long after the loss of my coat, I had enough confidence to believe I could learn to knit and make myself an...

In my last post , I showed you my travel wardrobe and a few hints as to where I was going to wear it.  And the correct answer was:  Barcelona, Spain!!!   My family and I were in Barcelona for 11 days at the end of December.  It was our first time ever in Spain, and we were very excited because we were going to get to see our daughter, who has been in the Peace Corps in Madagascar for the last 10 months. The first two days it was raining, and I definitely needed the centerpiece of the wardrobe, this coat- made from a double knit, trimmed in leather, using Butterick 6384. The above shot is at an outdoor Christmas market where they were selling all kinds of greenery, flowers, nativity scenes, Caga Tio's and Caganers.  Caga Tio and Caganers are very unique Catalonian traditions.   I won't go into them here, but definitely check it out if you don't mind a little potty humor. When we travel, we always stay somewhere where we have a ...

HI Fashionistas: Being the last minute that I am, I am surprised that I already have my valentines day dress done! Now I'll just patiently wait for my hubby to ask me out. Here is the dress I made: The dress was a bit of a pattern hack. I started with the bodice of a Butterick pattern. Then made some pattern alterations, made the style lines on the bodice style lines curvier, and raised the waist to a curved empire waist.  The red lines are my pattern alterations after making the 1st muslin. The skirt pattern was self-drafted and I am in LOVE with the fit of this dress. If you want to look into drafting skirts, here is a class I recommend . This is the same teacher I studied with. If you want to see my review of this class, click HERE . Initially, I was planning on doing the following pattern hack, but then I found the Butterick pattern for the bodice. Here is the back view and side view: The fabric I used is this one. ...

I had to make another winter coat and this time in a trend...mustardy-yellow. Can you blame me? This color is all over the place and I love it! Instead of being a year or two late, I decided for once in my life to be (sort of) on time for a fashion trend! Here is the pattern I choose. It is a uni-sex pattern. I'd previously made it for my son and knew what I needed to do to make it fit me. And, guess what? You can find this pattern on Fabric Mart's site! Here is a link: Colette Albion Coat If you don't like following links, here is a picture :)   I love the fabric I chose for this coat. It has a nice heft to it and is soft and warm!. And, isn't it a great color? This fabric doesn't ravel at all, so to finish off the seams, I choose to topstitch 1/4" on each side of the seamline. There was only one seam that I was unable to do this and that one you can see in the photo below. This fabric is a bit heavy, for the ...