Fabric Mart Fabricistas

When the Vogue Spring '17 patterns were released I knew I had to have and sew V1531. I was hot off the success of another vogue dress pattern (my little red dress from last month) so another fitted dress was appealing. I really loved the versatile cowl neck but the open back is definitely what won me over. Vogue 1531 ( Vogue Patterns ) The recommended fabrics listed are wool crepe, ponte knit and crepe-back satin. Since a shipment of David's Bridal Satin had just hit the website, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and use a fabric I wasn't too familiar with. There are several colors to choose from - violet magenta , scarlet red , hunter green and more - but I ultimately decided on this rich azure blue . I love this bright, bold blue! I also chose this David's Bridal stretch lining as I knew these would work well with the satin because both listed 10% selvage to selvage stretch. If you want the snag the last bit of the azure satin, consider ...

Hello… Hope all is well!  As spring approaches, I cannot help but get excited about all of the fun dresses and looks that I want to sew.  I have already planned out a long list of “to-makes” and my hope is that I will find enough time and energy in the day (or night) to get at least 50% of my sewing “to-makes” done.   To get started on dresses, I made a version of Simplicity 1881 and the Morris Blazer by Grainline Studios .  My initial intent was to style these two pieces together.  However, after finishing both pieces, I decided the look was not working for me.  I felt the dress could stand alone and wasn’t made to be covered, and the blazer deserved its own spotlight as well.  Therefore, my plans changed at the last minute.  I used a big scrap of the bow tie print fabric to make a skirt to wear with the blazer instead of the dress.  I made the skirt using New Look 6035 . So let me talk about the fabric!...

I've always found the color "mauve" to be a little mysterious.  Is it pink?  Is it purple?  Is it brown?  Is it gray?  Whenever I read about color analysis, mauve is one of the recommended colors for me (a summer), so I thought I should find out a little more about it.   The first thing that I found out, is that I've been mispronouncing it my entire life.  It is not "mahv", but "mov" with a long o, as in stove or clove.  I'm already feeling a little more sophisticated!   According to Wikipedia, mauve was named after a pale purple flower called the mallow flower.  It's use didn't become popular until 1859 when a chemist trying to make a cure for malaria noticed a residue that ended up becoming a mauve dye.  The 1890's are referred to as the "mauve decade" because of it's popularity! I ordered several different fabrics to experiment with that all had mauve in the names.  You can see that they range in colors fro...

I love when we get designer fabrics. I love it for a few reasons -- 1) I love the photo hunt to see what the designer made with it. 2) I love the excitement that the customers get. 3) I love trying to figure out how to use a fabric when it is unusual, such as a panel or border. 4) I love saying that, "This fabric is from XYZ designer and I made my own version of the garment!" We recently imported a load of fabric from Thakoon. I had heard of Thakoon, but was not too familiar with his designs. Thakoon is Thai-American and grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. His designs are described as "timelessly feminine" and "romantic and sensual as they are modern and innovative. (Thanks to Wikipedia for that info.) His designs have been worn by numerous celebrities and carry a high price tag. I was intrigued by this cotton sweatshirt knit with a flocked floral design. It is a panel and honestly, at first glance, didn't seem to have a great layout. The flowers are ab...