Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: A Blast From the Past

Image
By

 Hello everyone! I’m so excited to share my new look with you guys!


Fashion is one big revolving circle. Trends, colors, styles, etc. all tend to repeat themselves. One of my favorite time periods is the 1960’s. It has so many traits that is true to me, they had vibrant colors, amazing silhouettes, lots of florals, and dramatized accessories. 


When I saw this gorgeous Fabric Mart Chiffon fabric (found HERE if still available!) I immediately thought of an amazing 1960’s styled dress. I imagined this flowy floral dress with a dramatic sleeve & an immense amount of color.  The fabric has many colors in it including: olive, mustard, hues of purple, pink, hunter green, blues; it is indeed out of a 60’s dream.


Instead of creating a pattern from scratch, I decided to use a pattern in case anyone would want something similar. I used the pattern 8089 by McCall’s View A. The pattern was pretty easy to use & I didn’t have any complications when making it. The fabric being chiffon it is very delicate and smooth. It can be hard for a beginner to sew or cut with. If you have ever run into any problem with it staying put you can very lightly spray starch on it & it will stiffen it a tiny bit to achieve some stability; for me I chose to put several pattern weights on it & cut it out that way. For the hems it is easy to do a curved hem roll, where you sew a curved line all around the bottom then press & fold it over. It will make the hem much easier for you & with this certain fabric it also leaves a clean finish. This dress is a pullover dress with an elastic waistband, so there was no need for any extra zippers or closures. 


 I lined it with some dark purple satin that I had in my stash. I only lined the bodice & skirt portion of the dress, to keep the initial flow of the dress, as well as, the ruffles. For the ruffles & the sleeves I extended the pattern to give it a more exaggerated look. I added 2 inches to each side of the sleeve & I added 1 inch to each ruffle. 


I really wanted this photoshoot to be fun, so I styled it with all 60’s things alike. I really wanted to bring the entire look together to understand my vision when I initially saw the fabric. I bought a cheap old fashioned belt & I styled my hair & makeup to resemble that time period. I was so happy with the overall achieved look. This has to be one of my favorite dresses. 




Thank you guys!

MACY  | @macycamile

Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics in our CHIFFON category.

Comments

  1. IsabellaFebruary 15, 2021 at 7:37 AM

    The colors remind me of something [Mama Cass](https://radaronline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/01-portrait-600px-tall92.jpg) wore but you look more lovely in them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownFebruary 15, 2021 at 9:32 AM

      Love it, those colors suit you so well. 60's was not my favorite since I lived them and in my memory it was way more divided than we are now, but on you I can like it and maybe remember better parts.

      Delete
  2. MaricaFebruary 15, 2021 at 9:18 AM

    Beautiful!! I absolutely love it!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. MaricaFebruary 15, 2021 at 9:19 AM

    Beautiful!! I absolutely love it!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownFebruary 15, 2021 at 9:43 AM

    You need the white go go boots. I love your look and beautiful dress

    ReplyDelete
  5. WillknitforbeerFebruary 15, 2021 at 1:35 PM

    Well done! beautiful dress..... gives me ideas on the loads of chiffon I have chilling in my stash. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  6. WillknitforbeerFebruary 15, 2021 at 1:35 PM

    Well done! beautiful dress..... gives me ideas on the loads of chiffon I have chilling in my stash. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  7. RFebruary 16, 2021 at 12:29 PM

    The dress looks amazing on you. And your styling is superb. You have great visions!

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownFebruary 16, 2021 at 5:19 PM

    Groovy!

    ReplyDelete
  9. CarolynFebruary 16, 2021 at 7:59 PM

    That is adorable and you look fantastic. You have found your era! :-)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Recent Posts You Might Like

Made by a Fabricista: What to Make with Silk Taffeta

By
You may have noticed that Fabric Mart has a *HUGE* selection of silk taffeta right now.  A lot of it is either large plaid or large stripes.   I was curious about it, and not really sure what I could make with it, but I just knew it would be gorgeous fabric and had to play around with it.  Turns out, it's actually great for quite a range of projects!  The dress above is my third project. Let me show you the first two. My first was to make some queen size pillow shams.  They are the plaid ones in the back of the photo.  I also made the two printed ones in the center from another Fabric Mart home dec fabric special!  I wanted to make the covers removable with a zipper, and include a braided trim.  As luck would have it, I found a whole card of braided trim at an estate sale that worked with my taffeta for just $2! To start, I used a zipper foot to stitch down the braided trim all around one side of the pillow. Then I serged ...
8 comments
Continue Reading »

Made By A Fabricista: Mechanic Chic!

By
When it comes to buying ready-to-wear garments as a sewist, I only ever spend in three categories: heavy duty winter jackets (life in Maine!), bras… and jumpsuits! I love a good jumpsuit, but unfortunately the ones I used to buy have been impacted by the tariff situation and I can’t get them affordably anymore. This can only mean one thing, folks: it’s time to roll up my sleeves and sew my very first jumpsuit!  When I started planning for this project, I knew I wanted to use a heavyweight linen for cozy comfort in the fall and breathability in the summer. I wanted something that would wear beautifully and soften with age, and something with neutral tones that could go with everything. Naturally, when I came across this 100% linen canvas on Fabric Mart, my heart skipped a beat! I love the ikat-inspired geometry and something about it reminds me of leopard spots too. Bold yet wearable! I am pretty sure this fabric was intended for home decor which I don’t mind at all and in fact of...
7 comments
Continue Reading »

Made By A Fabricista: Tried and true summer basics that fit.

By
Happy Summer Friends! As I am writing this, we are headed into a nasty heat wave…so the timing could not be better to share two of my favorite summer patterns and fabrics.  But first, let me tell you about the fail I had heading into this month’s blog… As Fabricista’s, we get to pick out fabric for each of our blog submissions. I fell in love with this gorgeous lilac jacquard knit that I thought would be perfect for a pop of color in my summer wardrobe. But I made a fatal error - I grabbed a pattern I haven’t made for years, quickly went up one size to account for a few new pounds, and sewed them up. And they don’t fit, will NEVER fit, and will never be worn. Sigh…when will I learn?? Here’s a flat lay pic so we can at least look at the lovely fabric: The lesson I learned (relearned!) is that just like with off the rack clothes, the things that worked well for me years ago don’t work well for me today.  And that’s the case with both tops and bottoms. So I went back to two patt...
1 comment
Continue Reading »

A Yard And Change

By
Do you have a fabric that you love and has been hanging around but is too small to use? Maybe you found a wonderful fabric with a super cute print but there's only a yard left.  I've got a few projects I worked on all with roughly a yard of fabric. And I have a few tips for making that yard and change go further! Cutting Layout: You can get a lot more mileage out of a yard of fabric if you can get creative with how you lay out your fabric. Cutting things single layer will give you the most control. My favorite thing to do is unfold the fabric and fold the selvages in to meet in the middle. That gives me two folded edges to work with. I had to overlap these to get enough width for the tank top. Just make sure that your pattern pieces don't also overlap!  This one was especially fun for me because I really loved the print on this swimwear knit but am not yet up to sewing swimwear. But a nice flowy hiking tank is perfect for this! In the future I'd love to experiment with...
1 comment
Continue Reading »