Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Hello everyone!  It’s Sharon back with my second Fabricista post!  This time I chose to work with a lovely soft pastel plaid shirting fabric.  The big shirt trend has been popular for a season or two and, according to recent fashion articles I’ve read, it will remain popular throughout the summer. This lightweight fabric, a cotton/polyester blend, had the structure to work beautifully as an oversized shirt. I don’t typically wear classic button front shirts, so of course I choose to sew one with a little “extra”!  Vogue 1744 looks like a tailored button front shirt from the front, but the pleated back provides interest and movement. By the way, this pattern was rebranded in 2020, and had been previously released as Vogue 9360. I sewed View D, the mandarin collar option, with short sleeves and hi-low hem.   This particular plaid is an uneven plaid. If you’re unsure whether your plaid is even or uneven, here’s how to test (according to my Vogue Sewing Book c....

Now that we are officially in summer it is time to play with a lovely breathable natural fabric, Linen.  When I think of linen I think of heat, summer, and comfort in those humid days.  Looking on the website I saw two fabrics I just had to make some nice pieces to add to my wardrobe.  Knowing I wanted something comfortable and different I chose a black linen that would be great for a pair of pants of some sort. (If this color is currently out of stock, check back soon!)  I was truly at a loss for what type of pants I wanted to choose until I remembered seeing a pattern while scrolling many moons ago.  For my bottoms I chose the Waralee Wrap trousers from Freesewing.org.  Modeled off Traditional Thai Fisherman Trousers these pants are secured by ties holding the front and back up and are easily adjustable for different body types.  The pattern gives you the option to just have a pattern piece to cut out the crotch area and then use measurements only t...

Hi everyone! I'm back with another Fabric Mart Make! In my last post, I shared a wardrobe of coordinating outfits for my two girls. This time, I thought I should do a me-sew - but I couldn't help myself - I whipped up matching outfits for my girls as well!  I was really drawn to this purple and green floral blouse weight rayon crepe, and since I've always wanted to try True/Bias Patterns, I landed on the Roscoe Dress for this project.  What I didn't realize until after I received the pattern, is that Roscoe is drafted for a C cup - I am barely an A cup. My bust fit into their smallest pattern size, and after making a straight muslin of just that size, and feeling completely overwhelmed by fabric, I knew I would have to do some modifications.  The easiest way to make the adjustment is to remove excess fabric from the center front and center back of each pattern piece. I removed 1/2" from both templates (in retrospect, I could have removed an inch). I also shortene...

Hi everyone! I am back again with a new blog. Summer is in full effect & one of my favorite fabrics to work with is linen. Linen is a fabric that is made by using fibers that are derived from a flax plant. Linen is very absorbent, breathable, and hypoallergenic. I know sometimes linen can get a bad rep for the way it wrinkles, but it is extremely beautiful, light weight, & easy breezy.  For this dress, I used 4 yards of this very beautiful powder pink linen from Fabric Mart. The texture and hand of the fabric were very soft & lightweight. It was perfect for a summer dress.  When working with linen, it is easy to use & simple to cut with minimal fraying. Linen does need to be pressed very good when making things, because it does tend to wrinkle easily.  The pattern I used for this dress was the Aura Dress, by Papercut Patterns . I had to grade it a few sizes up, as sometimes patterns from different countries vary in sizes, but for the most part it worked o...

Hello Gems! I'm so excited to share this month's look as a Fabric Mart Fabricista featuring two gorgeous fabric selections from Fabricmartfabrics.com. If you know me by now, you know that I adore a cool, floor length, boho chic look. There is something so sophisticated, sexy and cool about a free flowing look this time of year made from lightweight breathable fabrics such as the ones used for my most recent Fabricista make. Although the weather is warmer, I still enjoy creating long flowy dresses and free flowing silhouettes to stay cool in the summer and beat the heat. So for my June look, I did a hack of Vogue pattern 9311 and created a voluminous floor length dress with large billowy sleeves and a plunging neckline. I used Fabric Mart's Rayon Framework Crinkle  Challis fabric, which is very light weight and breathable, but not transparent. I love the drape of this fabric and how it just melts onto your body. I added facing down the front and made it a button up so that ...

Happy to be back for my second post as a Fabricista! This time around, I am sharing three easy outfits for the upcoming summer weekends. The pictures were taken on a very windy morning, hence the title of this post! First, I opted to sew the Cocoon Cardigan by Jalie. I planned to do it a little oversized to wear it over the swimsuit during the day or as an extra layer in the evening. The Daisy White Leaf Jacquard Terry Knit was perfect to achieve my vision. It is a polyester/cotton blend, lightweight, a little stretchy, fresh, and it has a wonderful drape, which was necessary for this item. The leafy tropical pattern looks stunning in person and gives the cardigan such a pleasant texture. Overall, this was an uncomplicated piece to sew, and the result exceeded my expectations! Right after taking these pictures, I had to order more fabric because my sisters snitched this one… For the second piece, I chose a Rayon/Lycra Jersey Knit with a beautiful flower pattern. Colors are popping, a...