Made by a Fabricista: Preparing for the Holidays

Hard to believe the holidays are fast approaching and in six weeks we will welcome a new year! I am determined to celebrate in a big way!!! I picked Vogue V1722 by Designer Nicola Finetti for its statement bodice and statement sleeves. Yes, indeed, I am loving its close-fitting bodice, plunging neckline, balloon sleeves, and flared skirt.

I dared to make this special dress in Fabric Mart’s embroidered silk dupioni, a fabric I had not sewn before. I did not prewash the silk dupioni as dry cleaning will be my method of care for the finished garment. I underlined the bodice with prewashed black cotton batiste from my stash instead of the suggested interfacing. Though not called for by the pattern, I also underlined the skirt the same way to minimize wrinkling when I wear it. I prewashed black silk charmeuse (from Fabric Mart) to use as lining. Then I lined the balloon sleeves with champagne colored organza from my stash to give it more body. For the hem band, I used French fuse as interfacing for the charmeuse. Size 60 needle was perfect for these fabrics. Believe me, with all its details, this dress is not something you can make in a hurry!

Because of its distinctive style, I highly recommend making a muslin first. The bodice has a princess seam and is lined. The deep plunge is all the way to the waistline, but I did not want that much exposure. To decrease it, I stitched the front bodice 2 inches up from the waistline and stitched the strap 6 inches up from the waistline. The bodice hangs by 1 ½ inch on each shoulder and attaches easily to the flared skirt and closes in the back with an invisible zipper. I cut in half the width of the hem band so that the skirt, which is longer in the longer in the back than the front, would not touch the floor.

The sleeves are super dramatic. The upper sleeve is lined and attached to the gathered lower sleeve, which I lined with organza to make the bubble look standout. Each lower sleeve has 11 tucks stitched in different directions and 3 pleats on the inseam. Because the sleeves were too long, I added two 5/8’ tucks on the inseam of each sleeve and increased the size of the middle tucks by 5/8’ each. A sleeve band controlled the look.

Additional details: I doubled the size of the bow (black charmeuse lined with organza) attached to the front strap to make it more proportional to the dress. Hand stitching in the armhole binding, arm band, and hem band gave the inside of the dress a professional finish.

Wow, I feel so fancy! The design of the dress and beautiful fabrics gave me a striking dress. I am dreaming of an unforgettable celebration already.

Til next blog,

MARY ANN | @anasewperfect

Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following categories SILK & DUPIONI.

Made By A Fabricista: Valentine’s Day Cozy Lounge Set

What comes first: the pattern or the fabric? How do you make your sewing plans? Throughout the month of January, my social media feeds were flooded by fabulous sewists sharing sewing resolutions and goals, and designing thoughtful plans for their 2025 makes. While I am a big planner in my day-to-day life, when it comes to my creative hobby, I am much more spontaneous. I find that fabric design and texture often inspires me most so I typically look for fabulous prints or bold colors and let the fabric tell me what it wants to become. As I turned my attention to my first-ever (!) Fabricista make, I wanted something to get my creative juices flowing. One evening, Fabric Mart shared an Instagram story that highlighted their Dusty Mauve Sweatshirt Fleece . It had a nice stretch, was fleece-backed, and was a muted baby pink that spoke to me. It was soft and feminine, perfect for a cozy day or night by the fire. I immediately knew I wanted to make a cute pair of sweatpants for a fun Vale...

Made by a Fabricista: Fun Fabrics

I am so happy to still be a part of the Fabricista Blogger Team. I joined in the middle of the pandemic and have really enjoyed myself as a blogger. Fabric Mart has truly been my go to place for shopping for fabulous fabrics that reflect my style. I love that I get to shop deadstock fabric that will help give fabrics additional lifespan and fabric is typically limited quantities so you will be part of the few with that fabric. As someone who is big on individuality this is such a plus for me. Can we also talk about the great sales that Fabric Mart runs? I literally stalk the site daily to find new fabrics and catch the featured sales. During one of my daily visits to the site I came across this gorgeous corduroy fabric with a unique animal print. At the time I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to make with it but I just knew I had to use this for my next featured make. I was also able to get matching thread, another...

Made By A Fabricista: Sewing + Running

It’s not every day that I get to mix two of my favorite hobbies. Especially when one hobby is sewing and the other is running. You can’t sew and run at the same time, but, you can go running in something that you sewed! With this realization, I embarked on my first hobby-merging adventure. We’ve had some frigid temperatures in Pennsylvania this winter. Since I’m an outside, stroller-pushing runner, I bundle up my son and myself before I hit the road. The temperature feels 20 degrees warmer for outside runners than the outside air. For the children being pushed in the stroller though, it feels about 20 degrees colder. With these differences in temperature for each of us, layering is the only thing that ensures that we both stay perfectly warm. My running wardrobe has been lacking a warm top layer. My son’s wardrobe would also benefit from having another warm layer, so I knew pullovers were what I should make. Inspired by a name-brand ¼ button-down fleece pullover I saw,...

Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Search This Blog