Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Velvet is a luxurious fabric with a dense, fuzzy pile. The pile is created by adding an extra set of warp and weft yards in addition to the base yarns creating that thick pile. The pile is then cut creating a nap. A nap is the direction in which the fibers run when you brush your hand over the surface. The smooth feel of a nap tends to run down your body.  Let's take a look at the various types of velvet fabric. Velvet (woven): A shiny, luxurious woven fabric with a short, dense nap. Woven velvets come in different weights from light drapey velvets, to more dense, mid-weights. Common contents of a woven velvet are 100% Polyester, Silk/Rayon Blend, Rayon/Acetate Blend, 100% Rayon. Silk/Rayon blends and 100% Rayon velvets are usually lightweight and have a soft drape making the best for tops, dresses, skirts and flowy pants.  Mid-weight woven velvets are best for blazers, full dresses, vests and accessories.  Examples of velvet wovens Panne Velvet : Panne velvets have a d...

Hi! This is my first post since becoming a mom! These past weeks have been a rollercoaster, but I am happy to report we are all healthy and doing well. I made two tops for this post, but let me give you some context first. When I gave birth to my daughter, I suddenly lost all sense of modesty in favor of practicality. In simpler words, my boobs have been out more often than not in the last few weeks. Some women may be able to keep some sense of glamour in postpartum, but I can't count myself among those yet. Fast forward to today. My baby and I have proudly overcome these challenging weeks, and I am finally allowing myself to believe we can go a long way in our breastfeeding journey. I am not planning on staying topless, so I have started to invest in a nursing-friendly wardrobe. In part, I feel it is wishful thinking: you know the saying "dress for the job you want"? I want to keep breastfeeding for a long time, so I better find ways to dress the part! There are multiple...

This post is a bittersweet one for me – this is my very last time sharing a make with you all with Fabric Mart. I have appreciated all the likes, comments, follows and tip sharing with you all over the last two years. Thank you all for your support and engagement! 😊 For my last post, I wanted to make a statement jacket that I could wear for upcoming holiday parties and events that brings a little bit of drama with it… because who doesn’t like a little drama and making an entrance?!  I picked this black boucle with fun colors throughout it as the outer for my jacket and to my surprise, it actually has a little sparkle woven throughout it too which just amps up the perfect glam feel of this jacket. It’s hard to capture in the direct sunlight, but I promise it’s there! The pattern I used for this jacket is McCall 7848, view D with the collar.  For as sleek as this jacket looks, it was a straightforward and clean sew, which made me love this pattern even more. I used a straight ...

Sweater weather is officially here to stay! After experiencing a relatively warm early autumn in Pennsylvania, I wasn't sure it was going to get cold enough to wear sweaters every day, but it did! Since sweater weather seems to be sticking around, I decided to make my husband two new sweaters!  My husband is my behind-the-scenes cheerleader and sewing support. He is always willing to help me with photos of my makes, and he often gives me a second opinion when I get stuck in the creative process. To thank him for his support, I wanted to make him a couple of new cozy sweaters!  I found some really nice rayon polyester lycra brushed sweater knit fabrics on the Fabric Mart website that I knew he would love, so I let him pick which colors he preferred. He really liked the heathered shadow blue and the heathered bright gray colors, so we got them both! I also got a new pack of chrome ballpoint 80/12 Schmetz needles to make sewing these sweater knits a dream!  When my Fabric Ma...

Lately I’ve been going through old inspiration pictures I’ve saved and finally making them. I’ve had this image saved since 2015.  I have always loved it and wanted to make my own.  I’m just happy that it is still very much in style.   I found these beautiful wool coating options. I got a black wool solid that had some texture for the top and a wool plaid for the bottom half of the cape.  They both hold a nice weight and were perfect for the project. As a starting point I used McCalls M8347.  To hack this pattern to make it more like my inspiration picture I first cut two fronts from the front, removing the placket detail from the original pattern so that I may install a lapped zipper would extend into the collar.  Luckily, I already had the perfect jacket zipper in my stash so that saved the time of going to the store. I color blocked the lower half with the plaid.  I do wish I had been a little bit more meticulous on this step as my plaids do no...

I had all these great plans for my final post of the year.  I wanted to make a holiday dress or something spectacular since this post was for December, but I started looking at different fabrics and ended up going in a totally different direction.  Today I am sharing the most comfortable loungewear set ever! When I started looking at all the different fabrics on the Fabric Mart site, I’m sure there was a knit sale going on at the time.  They all looked so pretty and cozy and that’s when I decided to go from satin to sweater knit.  My decision was made as soon as I landed on this Dusty Old Mauve Rayon/Polyester/Lycra Heathered Brushed Sweater Knit 60W. There is nothing dusty or old about this yummy fabric. The fabric is described on the site as a brushed sweater knit that is soft and has a semi-textured hand. The fabric is a little on the sheer side so keep that in mind if you purchase a brushed sweater knit from Fabric Mart.  Unfortunately, this fabric color is ...