Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Hello! Welcome to my most special post to date! I have been keeping a secret lately, but it is finally time to reveal it: I am expecting! We will be welcoming a little one in the Fall! Since I had planned to spend a few days at the beach with my family, a maternity swimsuit was a perfect choice for this June post. The process was longer and more complex than I anticipated, but it turned out fine!  Pattern: finding a maternity swimsuit pattern is practically impossible, but I did find a few tips and tricks on blogs to alter a regular pattern and adapt it to a growing belly. I chose the Jalie 3350 and mixed view A’s open back with view B’s twist front. It is not that hard to make it into a maternity swimsuit: you must add a few inches to the front part of the swimsuit (I added 3”) and then gather the fabric on the sides until it matches the back. When I made this swimsuit, I wasn’t “showing” as much as I wished yet. But the bump practically popped up overnight, just a few days befor...

When I think of summer I think of sunshine, outdoor activities, and cute summer dresses. Like this one. Do you love florals for summer as much as I do?  When I saw this floral cotton sateen shirting , I immediately pictured it as a beautiful summer shirtdress. However, as you can see, the dress I’m wearing is not a shirtdress. We all know our fabric speaks to us, right?  As soon as I opened the package and saw the beauty of this fabric, well, my original plan was tossed out the window.  This fabric wanted to be a ruffle hem dress. I choose to sew New Look 6692.  In my opinion, this dress pattern is one of those designs that can be worn by anyone.  The square neckline is flattering, the puff sleeve is subdued, the gathers aren’t too full, and there are pockets! When I looked at the cover photo of this pattern, I figured it would be a fairly quick sew. After all, it’s just a dress with a princess seam bodice, puffed sleeve, and a gathered skirt with ruffle.  ...

Hey boo!  I hope you are having a great spring/summer.  It was really hot here in Ohio this past week and finally cooled down!  The heat wave is returning though so I had to take advantage of this beautiful weather while it lasts.  I’ve been focused on summer attire and if you don’t know already whose patterns stay at the top of the list for me is, then I will tell you.  The one and only, Mimi G.  I love her style and her patterns always have a great fit!  She always comes out with something new and unique and her summer patterns are just that!   March of this year, I went from working at home as a contractor for L Brands to now an Executive Assistant for a school organization.  That’s all I will say. I don’t need anyone popping up at my job! Lol.  I went from being at home for two years wearing whatever I wanted (usually sweats and or my nightgown) and my hair in a messy bun, to working full-time again in an office.  My office...

Since I prefer to sew for my children, my own closet gets seriously neglected! I decided to put my own needs first for my Fabric Mart make this time, and create a pair of comfy shorts and two tops for ME!  I started by looking for bottom-weight fabric, and settled on some mid-weight stretch denim. I realized that all of my shorts patterns were for non-stretch fabrics, so I bought the Itch to Stitch Hermosa Shorts for this project. The Hermosa's come in three different lengths (short, mid, long) feature patch pockets on both front and back, and have options for a button or zipper fly.  I do usually shy away from making pants because I often have trouble with them, but the Hermosa's fit was pretty much perfect, and I'm eager to make more pairs in various lengths!  For this pair of Hermosa's I used my waist measurement (4) and blended out to between the 6 and 8 for my hip. My hip was closer to the size 8, but since the fabric was quite stretchy, I decided to go between the...

Somewhere around the world, there will be a girl that will have a handful of fabric options to choose from & she will choose a floral fabric every time. That girl is me. Summer isn’t officially here yet, but the weather would sure say otherwise. Having a light weight breathable fabric is key to surviving any type of high temperature weather. If you’re new here, I love to make dresses & garments that can be worn dressed up & down, or outfits that can be one different seasons. I love to make things that you can use for different purposes, that way they get a good use.  One of my favorite fabrics to use is challis. I love the way it feels & how it drapes. Challis is a beautiful soft –drapey fabric that is lightweight, breathable, & fairly easy to work with when creating clothing. Challis fabric is great for dresses, light-weight pants, skirts, blouses, etc. This beautiful floral fabric from Fabric Mart, has to be one of my favorites. The pattern was absolutely beau...

Hello Gems! Although Summer hasn't officially started, I think the weather speaks for itself. My wardrobe is officially declaring Summer and embracing comfortable easy wear vibes. So of course, my closet wouldn't be complete without Summer stretch knit pieces. For Fabric Mart's June Fabricista Feature I'm sharing two stretch knit looks that I can get into this Summer. From outdoor activities to Summer hot girl looks. I definitely have to have options.   My first look is an Athleisure wear look! I used Fabric Mart activewear/performance fabric in  a yellow tie dye print to pull off this look. This was my first experience creating athletic wear and I love the way it turned out. I used a Simplicity Pattern 8392 for the top and bottom. I adjusted the top and added a thicker bottom band and side vents in the lining so that I can add bra cups to the inside for extra support.   This fabric gives great stretch and recovery. I was most concerned with the translucency of ...