Made By A Fabricista: ITY Dress

Hi sewing friends - Andrea here from Happy.Things.Here over on Insta with this week’s post – I’m sharing about a favorite fabric and pattern today! 

So… the last two months have almost gotten the best of me. We made a somewhat unplanned decision to move homes and life has been just insanely busy and hard to find time to sew. But sewing  is such a joy and a stress reliever for me, so I fit in this fun and easy sew amidst the chaos and it made me sew very happy! Sneak peek – how could this print NOT make someone happy?

First, let’s talk fabric. ITY, or Interlock Twist Yarn, is one of my all-time favorite fabrics for sewing clothing. Fabric Mart did an Instagram post with a video on this fabric and I highly recommend you check it out if this fabric is new to you. Three things I love about ITY – 1) it’s easy to care for and rarely wrinkles, 2) it’s easy to wear, great for drapey pieces, and works all year long, and 3) Fabric Mart gets great deadstock prints and colors from fashion designers at amazing prices. OK, I guess that’s actually six things but I can’t help myself – I love ITY! Here’s a casual summer dress I made last year from a Fabric Mart find:

And here’s a dress I made a few years ago in another ITY using the pattern I’m sharing below. This is one of my go to work dresses – and a rare pic of me at the office!

For this month’s project, I used a printed fabric I’ve been hoarding in my stash for at least a year, maybe more. It wasn’t expensive but it is sooooo gorgeous and I was afraid to cut it into it. It’s also a very busy print with a lot going on so I needed the right design to showcase the fabric. I decided to use one of my most favorite dress patterns – the Go To Fit & Flare Dress by Pattern Emporium. Here’s the line art from the pattern: 

Why do I love this dress? It’s a flattering design, fitted at the bust but skims over the mid-section without being shapeless due to the separate skirt/bodice design and the flared skirt.  It also comes packed with options – four front and back necklines, three skirt lengths and six sleeve lengths give you endless possibilities. It also comes with a waistband piece so you can make a skirt in addition to the dress. I’ve made at least five versions so far and every time I make one, I say, I need to make another one! 

So here is today’s sew – I did the knee length skirt with ¾ length sleeve and crew neck. I did a binding instead of a band for a dressier look…and I could not be happier with how it turned out! What do you think? 

I had to be really careful with orienting this print on my body – it’s so busy and has some circular elements which I wanted to avoid landing in awkward places. I use a projector for sewing and Pattern Emporium has awesome projector files which have full pattern pieces – so I didn’t have to cut on the fold and could see exactly where the print will hit on the dress (I really wish all designers offered full pieces with their projector files!). I am happy with how the busier print came to life into this gorgeous dress. Here’s me taking a break after all the packing and craziness of the last two months:

I hope you enjoyed seeing this project and hearing more about my love of ITY. Check out the site and see what’s in stock! And Happy Sewing!

Andrea  |  @happy.things.here

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Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following categories: ITY KNITS.