Made By A Fabricista: Fall Wardrobe Ideas for Girls

Happy Fall Ya’ll! This month I was inspired to create outfits for my girls with fabrics giving fall vibes. My eldest landed on the orange polkadot jersey, and I couldn’t resist the beautiful burgundy floral challis for my youngest. With my $50 budget, I purchased four different fabrics for four garments, and I just love how they all came together!

My eldest recently turned thirteen and has decided she only wears pants and tops, thank you very much. I selected a nylon Ponte to make a pair of Jalie Renee Ponte Pants, and aside from the fact they don’t have pockets, she’s a big fan! Renee is a really easy sew and the darts in the back, along with the elasticized waist, make them easy to fit. With all the holiday dinners coming up, these pants are the ones you need for feasting comfortably! Being a double knit, Ponte is an easy knit to sew as it’s fairly stable. If you’re new to sewing with knits, Ponte is a great place to start!

I thought my daughter would like a loose fitting top, so I decided on the FREE Jalie Emilie. This one actually has a roll neck but I knew my kid would hate pulling it over her head, so following the suggestion of another maker, I simply skipped attaching the collar, turned the raw edge under 1/4 inch and top stitched. The cotton Lycra gives it a slightly boxy look. Fabric Mart has so many great knits that would be perfect with this pattern - between the sweater knits, rayon Lycras, and jerseys, you have tons of options! I’m definitely thinking of making a few of these for me! (Like all Jalie patterns, each one includes both kid and adult sizes).

In contrast, my youngest has been requesting more dresses - yay! I don’t really love sewing with challis, but I just couldn’t resist this beautiful print! I decided to use the Peony Patterns Yarrow Dress, which is a wrap style dress with ruffles, sleeveless and mid-length sleeve options, and cute ties for closures rather than buttons or zippers. I chose to skip all the ruffles as I felt my daughter may have had opinions about them! The dress is easy to sew, and my daughter is really happy with it. I also added inseam pockets to the skirt, but forgot to give my daughter a heads up on that before we took photos! Following the instructions, I stay stitched the bias front before assembling the dress, but I did find it was a little wavy after I finished it. Being a bit lazy, I skipped using my old-faithful, SewKeysE Tape. Lesson? Don’t be me. Use the tape! If you’re working with bias edges on rayon, this tape is a MUST!

I really love the Jalie Charlotte cardigan and I’ve made it many times! The cropped version is a staple, especially for pairing with dresses. It’s a little bit tricky to sew as assembling the corners of the waistband and top stitching the button placket is a little fiddly. I decided to save myself some time by skipping the buttons on this one. I may add them later, but so far Miss 8 has not complained. The wool-cotton-modal jersey knit worked really well for this pattern, and I love the color of it - I know it will go with many outfits!

Thanks for encouraging me with my projects this year! I hope this one has inspired you to create something new and affordable either for you or the kids in your life!

NATASHA | @auschicksews

Made By A Fabricista: Celebrating warm weather with Spring sewing!

Hi sewing friends! I don’t know about you but boy, was winter cold and dreary this year! The weather here in the Philadelphia area has been slowly improving, but Spring sure did take her sweet old time to arrive. So by April, I was definitely in the headspace of needing to sew up things that were either bright and cheery or meant for the warmer weather I am very much craving right now. I recently purchased a few SewBexx Patterns so I took them on a test run to create some Spring makes. First on my list was to make a top using this absolutely gorgeous ITY fabric I picked up last year. I had two yards which was enough for a long sleeve shirt. I chose the Olivia top, which is oversized with a drop shoulder, has multiple lengths and a split hem. I think the pattern is intended for heavier fabrics but I was envisioning how lovely this top would look with the drape of ITY knit fabric, and it did not disappoint. It came together for me quickly and was a straight forward sew…and I love the br...

Made By A Fabricista | Chasing Time: My White Rabbit-Inspired Look for Atlanta Frocktails

For this year’s Atlanta Frocktails, I found myself captivated by a character who’s been quietly tugging at my imagination for years—the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. There’s something so relatable about his frantic energy, always checking the time, always running late. While he’s worried about being on time, I’m usually calculating how late I can be and still technically arrive on time. Spoiler: I’m often wrong. It’s a cycle of procrastination and anxiety that I know all too well. So when I imagined my look for Frocktails, I thought—why not honor the White Rabbit? After all, time has been chasing me too. But this look isn’t just about Wonderland whimsy. It’s also deeply inspired by this year’s Met Gala theme, Tailored for You, which includes a focus on Black Dandyism—a celebration of Black elegance, intellect, and expressive style. I’ve been obsessed with this theme since it was announced. As a Black creative, I find it powerful and moving to see style used as a way to reclaim...

Made By A Fabricista: Getting into the Spirit of Summer

I'm not gonna lie y'all, I had a completely different project I wanted to do, but that's gonna take more time, and I wanted something cute, comfy and fun to wear for my birthday on the 19th. When I saw this goldenrod & off white linen jacquard , I thought it looked a bit like the design on a Koroks body, especially Makar from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker! I started with the bodice from the free Elderberry dress pattern from Mood, but deviated for the skirt, it felt a little plain of a design, and I had scraps of a Korok fabric that I knew would be a nice accent with some cut out pockets. I've made these pockets once before, deciding the cut out was based on aligning with the seam on the bodice for how far in, and as for how low depended on where I wanted the pouch of the pocket to start. From there I cut the visible part of the pocket, making sure to match the curve of the waist and following the line of the side seams of the skirt, as well as cutting a facing to...

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