Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: Sewing for Spring in the Dead of Winter

Hello Everyone.  I hope you are enjoying your new year so far. I know most of us are smack dab in the middle of winter, but I can’t help but think of springtime. It is definitely one of my favorite times of year. I would say season, but we don’t really have seasons in South Florida. It is either hot or kind of cold but not really spring as we all know it.  For me, spring is when I know we won’t get any more cold weather. At any rate, I knew I wanted to make something for the springtime and that’s just what I did.

When I started looking for fabric for my make, I looked for something with color.  The shirting fabric was on sale at the and I came across this gorgeous green shirting with leaves and I fell in love! The name of the fabric is Wild Forest Green/Royal Green 100% Polyester Fern Print Performance Woven Shirting - Robert Kaufman - 57W and it is everything! I don’t think I’ve ever loved fabric as much as this one. It feels so soft and has amazing drape. The print and color is very vibrant and it washes very well. I think my favorite part is that although the fabric is light weight, it is not see through. The back of the fabric is blue and helps with not making it see through. I’ve never really seen that before and thought it was clever.


The pattern I chose to use for this gorgeous fabric is Know Me 2016 by Beaute J’adore.  I love Nikki’s style and she can do absolutely nothing wrong in my book.  Nikki always comes through with a puffy sleeve, and this dress gave just that. There are 2 views to this dress, a long and shorter version. It also has 2 different sleeve options. You can choose to make the long sleeve version or the short sleeve. I originally cut out the long sleeve version but decided at the last minute to make the short sleeves and I love them. I think they have the right amount of puffiness. I chose to make view B, which is the shorter version. Based on my body measurements, I went with a size 22 and I didn’t have to make any pattern modifications. 

I really like how the bodice fits and I think I’m going to make it into my bodice sloper.  Did you know that you don’t have to necessarily draft a sloper? You can make a sloper from any pattern that you feel fits you well. This dress has bust darts and back darts. The only thing missing are the waist front darts, which can easily be added. 

Another thing that I enjoyed about this pattern is the gathering. I know that might sound crazy to some, but this fabric is so amazing that I was able to easily make the gathers. Sometimes, (most times) fabric can be a bit thick and can make it very difficult to make gathers. The instructions mention to make your gathers in sections, and I was happy to see that because that’s how I do it.  Doing it by sections helps just in case you pop your thread while pulling it to make the gathers. If that has ever happened to you, then you know exactly what I mean. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed my green fern dress because I certainly did. I also enjoyed making Know Me 2016 and I may make it again, but this time with long sleeves. I think I’m going to order more of this fabric while it’s on sale. I can see a pant set or a kaftan or a beach cover up for the summer. If you grab this or any other fabric from the Fabric Mart website, you can use my coupon code Johanna5 and receive $5 off your purchase. You’re welcome. 

Until next time,

JOHANNA @soveryjo







Comments

  1. What a great review! It explained SO MUCH! Only… one question…what’s a “slope”?

    ReplyDelete
  2. What an absolutely adorable dress! And I love the fabric. When winter lingers I start to crave something green like the leaves just beginning to come out on the trees; this fabric is lovely. You created a beautiful dress.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Super cute. Great job. It looks really cute on you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well done! Very cute dress as I am currently working on a very similar pattern! However, the sleeves are long. A seasoned seamstress helped me change the neckline to a boat neck (cause that's my jam),and add pockets. I love David Kaufman fabrics as well.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Three Methods to Explore Colorblocking

Hey sewing friends! As I pondered what sort of plan to tackle for my next wintry project, a new and glorious array of rainbow Polartec fabrics filled the Fabric Mart site. I’ve enjoyed sewing with this brand’s fabrics for many years now, and I’m all too happy to add some more to my wardrobe.  I picked two of my favorite types, the Power Air Grid Double Knit and the Power Grid Fleece.  Choosing a few colors in matching weights to combine them into something totally me sounded perfect. Look at this stunning heap!  When I’m sewing two different fabrics together, I prefer to use the same weight and type so that they behave similarly and hang well together. Any extra piecing like this also creates topstitching opportunities galore! (You already know I’m all about that available thread matching.) In this case, I opted for three colors in each of the two fabric varieties I mentioned above for the best combining results.  I figured I’d dive in with a brief overview of how y...

Made By A Fabricista: Coat Sewing Chronicles

Sewing a coat is not for the faint of heart, or for the sewist looking for a light project. It is possibly the slowest form of apparel sewing that exists. If you’ve made a coat, chances are, you know what I mean. No matter what you do, you can’t rush through it, you can’t skip steps or cut corners, you just have to roll with the punches. One minute you’re flying through assembly thinking “I’ll be finished soon,” and the next you’re running away from your sewing room because you need space. Are you guaranteed to end up with a bespoke wonder in your coat closet, most definitely! But heed my warning, if you are looking for a quick win, it is not a coat!  My coat sewing chronicles began around Christmas when I fell in love with a black-and-white basketweave wool-coating fabric on the Fabric Mart website. I quickly placed an order for 3.75 yards to finally make the Seamwork Bay coat I’ve been dreaming of making for a while. In addition to my Fabric Mart wool, I also ordered Kasha Satin...

Help Our Buyers Shop!

  Comment on this post with what you are looking for right now and our buyers will seek it out!  I am craving wool gabardines and ponte knits in fun autumn colors. What about you?