Fabric Mart Fabricistas

I am so excited to be part of the Summer of T-Shirts series!  When I first was presented with this opportunity, my first thought was to make a tee into a t-shirt dress.  LOL.  I didn't even think to make a tee into something else, like color-blocking, merging two tees into one, etc.  No, I went right to my comfort zone, a dress.  ;-)  I am definitely consistent in what I favor! Above is the dress I made using a tee pattern and mashing it up with a favorite skirt portion from a dress pattern. Some of you who read my blog may recognize my inspiration, the Blackberry Dress from Boden.  This dress is so popular that I have seen multiple women in this area wearing it, and I have seen folks from all over wearing it on Instagram.  It has a lot going for it, pockets, a comfortable elastic waistband, an easy top with a bit of room, but not so much that it is too loose, and cute sleeves made from bands.  It also is made from a very lovely cotto...

This week's post is from Vatsla of Fashion By The Seams . She is also one of our Fabricistas! HI Fashionistas! I am so excited to be participating in the Summer of T-Shirt Event.  Can I just tell you that tees and tanks are my favorite? I am a stay at home mom for the most part, and I teach and freelance part time. A lot of my work happens from my home studio. I practically live in jeans. But I still want to be stylish! So I always try to dress up my look with something a little more interesting than a basic tee or tank. Here is my version of a dressy tank paired with casual white jeans! I'll be showing you how I hacked this basic t-shirt pattern to get something a lot more dressy! I used the McCalls Palmer/Pletsch 6964 view A and modified it to my liking. Here is my sketch.  Typically I do not trace off patterns, but a pattern with minimal markings makes for an easy to follow visual aid.. so I traced off the front bodice onto pattern ...

This week's post is by Pamela Leggett, of Pamela's Patterns. We love Pamela and her patterns! She has made an appearance on our blog a number of times. Search "Pamela" on the right side search box to see more of our exclusive projects with Pamela!  My name is Pamela Leggett, and I am the owner of Pamela’s Patterns, a pattern company based on teaching women how to create great fitting basic garments that flatter their “fluff and scallops”. Check out www.pamelaspatterns.com for helpful YouTube tutorials, patterns and supplies. And if you need some help with your knit sewing techniques, my new Craftsy class, Fashion Sewing & Serging Details, will be available at the end of this month!  I love the look of the cut-out shoulder, but felt that it was possibly a little too young or a little too sexy for someone my age. What to do? Make it appropriate by creating my own scaled down version! The swing-y tunic shape still shows off your “essence-of-wai...

This week's post is by Tereza from the blog,  Sewing for Me.  She will be taking you through the steps of turning a basic t-shirt into a raglan sleeve tee.   Sometimes I get tired of starting the fitting process with new patterns, so I decided to learn pattern drafting. Personally, reading through the books was overwhelming and intimidating. I decided to start with pattern modifications to patterns I've used before rather than with blank paper. This mid-point has proved a great learning step for me and has still taught me some great drafting principles. For this project, I began with my favorite t-shirt pattern- StyleArc's Adele Tunic . It is a basic tee with an asymmetrical hem, set-in sleeves, and an optional neckband. To change a basic sleeve to a raglan sleeve, you'll need a straight edge ruler, tracing paper, a pencil, several markers in different colors, and pattern weights . I start a project like this by tracing off a copy of my original patter...