#fabricmartfabrics.com

[professorpski]

Gifts for the Dressmaker: Fabric Mart

Since the holiday season is upon is, you may be thinking of gifts for the dressmaker. It is not always easy to buy them fabric unless you actually can go shopping with them. Usually, a dressmaker or tailor has a specific garment they have imagined and they are willing to allow it to remain imaginary until they can find just the right fabric. But it is easy to get them a gift certificate, so see if they have a favorite local fabric store.

I thought I would feature some of the on-line places I go shopping this week. Fabric Mart offers discount fabric of all kinds from the ridiculous to the sublime. I have found lovely wools, silks, and cottons here, as well as utilitarian fabrics like Polarfleece. But you need to sort through fabrics that are discounted precisely because they are odd prints, less appealing fibers, what have you. Really nice fabrics can come and go quickly as they don’t always get a large stock of them.  So check New Arrivals, and use the categories and the filters to look for what you have in mind.

I give you here some things currently in stock:  whimsical Liberty of London print in cotton, a silk scarf panel in a mosaic print, and a boucle plaid in a wool blend. Something for everyone, you could say.

For more info, go here: https://www.fabricmartfabrics.com/

Gift card info is at the bottom of the page off to the right. They also have a swatch club with special offerings, but I haven’t tried this one.

[professorpski]

The Great Button Tryouts: Music Class Blouse from BurdaStyle

This is my last installment to finish off this blouse. Buttons can be conspicuous--think of rhinestone buttons on a silk evening blouse--or very inconspicuous--most men’s shirts. Or somewhere in between. I like to try out buttons by laying out the various possibilities all at once, and then to finalize the selection, the same button multiple times.

You see in the top photo the various contenders. With so many colors in the fabric print itself, red, blue and white were obviously all in the mix. I settled on blue in part because they were more noticeable than the white, and less noticeable than the red. The red ones seemed to bring yet another element into the mix which seemed too much. The white ones simply disappeared. While the blue gave some structure to a busy print by walking in a sober line down the front of the blouse.

It is still a playful blouse meant for summer weekends, but now its actual structure became apparent. I may this from a rayon print at Fabric Mart.

For the pattern, which is part of a collection called Music Class that has a decidedly vintage air, go here: https://www.burdastyle.com/short-sleeve-blouse-01-2011.html

For the Fabric Mart, which has an ever evolving set of discount offerings, and right now has some very nice swimwear prints, go here: https://www.fabricmartfabrics.com/

[professorpski]

Gift Certificate Ideas for the Dressmaker: Fabric Mart

As so many of us cannot go out much these days, and as gift certificates do allow dressmakers to chose whatever they would like, I am going to offer up several of my favorite places to look for garment fabrics in case you need to give some holiday gifts

Fabric Mart is an online store with a retail store in Sinking Spring, PA. They post fabrics Monday through Friday which makes it worthwhile to check in to see what is new. Their motto is: “Fabulous Fabrics. Fantastic Deals. Friendly Faces. Forty Years.”  The range of fabrics is very wide and changeable and sales of various kinds run regularly. However, if you are charmed by something, buy it when you see it or you may find it has sold out.

The offerings vary every week. You may find an upholstery fabric, a quilting fabric, but mostly you will see garment fabrics from the sublime to the, well, unfortunate. You see two of the current sublime offerings here: a lovely pale blue silk crepe which would be perfect for a blouse or flowing dress and a pale pink wool coating. I have found everything from cheap rayons to make muslin tests for vintage patterns to fine wool crepe to make work dresses. You can sign up for their email list and get news on the sales and the daily special.

They also offer thread-matching service, and have a “sewing room” offering trims and buttons also patterns which change as often as the fabrics do. Any dressmaker will find something worthwhile here at some point during the year.

To see what they offer and order gift certificates, go here: https://www.fabricmartfabrics.com/

[professorpski]

Holiday Gift Ideas: Gift Cards from FabricMartFabrics.com

Fabric Mart veers from the sublime to the ridiculous in fabrics, but always has something I want. You see here, a blue poly pleated velour, a gold lurex and brown silk chiffon, and a silk chiffon in a peach floral; all of which happen to be on sale today. But you NEVER know what will show up. New fabrics are posted most every day, and it becomes a habit to go peek. I have gotten lovely wools for suits and silks for dresses. There is everything from special occasion brocade to canvas for home decor. Some fabric prints will make you swoon, others will make you scratch your head and ask, “What were they thinking?”  There is also a fabric swatch club for $50 called Julie’s Picks which sends monthly mailer with 30 fabrics, plus special offers, only available to club members. They also have a retail store in Sinking Spring, PA.

For more info, go here: https://www.fabricmartfabrics.com/

[professorpski]

The Finished Outfit, Definitely Whimsical

It turns out there are beautiful gardens next to the Supreme Court building in DC, and the top picture of my finished outfit was taken there. You cannot see how gracefully the skirt hangs because the wind was blowing wildly. I feared losing even this little half hat. There is also a beautiful play of shimmering color in this skirt when I walk. I think it is the prettiest thing I now own and hope there are more such dinners in my future. Justice Sonia Sotomayor gave me my award, but only the court photographer could take pictures of the ceremony, so I am waiting for those.

I also give you close-ups of the hat. I explained how I made the simple flowers in yesterday’s blog, and now you can see their placement, and then the curls of sinamay that I added for a little height. The sinamay is a 3″ strip cut on the bias, folded in the middle, then the two edges folded to the middle leaving a 1/8″ gap so the edges do not quite meet. The whole thing is flattened, all this done by hand, then you can pull as needed to shape it around the edge of a hat, or just whirl it and tack it to itself. Sinamay is made to play with.

My sinamay was from Judith M. Millinery, and also thanks to Judith who once told me during a workshop, “Do what works!” which is excellent advice when you are designing a hat, and thanks to Laura Hubka, master milliner, who taught me both felt blocking and sinamay hat making. BTW, if you are itching to learn hatmaking, and it is tons of fun, Judith M. Millinery offers 1-, 2-, and 3-day seminars to make all kinds of hats, bringing in talented teachers like Laura. I realized I never said that the fabric was bought years ago from FabricMartFabrics which has a wide range of closeout fabrics.