sewing fabric – Em Sew Happy Blog

It was so exciting to come home to a parcel of fabric from Fibers To Fabric! It’s always a period of adjustment coming home from travels, but this got me excited to get back into my sewing room. I was kindly offered a choice of fabric from Fibers To Fabric so I picked a green and white Buti Print Indian Cotton. Buti print is a textile print that features small repeating floral or geometric motifs. The Indian Cotton is soft and lightweight.

Sometimes, I dismiss a pattern due to the recommended fabric requirements. Initially, I thought that I wouldn’t have enough for the Friday Pattern Co Canyon Dress. I had 3.5m of the fabric with 114cm width. I had such a strong conviction that the pattern and fabric were such a good match that I started the process of pattern piece Jenga. Looking closely at the skirt, I realised that the skirt pieces were chewing up my meterage. I decided to cut two pieces rather than four for the bottom tier of the skirt. I just used the full width of the fabric, and I left out the pockets. So happily, I managed to get all the pieces I needed to make the short-sleeved version of the Canyon Dress.

For my measurements of 38-inch bust, 33-inch waist and 40-inch hips, I decided to sew the Size Large with Cup B/C. My waist measurement is above the sizing of the L but it has an elasticated waist which gives more ease for fit.

I chose this pattern for the fabric because it needed something lightweight for the gathers but something with soft structure for the v-line placket and band collar. The best thing is that even though it has a dressy look, it’s an easy pull-on dress with no zip or button closure.

It’s very easy to prepare the fabric for sewing. It’s always important to start with washing the fabric. It helps with pre-shrinking the fabric so that there is no disappointment if the garment doesn’t fit after the first wash. I changed my needle to a 10/70 gauge sewing needle for the finer fabric. I also rethreaded my machine with matching fabric for my fabric.

It says in the instructions that there are YouTube sew along videos for the patterns, but I found that I didn’t need to refer to them because the instructions included with the pattern were excellent. It was easy to follow and I learnt a lot. I’ve never constructed a v-line collar before, so it was fun to learn. Everything came together without any problems. I sewed this slowly in parts as I was also returning to work.

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The Canyon Dress was a wonderful introduction to Friday Pattern Company patterns. I’ve got the short-sleeved top already cut out. I had used it as a toile for my dress so I can’t wait to go back and sew it up properly. So happy that I didn’t give up on using this pattern because I feel that it’s such a great match for the beautiful cotton from Fibers To Fabric.

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!

X Em

Featuring Linen from Maaidesign Artist Collection

Maai Design have launched the third drop of their Artist Collection; this time featuring Gabriela Larios and Alison Willoughby. For the collaboration, I was offered three meters of fabric of my choice. I decided on the Strawberry Poem in Linen by Gabriela Larios. I thought it would be the perfect match for the By Galia Patterns Fern Dress which needs a lightweight to medium woven fabric with soft drape.

The Fern Dress is a classic dress design featuring round neck and a gathered skirt. It’s loose fitting which is adjustable with waistline ties that can be tied front and back or on the sides. Galia has included so many options with this dress. It’s something that can be sewn in so many ways and each version could be different. I decided to sew the half-length puff sleeves with elasticated hem. I went with the button closure in the back. Best of all, there are pockets!

There is something about Galia’s patterns that makes you feel so good. The fit description is so accurate. With my measurements of 38-inch bust, 33-inch waist and 40-inch hips, I sewed the size 10. My waist measurements do fall between the size 10 and size 12 but I decided not to grade as there is a lot of ease in the pattern (looking at the finished measurements). The dress is midi length which I did not have to adjust for my height of 167cm. I love how the dress falls below my knees at mid-calf.

Linen is so easy to sew with. I always start by washing and ironing my fabric. I love to line dry my fabric but throw it in the dryer at your own risk, the care instructions do not recommend it. The fabric is quite broad at 140cm but it’s important to note that the pattern does not go all the way to the end. The Fern Dress pattern used most of the fabric which was a relief.

The fabric is 150g/m2 (5oz) which sits at the top end of lightweight and bottom end of medium weight. I used a universal 90/14 gage sewing needle which worked well for the fabric. I finished the seams on an overlocker without any issues. The skirt needed quite a bit of gathering and again, there were no issues doing this with the linen.

Sewing By Galia’s patterns is such a pleasure with her detailed instructions. I feel that as a home sewist, I really appreciate the extra details that Galia puts into her pattern instructions. For example, she instructs double stitching under the arm. The first time I sewed By Galia patterns, the illustrations were hand drawn but for the Fern Dress she has chosen to use photographs which also work well. I only have a black and white printer and I’m not great at following written instructions on the computer while I sew so I printed the instructions but when needed, I referred to the photos as needed on the computer.

It was wonderful to sew this dress. I didn’t make a toile because I felt so confident in Galia’s fitting notes. It’s always a pleasure to collaborate with Maai Design because they consistently curate the most beautiful designs to marry to the best quality fabric. They also allow creativity and choice in the collaboration which means that I will wear my dress for many more years to come. I’ve been a faithful subscriber to Maai Design since I started sewing and I’ve never been disappointed. Sewing with good fabric is an investment. Cut that good fabric and enjoy it!

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!

X Em