Monday, August 4, 2014

Listening to Fabric


My original plan for this fabric was to make a dress.  I searched my pattern collection and Burda index for a dress with simple styling.  I thought I found one.  The  July 2014 issue of Burda Style Magazine showed a very simple dress pattern in style 129.


But, every time I went into the sewing room I heard a small whisper: "I don't want to be a dress."  Lori, at Girls in the Garden, does an excellent job of matching fabric to the right pattern.  I asked myself, "What would Lori do?" And realistically, it was a little late in the season to sew a sleeveless dress.  So, I listened to the fabric and even though I really liked the pattern, I decided against the dress in favor of a skirt.  I went back to my pattern collection and chose an oldie but goodie, Kwik Sew 3276.



Listening to fabric has always been a problem for me.  There have been countless times when I was disappointed because my fabric/pattern match-up was wrong.  

I though it was as simple as this:



But there is more to consider:



I'm okay with the drape and weight.  It's prints that give me trouble.  Many sewers can match pattern to fabric instinctively.  I need to put deliberate thought into my fabric–pattern match-ups.  But I take heart.  It's not too late.  This is a skill that can be learned.  



8 comments:

  1. I like it as a skirt! It looks fun and "swishy." Sometimes I have the same problem--matching fabric to pattern--but I keep practicing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your chart. I go through the same thing with fabric vs pattern. Sometimes I make a garment well and it becomes a miss because of poor fabric choice. Like Linda T said, we have to keep practicing. I'm still in the advanced beginner stage, so I read a lot of blogs, print out a lot of pictures and try to follow what worked for others.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love your skirt and know you have several blouses you have made that will go beautifully with it. Thanks so much for the reference in your blog post, I will sure miss my two daughters at home when they leave for college. They are brutally honest when it comes to fabric and pattern selection.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very nice skirt - fabric really loved the pattern.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the skirt in that fabric. I thankfully have that pattern in the long suffering and waiting to be made pattern stash. I will have to see if I have some fabric that speaks to me too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This was an important post for me, I have that trouble too and the chart made me think. I'm glad I found your blog through the Burda monthly sew along posts!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I wish you would write more posts. I don't have much experiences sewing garments, and hour blog is very helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Lee, You haven't posted in a long time, hope you are ok!!

    ReplyDelete