Choices choices…

My absolute favourite part of dressmaking is choosing the fabric. Seriously, I could spend all day in my local fabric store (Annie’s on Abbeydale Rd if you are in Sheffield is well worth a visit!) browsing all the beautiful fabrics and taking in all the prints. 

Buying fabrics is so much easier if you have the pattern you want to make first! I often fall into buying fabric cause I love it and then trying to find a project to fit it to. Then juggling the ‘have I got enough, is it the right type of fabric’ issues that arise.

I’d always advise looking at the fabric recommendations on your pattern (if you have one in mind of course) for guidance on the type of fabric to make it in. For example if it recommends a soft drapey fabric like viscose making it in a thicker, less drapey fabric such as denim may result in a different look to the one on the front of the pattern. All fine and dandy if you're happy and that’s what you are expecting but so disappointing if you are not! Don’t let me put you off experimenting though sometimes you get great results with a bit of imaginative fabric swapping but just be prepared for a different result.

Experience has taught me that I should always question my fabric choice twice before I go ahead and buy it. I have a number of homemade clothes (too many really) that I have taken great care in making out of fabrics that I love that I probably won’t wear because patterns that I like and patterns that I wear are two different beasts. I love bright, bold prints preferably with something cute or floral on it. If you’ve met me in real life, I was probably wearing something plain and most likely black or dark coloured - it’s just what I feel comfortable in!

I now save the bright and bold for my bags and homewares and stick with dark, plains and subtle prints for my clothes. Pictured is the cotton lawn I have chosen to make my Christmas dress (I’m using the Liberty Alexa dress pattern). It’s dark enough that I’ll wear it and patterned enough to give me that bit of joy and Christmas feels. It also feels like a dream and I can’t wait to see how it drapes!