Made By A Fabricista: Spring into 2023 with Liberty of London!

Hi Fabricista Fans! I'm excited to be back with my first FabricMart project of 2023 and my second with Liberty of London Tana Lawn! This fabric is so luxurious and wonderful to work with, I just can't pass it up whenever I see it come on sale! With such a high thread count, Liberty of London doesn't easily crush, and although it's 100% cotton, it's so flowy that it's perfect for billowy dresses, blouses, and skirts.

With my $50 budget this month, I purchased 2 yards of Tana Lawn and made a Peony Patterns Rosemary Dress with inseam pockets for my youngest daughter. This is a gorgeous button down dress with long and short puff sleeve options. After cutting it out, I realized I had plenty leftover for a skirt for my eldest, so I whipped up the FREE Peony Patterns Apple Berry Skirt for her. Since she needed a top to go with it, I raided my stash for some additional fabric, and found a lovely eggshell Fabric Mart Rayon Lycra hidden away. (Don't worry, I still have a bit left for making myself a top, which was probably the intent of that purchase two years ago!).

For my daughter's top, I used the FREE Peony Patterns Apple Berry Tee, but as that one comes with short sleeves only, and we are still having some chilly days, I switched those out for long sleeves from their Wattle pattern. In hindsight, I should have done a broad shoulder adjustment on it -- she's been doing swim team and basketball this winter and has become quite muscly in the shoulders!

Creating projects with both knit and woven substrates meant having to use slightly different techniques for each project. I recommend using a sharp/Microtex needle for wovens, and a stretch, ballpoint or jersey needle on knits. You'll also want either ballpoint pins or Clover Wonder Clips for assembling your knits, and my preference is fine glass head pins for assembling wovens. There are a couple of tools I love to use that simplify buttonhole making. First, interfacing! High quality interfacing is key in garment making, and I'm a big fan of Palmer & Pletch Sheer with Tana Lawn. I always mark all my buttonholes with a Simflex Expanding Sewing Gauge - I've had mine for years and I don't know what I'd do without it! I also love to open up my buttonholes with a buttonhole cutter. I used to steal one of my husband's woodworking chisels, but I much prefer having a dedicated chisel, and the double bevel on the Clover Buttonhole Cutter helps to get a more accurate cut between the two lines of stitching, limiting your risk of cutting your buttonhole threads. Once you've completed your buttonholes, I like to seal them with a few drops of Fray Check. Incidentally, I have had a few containers of this dry up on me, so I recommend storing it either on its side or upside down.

I hope this latest project inspires you for your spring sewing! Whether you’re sewing for adults or children, Liberty of London is perfect for those gorgeous, special occasion pieces!

NATASHA | @auschicksews