Hello Cali Fabrics readers! I am happy to be back with another guest blog post. I introduced myself in my first post featuring a denim Morris Blazer. If you you missed that post you can find it HERE. Today I am sharing a dress I made that I originally intended to be paired with that blazer. However, after getting a swatch of my first choice fabric, I decided to go with ...
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Have you ever sewn with summer weight wool? This skirt was our 1st time sewing with it, and we were pleasantly surprised. We chose to use a wine and ivory herringbone brushed wool suiting. Summer weight wool is much lighter than regular wool. It seems like it might have a slightly looser weave too as I never got too hot wearing this skirt on a very hot summer day. It does ...
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I am a sucker for all things vintage. While most people haven't considered bonnets a necessity since about 1932, I would beg to differ. As a practical garment the bonnet keeps my baby's head shaded, but unlike bulkier hats she is more likely to keep it on. Most importantly, have you seen how adorable it is? This was a fun project. It was fairly quick and straightforward, but involved some hand ...
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The Sandbridge Skirt is one of our favorite skirt patterns. It enables us to sew many of the skirts we wear on a daily basis. We wear both the Sandbridge Skirt in it’s original design, and we’ve hacked it into a Sandbridge maxi skirt several times. Let’s talk about this fabric for a minute. It’s chocolate brown twill fabric. It’s a midweight cotton twill and is the most perfect fabric for ...
Read MoreJumpsuits are all the rage, both in the stores and in the pattern books. I’ve been inspired by all the different versions out there (I love this one from Made By Laquana) but I have to admit, I’ve been reluctant to make one since I really don't want to deal with the "operational issues" that come with wearing a jumpsuit. The best part of sewing, however, is we have the ...
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I hope you got to take look at the clothes I made with quilting cottons in Part 1 of this post and learned which patterns are best to pair with them. Now let's get to my top 5 tips for sewing with quilting cottons, interspersed with pics of these two adorable sets I made for sisters! Tip #1: Prewash. Many sewists don’t prewash their fabric. I think this is partly because ...
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Quilting cottons are inexpensive as fabric goes, come in a huge variety of fun prints and colorful solids, and are very easy to sew. Don’t let the “quilting” part fool you - you can sew clothes with quilting cottons too! With some thoughtful pattern selection, you can have great results using quilting cottons for clothing. Obviously, don’t choose a pattern that needs stretch, because quilting cotton has none. Also, it has ...
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Recently, I had the opportunity to sew some summer clothes for my kids from the newest Project Run & Play pattern collection. This collection is called Project Watercolor Beach,and it's filled with perfect staple patterns for any summer adventure. Of course I turned to CaliFabrics to get the best fabrics for kids summer beach clothes! And of course I ended up wishing I'd ordered these fabrics for ME! Let's start with ...
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In my last post, I said that I spend 90% of my time in stretchy loungewear. Well, we have a wedding to attend coming up at the end next month and I don't think my t-shirt and joggers wardrobe is going to cut it for that type of event. I also didn't want to wait until the last minute to make a dress because I cannot predict how much my ...
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Hello Cali Blog readers! My name is Brenda and I am super excited to be sharing my first post here on the blog! A little intro since I am new: I am a NE Ohio small town gal who is an illustrator and fabric designer. I have been sewing since I was a young girl: All types of projects but mostly decor... Any garments were usually costumes, alterations or doll ...
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Between pregnancy and self-isolating because of Covid-19, I have been spending 90% of my time in stretchy loungewear. Unfortunately, I don't have enough loungewear to wear on a regular basis without doing laundry just about every other day. Ever since finding out I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to make some more joggers for when I couldn't fit into my regular clothes. That time came up quicker than I ...
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Hi! I’m Cass (@CraftyProfessor on Instagram) and this is my first blog post for Cali Fabrics, so I’ll start by telling you a bit about myself. I have always been crafty, and I have always sewn, but it was only about three years ago that I really started sewing and using patterns. Prior to that, I had made lots of pillow cases, curtains, duvet covers, and dresses out of thrifted ...
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What's better than a handmade, designer-fabric Hawaiian shirt? How about two handmade, designer-fabric Hawaiian shirts? This time around I will show you how to perfectly match the fabric on the pocket to make it nearly invisible. There's a pocket on there! My husband loved and wore the first Hawaiian shirt I made him with Tori Richard designer shirting so much I made him a second one from the same pattern but a ...
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Way back in October I ordered my fabrics with this grandiose idea that I would write about how I planned a fall/winter capsule wardrobe with Cali Fabrics. But then I found out I was pregnant and so started all the joys of the first trimester. Now that that period is ending I am ready to get back to things even though my wardrobe plans have changed drastically. The first thing I ...
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If you sew for kids like I do, I'm sure you appreciate patterns that are transitional and that you can sew all year round. It just so happens my last 3 sews of 2019 were just that. I wanted to make something for my daughter and nieces for Christmas before we left California. I thought it would be a super sweet memory and I wanted to be sure they were ...
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Everyone has the occasional love affair with a piece of clothing. That special feeling when you could just wear that skirt, that dress, those pants everyday and never get tired of them. No one loves her clothes more than my mother, and for her, this lawn skirt was that piece of clothing. Of course the sad truth is that our most worn clothes are just that, worn. You can see here ...
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... fabric and time to sew! I decided to do some home dec sewing this year, to add some Christmas spirit to my house. In other words, I fell in love with Cali Fabrics array of cosy plaid flannels, and gave myself an excuse to use them! My first project was a cheerful plaid bunting, My mom and sister made bunting for my wedding in 2011, and it's gone on ...
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Everyone loves a free pattern, and the Grainline Hemlock t-shirt is a classic! For years it was available to newsletter subscribers in sizes 0-18, but now it has been redrafted for sizes 14-30. With such inclusive sizing and a forgiving fit, I think it's the perfect pattern to sew for others this Christmas! I couldn't wait to try it out, and I had the perfect fabrics from Cali waiting in my ...
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Remember my dream top that my daughter stole/borrowed? Well, she agreed to give it back...with one condition. Or two. And they involved fabric and sewing, so I agreed! Plus she babysits while I sew, so it's all fair. First off, she "needed" a top to go with her new maxi rayon challis circle skirt to replace the one she gave back. Which was MINE to start with, but whatever! ;) We ...
Read MoreSome awesome new fabrics are coming to the shop! Take a look!
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