Mood Fabrics – 10 Favorite Fabrics & A Special Thank you!

30 Sep Mood Fabrics – 10 Favorite Fabrics & A Special Thank you!

As I enter my 10th year of blogging, I’d like to share some of the significant events and milestones that have made this journey so enjoyable. Shortly before completing my first year of blogging, Mood Fabrics, the Project Runway go-to store invited me to join its new Sewing Network as one of the original members.

To say it was an honor is an understatement since I was just finding my way back to the sewing machine.

After seven years, I recently completed my work with the Mood Sewing Network (MSN), but were it not for this famous fabric store’s investment in me, I doubt I would still be here, and I wish it every imaginable success!

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Each month the MSN bloggers received a gift certificate to spend however we deemed appropriate in exchange for a blog post on both the store’s website and our own. This arrangement provided me with a hands-on learning opportunity for sewing fashion fabrics that I otherwise would have never tried.

For starters, I had only made one party dress before joining MSN. I cringe when I look back at the low quality fabric I used……. but I was clueless about where to find such fabrics and what exactly to buy.

Thanks to Mood I gained experience working with beautiful silks, sequined fabrics
and brocades.

I learned about fabric content, the importance of scale, fabric weight and textures. The experience gave me the confidence to fabric shop online and the confidence to work with high end fabrics.

Below is an Oscar de la Renta silk border print that I made twice – once as a tunic and again as a long skirt.

This tunic remains a favorite piece..

………. and when I didn’t get something quite right, I had the luxury of reordering and trying again. Read Here.

While sewing high-end fabrics has its place, I really wanted to broaden my experience with a variety of fabrics to share with readers.

Following is a list of 10 of my favorite fashion sewing fabrics based on my Mood Fabrics experience:

1.Brocade – It’s the perfect party fabric! Brocades are available in cotton, polyester, rayon and silk! This brocade dress will remain an all time favorite and is sewn in a polyester brocade. Fabric available here.  Read Dress Post Here.

2.Stretch Cotton – A little stretch goes a long way making this fabric perfect for just about everything. I found stretch cotton ideal for pants, pencil skirts and sheaths, and on my list is a blazer. Read Post Here.

Read Post Here

3.Ponte Knits – Ponte Knits are relatively stable and are a great introduction for sewing knits. Most of these mid-weight knits are easy to sew and make terrific travel clothes! Read Post Here.

4.Scuba Knits – These knits hold their shape making great structured pieces.  I stepped out of my comfort zone with my first scuba fabric order, but now I truly love it. Read Post Here.

5.Cotton Shirting – Cotton shirting is more flexible than the name sounds. If you can think beyond men’s shirts, a whole new world opens up! Read Post Here.

6.Voile –  A summer favorite ideal for unstructured garments and tunics. Read post Here.

Read Post Here.

7.Silk – I’ve had opportunities to sew a variety of silks with varying weights and textures. I’m most comfortable with silk faille, silk twills and crepes, but I love them all. The texture of the previously mentioned silks make for easier handling. The tunic below is sewn in silk twill and the dress in faille.

Read Post Here.

Read post here.

8.Linen – Hello Summer! Embrace the wrinkles and enjoy this comfortable fabric which gets better with age. I’ve enjoyed sewing several garments including tunics, dresses, skirts and tops. I learned the trickiest part of ordering linen online is understanding it’s weight. I recommend ordering samples to familiarize yourself with the terms – handkerchief linen, lightweight linen, midweight linen and heavy linen. There is such a difference!

Read Post Here.

9.Boucle –  We think of boucle for French Jackets and indeed it is the perfect fabric. Mood introduced me to boucle long before my French Jacket days, and if it wasn’t so hot in South Carolina, I’d be sewing much more of this gorgeous fabric.  My first boucle sews were dresses, both of which I still wear. If you live in colder climates……. lucky you!

Read Post Here.

10.Lace – The Tory Burch Ginevra dress was the inspiration behind my first lace dress which was my first entry for the MSN Lace Challenge in 2013. I enjoyed the process so much, I entered  a second lace dress the following week. Just as with silk, many laces exist. I’ve not mastered sewing Guipure lace, the bobbin lace which connects the motifs with bars or plaits, but cotton net and mesh laces are casual enough to suit my lifestyle, easy to sew and can elevate the status of any garment.

Read post here.

What an education I received, and I hope my Mood makes over the years have inspired you to add a few new fabrics to your sewing repertoire 😊

In case you didn’t know, The Mood Sewing Network has reorganized its format and is currently accepting new members.  Click Here if you’d like to learn more. Also, be sure to check out some of Mood’s classes offered at Creative Bug!

 

A huge THANK YOU, MOOD! to Eric & Phil Sauma and the whole Mood Fabrics team!