Nature's Fabrics Bamboo Spandex French Terry

Nature's Fabrics has to have the largest selection of Bamboo fabrics that I have ever seen. I recently got a sample of the Bamboo French Terry and I love it! I need a whole winter wardrobe made from it.

This is seriously the softest french terry I have ever felt.

I just love this green color, but I'm not positive which it might be. You can see all the colors available HERE. Nature's Fabrics has all their Bamboo fabrics on sale this week and they will also be on sale for Black Friday.

I had a hard time deciding what to make with the Bamboo French Terry because I had so many ideas! I wanted to make a cardigan or joggers, but had so many other ideas too.

Then my thoughts came to this top that I keep seeing advertised on Facebook by shops like Wish & Zulily.

So, I set off to make my own version using the Designer Stitch Gemma sewing pattern as my base.  The Gemma is a twist top that has two variations - twist front or twist back. I blogged about the Gemma Twist front a few months ago. You can read it HERE.

I used the Gemma Twist Back version to recreate my inspiration. I made a few slight modifications to make it wearable with the twist in the front. Before I cut my pattern out, I traced the back neckline of the twist front version onto the front piece of the twist back version. I then cut the neckline somewhere between the two as I thought I still might want to wear this top with the twist in the back one day.

The Gemma does not include long sleeves. These sleeves were some that I drafted - but it's super easy. You want to add the sleeves before sewing the side seams. Simply measure the distance of the end of the pattern sleeve, then measure roughly how long you want your sleeves. Then draw out the pattern piece using these measurements. Taper the rectangle to be slimmer at the wrist.

My sleeves could have been made a little slimmer and a little shorter. But I think I did a pretty good job copying my inspiration.

I somehow only managed to get one photo of the back.

Nature's Fabrics is have a huge Bamboo sale right now and will have another great sale on Black Friday. Shop now before things sell out, and go back for Black Friday for some extra savings.

If you haven't tried the bamboo french terry, please give it a try. You'll ever want any ordinary french terry again. https://www.naturesfabrics.com/

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.

Nature's Fabrics Bamboo Spandex Jersey and a Hack to the Halla Sunny Day

Nature's Fabrics is having a sale on Bamboo Spandex Jersey! It's 15% off through September 16th! You will not find a wider selection of bamboo spandex jersey anywhere - they have so many solids and some gorgeous prints.

Are you ready for fall? I know I am. This Autumn Fox print is so adorable and perfect for fall sewing.

The bamboo spandex jersey was just perfect for the new Halla Patterns Women's Sunny Day Top & Dress.

The Autumn Fox is paired with the Soft Olive bamboo spandex jersey.

I also used the Soft Olive bamboo spandex jersey for this pattern hack to the Sunny Day.

I used a woven scrap I had in my stash for the yoke. Instead of cutting 4 yoke pieces, I cut two and cut them on a fold where the cut edge would be on the yoke for the center of the top.

 I also decided to add a yoke to the back of the top as well. For this I drew a line on the back pattern piece about 4" from the shoulder seam. I then traced the upper bodice piece and added 1/2" to the bottom where a drew my line. I then folded the back bodice on the line I drew. I cut my two yokes with the top bodice piece I made. I then decided to have gathers on my bottom bodice piece, so I folded my fabric to use the remaining width after cutting my front piece and placed the back bodice as far from the fold as I could. I then cut on an imaginary line from the fold to my piece. I gathered the top of the back bodice and attached it to the back yoke.

 I really loved how this came out! I plan to make a few more this way.  I also want to note that I had only 1 yard of the Autumn Fox and 1 yard of the Soft Olive bamboo spandex jersey. It's possible to get a size 10/12 graded to 14/16 hips out of a yard if you are short like me!

I then immediately had to make another hacked Sunny Day all with knit.

For this one, I used fabric that I designed. This is my Ernst Haeckel Bats at Golden Hour print from Spoonflower on Modern Jersey.

I used a Dark Brown Rayon Spandex for the yoke and sleeves.

I really love the curved hem on the Sunny Day.

 Check out all the amazing bamboo spandex jersey fabrics on sale at Nature's Fabrics HERE. There are 139 options! The bamboo spandex jersey is amazingly soft and the Soft Olive and Autumn Fox are a nice heavy weight at 240 and 245 gsm respectively. Bamboo spandex jersey is perfect for making apparel. It has very minimal shrinkage and wear well without pilling. The sale ends on September 16th! No code needed, prices are shown already discounted.

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.

Duck Butt Designs Carol's Favorite Tee

I recently got two of these cool cactus panels from Nature's Fabrics. Each panel is 25 inches wide by 30 inches tall. I got 2 so I could have the cactus design on the front and back of a top. Panels are 50% off through August 14th! I also got this Ocean cotton interlock to coordinate with it.

I made the Duck Butt Designs Carol's Favorite Top (CFT). I love this pattern for using two different fabrics. I feel like the color blocking is sophisticated. The CFT is perfect for wearing to work as it's modest and looks great under a cardigan or jacket.

Since I'm trying to get into the groove of making items for my fall wardrobe, I did 3/4 length sleeves.

The cotton interlock has great stretch and worked great for binding the back neckline.

I think the CFT was perfect for showing off the cactus design of these panels. These panels are Organic Cotton/Spandex Jersey and are 92% Organic Cotton and 8% Spandex. The tallest cactus on it is 14". 

I can't wait for the color weather to arrive so I can wear my newest CFT.

I'll definitely be buying some more fabrics from Nature's Fabrics. I was so impressed with how soft it was and how beautiful the colors were. Nature's Fabrics has all panels on sale for 50% off through August 14th! Find them on their website by searching for "panel" or click HERE.

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.

Duck Butt Designs Anna Top

Sometimes I love to grab a quick and simple pattern for instant gratification. The Duck Butt Designs Anna Top was the perfect pattern to give me that instant gratification on Sunday. My mom and mother-in-law were visiting and as soon as they left, I had laundry to do. With company over I had not had a chance to touch my sewing machine and was dying to sew up a top to go with a pair of pants I made recently. So between loads of laundry, I was able to whip up a Anna Top.

This was my first time making the Anna Top. I bought the Anna Top pattern right when it came out. My primary reason to buy it, was that it came with leggings. Duck Butt Designs patterns always fit me great and I knew their leggings would too. I've made them several time, but had yet to make the Anna Top.

I have a horrible habit of buying patterns and never making them. I printed out the Anna last week with the intent to make it soon using this gorgeous bamboo lycra from Sew Big Fabrics. I received this print in the mail the same day I got an order of Tactel from Zenith & Quasar Fabric.

This print matched 4 colors of Tactel that I bought. I made the Designer Stitch Shakti Jersey Pants with my Tactel. Yes - all my Tactel became pants. These are the Enamel Blue pair I made.  I love the high-lo hemline of the Anna Top - it covers by behind!

I'm 5' tall and took 1.5 inches from the length of the Anna Top. There is not a lengthen/shorten line on the Anna, but I made one a little below the bust. If I was to wear the Anna with leggings, I might add that 1.5" back to the length.

Now another confession - I didn't read the instructions. I did hem the sleeves before sewing the side seams. I hemmed the bottom last. I haven't looked, but I'm thinking it would be best to hem the bottom before sewing the side seams as well. I'll do that on my next one.

I love how my Anna Top turned out! I need to make a few more. I'm starting to think about what I'm going to pack for my upcoming cruise, and think this will be a winner.

The Anna Top comes with the Long Leg Runners (Leggings) for $9.50. Both patterns are fabulous! I'm kind of sad I hadn't tried the Anna Top before now. I love this top and it's perfect to finish out the hot summer in. If you have never bought a Duck Butt Designs pattern before, they each come with a recipe! The first thing I look at in a Duck Butt pattern is the recipe - and the one in this pattern sounds delicious!

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.

Nature's Fabrics Bamboo Spandex Stripes

I love Bamboo fabrics - they are so soft, breathable, and feel so much cooler than cotton lycra. I've also become a fan of stripes over the past year. I use to never get stripes, but then I started finding some that I liked. I don't like simple even stripes. I love stripes that vary in spacing and size. When I saw this gorgeous gray tone on tone stripes at Nature's Fabrics that have skinny and wide stripes in varying thickness - I had to have them. 

This Bamboo spandex jersey is 66% Bamboo Viscose, 28% Organic Cotton and 6% Spandex. It is 57/58” wide and weighs 200 GSM.

It has such lovely drape and is so soft. I just had to make a maxi dress with it.

Bamboo is naturally anti-bacterial and anti-fungal supposedly because of a bacteriostatis agent unique to bamboo plants called “bamboo kun” which also helps bamboo resist harboring odors. The bamboo kun in bamboo fabric stops odor-producing bacteria from growing and spreading in the bamboo cloth allowing bamboo clothing to be more hygienic and to remain fresher smelling.

Bamboo is highly absorbent and wicks water away from the body 3 to 4 times faster than cotton. In warm, humid and sweaty weather, bamboo clothing helps keep the wearer drier, cooler and more comfortable and doesn’t stick to the skin. Which makes it perfect for the 100 degree temps we have in Texas during the summer.

Bamboo clothing is naturally more wrinkle-resistant than cotton, and while it might still require ironing after washing, bamboo fabric can be ironed at a lower temperature than cotton. Shrinkage during washing and drying is minimal at warm temperatures.

Are you ready to try some bamboo?  Nature's Fabrics has bamboo spandex jersey and bamboo jersey on sale for 20% through July 21! There are 130 bamboo spandex jersey options! Now is a great time to stock up on an assortment of solids and be sure to grab some of the gorgeous stripes!

Information on Bamboo from http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_weblog/2007/09/bamboo-facts-be.html


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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.