Fabric Review: Ramona Top in Faille Cotton
Ramona top made with Faille Pablo Flowers White Softened Cotton
Ramona top made with Faille Pablo Flowers White Softened Cotton
Bright patterned fabric has never been my style; when I do dip my toes in those bold waters, it’s usually in the shallow checks and plaids end of the pool. But there was just something about the Fabrics-Store Pablo Flowers print that pulled me in the second I saw it. Maybe it was the first week of warm spring weather that did it, or all the beautiful florals that were flooding my Instagram feed (who are we kidding, it was probably that), but I put it in my cart before I even had a chance to think about it. I wasn’t totally sure what I would make with something so unlike what I typically picked, but decided I’d let inspiration strike when it arrived in the mail.
Ramona top made with Faille Pablo Flowers White Softened Cotton
Two weeks later with fabric in hand, I was stuck. In typical Arkansas fashion, the temperature had drastically dropped and I was back to wearing my neutral-colored glasses, not knowing what to do with a print this loud and colorful. What’s more, in the split-second it took for me to choose this fabric, I somehow completely overlooked the cloth type.
I don’t know if ya’ll have ever worked with faille fabric before, but it has a completely different hand and weight from a typical woven cotton. Its texture is faintly ribbed, and is pleasantly opaque and weighty. It has a lower luster and better drape than grosgrain, and is traditionally used for formal wear or structured garments. These are probably things someone knows if they are a classically or institutionally trained sewer, but I am all YouTube and library books, folks. I don’t have extensive knowledge of cloth types, and I’d never come across faille.
Ramona top made with Faille Pablo Flowers White Softened Cotton
That unboxing moment of expectation versus reality threw me for a momentary loop; the patterns I’d previously thought to use suddenly seemed all wrong, and I was worried about whether this print was really me. I spent a couple of days summoning the courage before deciding that if I was really going to go for it, I should do the fabric justice and pair it with a pattern that could hold its own. Obviously, I chose the Ramona top by Spaghetti Western Sewing. The style is overtly feminine in a way that allowed the colorful flower design to shine, but is just rootin’ and tootin’ enough in attitude to not feel saccharine, plus the fabric is a perfect weight for all the gathering.
Ramona top made with Faille Pablo Flowers White Softened Cotton
The faille was an absolute pleasure to work with. It pressed cleanly and was resistant to unraveling when I was sewing. It doesn’t wrinkle in the dryer, giving it a gold star in my fabric maintenance book. It’s also Oeko-Tex certified, which means the fabric is biodegradable, recyclable, and toxic free. I’m so pleased to have such a fun addition to my wardrobe, and honestly, it feels like it fits right in. I’m pleased to have tried a new fabric (even if accidentally!) and the pattern was a welcome adventure.
About Author
Alyx Vanness
Hi there! I'm a mid-thirties millennial that got asked for my hall pass all ten years as a teacher and who has just stumbled out of the hallways into the corporate world. I spent a lot of years unsure of my style and uninspired by ready-to-wear clothing, and then I started sewing. Fully self-taught with a devil-may-care attitude (I've never met a pattern I'll toile), I use this craft as an opportunity to experiment and play. Thanks for being here!Leave a Reply to Carolyn Wallace Cancel reply
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4 Comments
Kate Renwick
That’s so pretty. But wait….. you could turn that pattern into a dress! There’s always something to learn and you sew so neatly, I’m impressed. Kate
Linda Hamilton
I had to go to the website for the pattern to figure out how you got it on. I love how it turned out & it looks great on you. I have been resisting buying any of the faille fabric, but may have to change my mind after seeing what you made.
Certainly don’t apologize for how you learned to sew. I had to take sewing in junior high school, but really learned later in life from library books and even later from online videos. When there are no classes in real life anywhere near where you live, you just learn in a different way and if your clothes fit & they look great, who cares where the learning came from.
Linda
Carolyn Wallace
Well done, Alyx! I hope you’ll give up apologizing for how you’ve learned to sew — YouTube and library books ( I love libraries!) are just fine, along with experience. It seems to me that there’s ‘learn as you go’ for many of us and I’ve sewed since I was 10 or 11 years old and at 78 years old now, I’m still learning. I love that you were adventurous, made something for yourself and that it suits you.
Greta Johnson
Alyx,
Your top is beautifully made and you look very pretty in it. Nice choice of pattern for you!
Greta Johnson