Last year, I began my obsessive search to add tiki to most of my holiday outfits. After a bit of online searching, I found this fun fabric designed by artist Eric October on spoonflower.
It featured old school silly valentine’s day card sayings in a tropical vibe such as “You’re a Great Catch Valentine!” How adorable! Spoonflower is a great way to get custom fabric, but is also very expensive due to its short run printing. Yardage costs vary from $17/yard to $30 depending on the type of chosen fabric. Originally I was using the petal cotton at $17.50/yard. And in order to save some costs as well as add a fancy design element, I made the border of the fabric have some pompom trim and a solid cotton red.
However in the end, adding a trim and border of red didnt save me a lot of money design wise, but was still a fun addition. Recently I was asked to make this dress again but without the border. I also decided to try out a new upgraded fabric called “silky faile” for $24/yard.
This fabric is a polyester blend, which lends to a lot less wrinkling. It is so lightweight but solid. It also feels wonderful and even though there is a significant cost difference, I think I will use it in future dresses. It also has a larger seam allowance, which allows for less yardage needed for the same dress. Although I believe that this dress is perfect all year round, I am quickly approaching the deadline, if you would like your own to be ready by Valentine’s Day. You can also get this in a skirt here or as a dress here.
