Made by a Fabricista: Fall is Coming! Are You Sewing for Fall Yet?

Fall has to be my most favorite season of the year. In South Dakota typically the weather is at its best. The trees, flowers, shrubs are filled with color, and the cool evenings and warm days are delightful. What's a girl to do besides sew some garments that take us from summer to fall and even winter?

In swoops a gorgeous suiting from Fabric Mart in black/blue and ivory novelty weave with great body and weight. I knew it would be perfect for the Style Arc Livia jacket. The colors stated were black and white, but I think the black has a lot of blue in it and found my leather pieces, also from Fabric Mart, were a perfect match! More on that later!

I wanted a jacket that would work with jeans for casual Fridays or a skirt or dressier pants for the work week. I love the clean and classic lines and the simple fit. Not too boxy but not fitted either.

Cutting and sewing the pattern was simple! There are only nine pattern pieces which include the front and back facings, two sizes of patch pockets, two piece sleeves front, back and side back. Seriously, this took about 30 minutes to cut and I am a slow poke when it comes to that step! This fabric fused just beautifully to the interfacing I used on the front and back facings.

I love the patch pockets on the front. I mentioned I used garment leather for the top portions of the pockets. The leather is hand washable and the suiting fabric is washable on gentle. I think this will be a win-win fabric combination.

Sewing this up is fast and easy as well. There are minimal seams to put together which is a bonus.

Look at those sleeves. Are they not hanging beautifully or what? I added 1/4" shoulder pads and found that they rounded out the area perfectly and help the sleeve hang just like it is on a hanger or dress form.

This jacket is unlined and look at how beautifully the fabric is suited for this! Sometimes I feel like I nail it for fabric and patterns combos and yes, this is one of those times!

Here is a glimpse of the hook and eye type of treatment I used at the neckline. This was in the button section of JoAnn's fabrics and I thought it would be a tad bit nicer than a regular hook and eye the pattern calls for.

I love this fabric, I love my jacket so pick up some suiting fabric from Fabric Mart, match it to a pattern and show the world what you've created! (You can find FM's suiting fabric HERE.)

Thanks for reading!

Sue from Ilove2sew!

Made By A Fabricista: Bold Aspen Dress for Spring

As I write this in mid-April, central New Jersey weather is showing small signs of spring. My neighbor’s daffodils are blooming and our magnolia tree is trying to unfold its vibrant magenta petals. I am in the midst of preparing my wardrobe for the warmer months, even if we are still huddling against windy 30 degree days. For me, warm weather means linen. I love breathable, floaty linen sundresses and drapey, loose linen wide-leg pants. My vision for a spring piece was something bold and bright, inspired by the natural colors of blooming flowers, but also something that could transition well between the warmer and cooler months. When I saw Fabric Godmother’s Apsen Dress, I knew that it had the sensible transitional opportunities I was looking for while also providing a blank canvas for fun prints, patterns and colors. With the pattern in mind, I then turned to the stunning linen collection that Fabric Mart always has on hand to see what colors or patterns would best suit my visio...

Made By A Fabricista: Celebrating warm weather with Spring sewing!

Hi sewing friends! I don’t know about you but boy, was winter cold and dreary this year! The weather here in the Philadelphia area has been slowly improving, but Spring sure did take her sweet old time to arrive. So by April, I was definitely in the headspace of needing to sew up things that were either bright and cheery or meant for the warmer weather I am very much craving right now. I recently purchased a few SewBexx Patterns so I took them on a test run to create some Spring makes. First on my list was to make a top using this absolutely gorgeous ITY fabric I picked up last year. I had two yards which was enough for a long sleeve shirt. I chose the Olivia top, which is oversized with a drop shoulder, has multiple lengths and a split hem. I think the pattern is intended for heavier fabrics but I was envisioning how lovely this top would look with the drape of ITY knit fabric, and it did not disappoint. It came together for me quickly and was a straight forward sew…and I love the br...

Made By A Fabricista: Stripes For Spring

Hi everyone! It’s finally warming up here in southeastern Pennsylvania and I wanted to make a light, flowy dress for springtime. I snagged a vintage Laura Ashley pattern from Joanns on one of my last trips there. I somehow didn’t have anything in my pattern stash with a sweetheart neckline, so I thought it would be a good addition. The pattern calls for a giant gathered skirt, so I knew I would need something lightweight and drapey for it. Something like a pink striped cotton fine seersucker. The fabric is light and has a really nice drape, almost like a challis . I knew it would gather beautifully. I got to work cutting everything out, with help from my assistant. When I say the skirt is massive I mean it. I ran into an issue right away where my fabric isn't wide enough to cut the back panel without opening the fabric out. And my three yards of fabric wasn’t enough to cut two back panels. I ran into this issue last year when making my pinafore dress . In ...

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