Made By a Fabricista: Peplum Love in Off White

We have a new contributor on the Fabricista blog! Vatsla teaches fashion design at the Art Institute of Charlotte and loves to teach through written and video tutorials on her blog. You can learn more about her on our About Us page and check out her blog, Fashion Behind the Seams.

Hello Loves!

It's time to start transitioning our wardrobes from summer to pre-fall/ fall and I've been dreaming of a peplum top. I am so excited to share my latest creation with you. This off white peplum top I just finished sewing.

My style is definitely casual chic. I love a comfortable yet cute pair of skinny jeans. These are such a wardrobe staple for me. I love pairing knit tops that are a bit more dressy with jeans. You never feel overdressed, yet you make a statement.

I chose to sew with a soft and comfortable ponte knit from Fabric Mart Fabrics. For the pattern, I chose McCalls 7126 View D as a base pattern and modified the peplum.

I drafted the peplum from scratch because I wanted a much fuller peplum and a more dramatic look. I wanted it to be a full circle (think of it as a mini full circle skirt), but I also wanted a high low effect. The peplum is about 3 inches shorter in the front.You can draft your own high low peplum using my tutorial described HERE. To get the hem to be stiff and show off the ruffles, I used a one inch wide horesehair braid.

The top has a little bit of peek-a-boo action going on in the back as the peplum hangs free on the centre back. I used a separating zipper on the bodice and chose to let the peplum do its own thing. This is definitely a sexy top, but classy and elegant at the same time.

Very pleased with the way the horse hair braid hem turned out. This fabric is not too heavy weight, but given that the peplum is a full circle peplum, it would drape very differently had I not used the horse hair braid. LOVE the stiffness of the hem and it makes twirling super fun!

Even though this is a knit fabric, the look I was going for was a bit more structured, so I treated the fabric more like a woven. For example, I sewed it with my sewing machine instead of a serger, and I paid special attention to pressing the seams, using heat and steam generously, and pressing the seams crisp with my beloved tailors clapper. You can see my tutorial on pressing seams HERE. I also lined the entire bodice with a lighter knit fabric. I applied an exposed gold metal zipper on the back.

Moving on to how I styled this gorgeous peplum. I added this pretty silver and pink necklace, and this clutch purse. This is one of my favorites and looks so cute with the off white and denim. And I paired this look with my favorite snake skin pumps. (faux snake skin of course)

Can I just tell you that I love the fit on this top? Sewing Tip: A peplum is most flattering on the natural waist, which is that narrowest part of the torso. It cinches in the waist and lengthens the legs.

Oh! And no blog post of mine would be complete unless I struck a Bollywood pose... so here goes....(This is me, staring into the distance, thinking of my prince charming..)

My kid decided to come join me in the pictures! Oh and you know I've been gardening this summer...My iris has a bloom! So proud!

Design details below if you want to make your own peplum top!

PATTERN: I used McCalls 7126 ,View D as the pattern, but instead of using the peplum for view D, I drafted my own since I wanted a fuller peplum with a high low hemline. You can draft your own high low peplum using my tutorial described HERE. I also changed the neck to a round neck line.

FABRIC: I used an off-white ponte knit from Fabric Mart Fabrics. You can find their selection of ponte knits HERE

SEWING: I seriously loved sewing with the ponte knit. Its my first time working with ponte and I am pleased to say that it sews so well on a sewing machine as opposed to the less stable knits. This is definitely a good fabric to start sewing with in you are a beginner with knits. It's a stable, medium weight fabric and lovely to work with.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my latest creation!

What are you planning on sewing this weekend? I am taking a short break this weekend since my daughter is turning two and it's time to celebrate.

XOXO

-Vatsla at Fashion Behind The Seams

Check out Vatsla's time lapse video showing the entire process of making this peplum top:

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