Made By a Fabricista: Silk Peasant Blouse

Hello everyone! My name is Michelle, and I blog about sewing from the Seattle area. I am thrilled to be joining the Fabricistas and want to share my first project with you: a silk peasant blouse:

For this project, I used a pattern that I had previously made and loved--HotPatterns Classix Nouveau Refined Peasant Blouse.

For my previous version of this top, I used a cotton double gauze. I've been wearing that version nearly non-stop, so for my second version, I decided to up the ante and use a silk double georgette from Fabric Mart. Fabric Mart is sold out of this particular fabric but does have other colors available: Silk Double Georgette Fabrics.

The pattern itself is a raglan-sleeved blouse with a gathered neckline and a v-neck slit opening. You can see the details a little better when the blouse is lying flat:

Outside of being a bit slippery and wiggly, as silks generally are, this fabric was lovely to work with. That's a LOT of gathering in that neckline, and the silk handled it like a pro. Additionally, it pressed very nicely (I used my steam iron on a medium-high heat setting) and didn't ravel nearly as much as some silks that I've worked with. Amazingly, even though my cat kept insisting on sitting on and kneading the in-process blouse, it didn't even pick up any cat-claw-related runs.

A special fabric like this one deserved a special seam finish, so I used French seams to finish all of the internal seams on this blouse:

The blouse feels lovely to wear--the silk is soft and drapey with just a hint of sheerness. (I am wearing a cami in the modeled photos just to be extra cautious in making sure that it's work-appropriate.)

For fitting alterations, I only did a small FBA (rotated to the neck gathers) and widened the wrist cuff a bit. (The cuff was a bit snug on my original version.) I'm not even sure that I needed the FBA, which I'd made primarily to keep the blouse from riding up in front. However, this silk has such a nice drape that ride-up doesn't seem to be an issue.

I'm happy to be able to add this blouse to my closet. It's nice without being too fancy and wasn't terribly difficult to sew (silk slipperiness aside).

Happy Sewing!
--Michelle
Happily Caffeinated

Made By A Fabricista: Falling for Knits

We are now well into Fall, even though the temps are still relatively warm here in Texas. I love the fall season and dressing for Fall. When it comes to the conversation of knits vs. wovens I typically sew mostly wovens. So for this post I decided to sew completely knits! With the holiday season right around the corner I saw these three dress styles as perfect for Friendsgiving/Thanksgiving gatherings. The first look is a tried and true pattern Simplicity S9372. Using this gorgeous burgundy ponte knit , I like how this pattern fits throughout. I chose this color to add to my typically neutral palette in my closet. I also wanted something I could wear to my sorority meetings and found this color perfect. It's an easy sew with back fisheye darts and invisible zipper to add to the tapered style. The neckline and armholes are finished with bias binding giving it a clean finish on the inside. I used a universal needle to sew a...

Made By A Fabricista: Closing 2025 with a Lined Jacket

Hello again, sewing friends! It seems we have arrived yet again in the grandest season for layering, all this oncoming cold weather. I like ending the year with something warm and very useful. Seems based on my past Fabricista posts, I love to sew year-end outerwear, and this round is no different! I challenged myself with a new lined coat (wait, jacket? Coat? I feel like the presence of wool changes things?). Anyhoo, since the lovely Chalk & Notch Den Jacket has been in my queue, I proceeded ahead. I like the large pockets, the option to line or not, and the extra bodice and sleeve seams for topstitching. Sewing this coat is not at all difficult, but the many pieces and loads of topstitching will take a bit of time. My version took me a few multiple-hour sessions to complete. I sewed a size 2, which matches my measurements, and I made no alterations. Hint: for a quick size test, just employ the lining pieces. Gorgeous, muted blue as a soft wool flannel ? This is ...

Made By A Fabricista: Chalk and Notch Wren Dress: My Buffet dress for the Christmas season!

I recently sewed the Chalk and Notch Wren dress using a beautifully soft black voile from Fabric Mart, and it turned into such a satisfying, enjoyable project. The pattern itself is very easy to understand and straightforward with clear instructions, intuitive construction, and a relaxed fit that makes the sewing process easy. A buffet dress in the sewing community is a dress that is loose fitting, so you can eat at the buffet without your dress being uncomfortable afterwards, lol! Because the voile I chose is extremely thin and transparent, I opted to line the bodice and first tier. Adding a lining not only provided modesty but also gave the delicate fabric a bit more stability, especially around the neckline and button placket. A helpful tip when sewing a lining into a lightweight bodice is to treat the lining and the main fabric as one. I sewed the bodice as you would for a lined bodice, and the first tier I sewed the pieces together with a basting stitch to make the process...

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