Made by a Fabricista: Happy Fri-YAY Clothes!

Just like the rest of the world, I love Fridays! I get to wear more casual clothing to work and I daydream about what I am going to sew! For this month's post, I wanted to make a casual Friday outfit. I didn't want just any jeans but some sort of dressier ones--does that make sense? I also wanted a breezy top that was somewhat dressy as well but in some super awesome fabric.

So here is my outfit:

I choose to use the StyleArc Katherine Pant. The legs are what drew me to the pattern--not skinny but also not too wide and those slant pockets are cute. I knew they were just what I wanted to go with this amazing denim.

See Fabric Mart's Denims HERE

This denim is the perfect weight for these pants and actually, it would work equally well for a shirt dress, jacket, or a structured top. I love that it is printed and the floral design is right up my alley!

Katherine Pant - Straight leg tailored pant with seam detail

For my top, I used a New Look Pattern that I've tried before and love. It is easy to put together and I thought the texture of the fabric with the draping would be very nice and I am happy with the result.

I've always had issues with upper back leg bagginess. After quite an extensive search, I found a link that talks about reducing that by equally lowering the bottom of the back crotch and also at the waistline. You redraw the crotch to compensate for the lower seam line and then stretch the crotch seam to fit the front leg.

You can kind of see what I did above. Sorry I didn't take a before photo! Stretching the inseams so that matched wasn't difficult at all.

I think this technique worked well but when I use it again, I am going to try a 1/4" rather than a 1/2" adjustment. I may have gone slightly overboard with the 1/2"!

For the top, I used a favorite New Look pattern. I love the sort of twisted front and the split

neckline.

I made view C.

This fabric is from Halston. Do you shop the designer fabrics? This fabric is just so pretty and fun to work with.

I used a single-layer for the sleeves, and a double layer for the front and back.

I matched up the 'plaid' lines on the layers so it didn't blur the design.

See the wonderful texture in the fabric?

I enjoyed creating this outfit and now need the weather to warm up so I can celebrate a casual Friday in my new outfit!

Thanks so much for reading!

Sue from Ilove2sew!

Made By A Fabricista: A Wooly Wearable Blanket.

Twirling in a me-made outfit! I live in a small town where the nearest fabric shop is a road trip away, so I almost exclusively shop for fabric online. Having access to an online shop like Fabric Mart with a solid search engine is incredibly helpful. But by far my favorite aspect of Fabric Mart is what I call the “Drape Picture” included in each listing! This picture gives me all the information I need and I find it more helpful than the exact weight per yard/square meter. Seeing how the fabric falls close or away from the body gives me a clear idea of how it will behave and inspires me to make it into something that will highlight the fabric’s nature. When I saw the drape of this “Baked Plum” wool suiting , I immediately wanted to immortalize those beautiful folds into a skirt! I opted for a simple self-drafted pleated skirt with a deep hem. I wear my dresses year-round and rely on wool skirts that I layer under or over my dresses for warmth. I cut two panels for the front ...

Made By A Fabricista: Which comes first – the fabric or the pattern?

Ah, the age old question garment sewers are often asked – do you choose the pattern first and then look for fabric, or do you buy fabric and then later decide what it will be when it grows up? If you are a sewist with a large fabric stash (like myself), then perhaps you are on Team Fabric. I would say I definitely lean that way, but there are also times when I land somewhere in the middle – I see a fabric and I think, I’ve just seen a pattern and these two would be perfect together! And that’s how gorgeous dusty rose stretch velvet and a recently released cardigan pattern came together to create the newest addition to my wardrobe. And had me improvising a few things along the way. First. I have to admit - I have a stretch velvet problem. I see it pop up on the website and I almost always grab it, especially if I see a sale. It’s not the easiest fabric to sew (it’s slippery as heck!), but I love it so much and I especially love using it in non-traditional ways. In my last blog post, I...

Made By A Fabricista: Back In The Saddle

If you don’t know in October my beloved Bernina sewing machine blew a fuse and started smoking while I was using it. She went to the shop for repairs, and then I moved. So it’s been a bit since I’ve sewed last and I’ve had trouble getting back into it. I knew I needed a simpler project to get me going again. Julie sewed up a Jarrah sweater recently ( restock coming soon! ) and gushed about how simple and rewarding a project it was. Then we got in this beautiful wool/cashmere sweater knit from England. I was seeing lighthouse keeper, sheep herder in the highlands. I knew it had to be my Jarrah sweater. I did lengthen the bodice by 3 inches. I actually sewed up a mock up with the curved hemline, but decided that wasn’t for me and went with the straight hem. Of course I took zero photos of said mock up. Oops. Otherwise I sewed it up in a size 6 as is. Using the serger this really does sew up quickly. The dropped shoulder creates clean, simple lines that make it easy to sew u...

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