Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: Experimenting with Percale

Image
By
Don't know about you, but this time of year, I like to start thinking about sewing some garments for fall.  I love the colors of fall, the browns, oranges, greens, and purples.


I found this brown, floral percale on Fabric Mart's site and wanted to try it for a garment. There are lots of choices on their site, which you can see here: Percale/Sheeting




This fabric has a very crisp hand, perfect for a pair of cropped pants.  Back in my day, these were called gauchos.  Anyone else remember that phase?  Here is the pattern I used, if you are interested! 
Simplicity 8175


This fabric was a great choice for this pant as it holds its shape, is crisp, and is comfortable.


I only made a few modifications, the most noticeable was to lengthen the tie.


Let's talk about my bright green top for a moment.  This is some of FM's linen, this is the avocado green.  I had just enough left in my stash from a previous project to make a fun top to go with these wild, floral pants.


I modified this pattern, by leaving off the flange of the sleeve.  Simplicity 8642


I love how these fabrics go together!




I hope you are all enjoying summer and creating some great makes!
Thanks for reading!
Sue


Comments

  1. Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic)August 11, 2018 at 5:52 PM

    These are cute and I was wondering how those percale fabrics at Fabric Mart sewed up! And yes, I remember the term gauchos!

    ReplyDelete
  2. marjenannAugust 11, 2018 at 5:56 PM

    Wow! Another outstanding outfit! Fabulous!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ann BrodskyAugust 12, 2018 at 12:27 PM

    Great color combination! Love your shoes and accessories too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. EileensewsAugust 12, 2018 at 9:25 PM

    Love the top! Never even thought of leaving the ruffley thing off.
    I remember wearing gauchos !

    ReplyDelete
  5. Pat GottshalkAugust 13, 2018 at 4:34 PM

    Thanks for showing the percale. I have been looking at the beautiful percale prints in the FM website.

    ReplyDelete
  6. rylee787August 29, 2018 at 10:20 AM

    I actually had 2 of those picked out to sew up some tunics, but was worried and scared off by the fabric. Would this be a good choice for early fall? I am new at fabric choise and always worried I am going to waste my money since I can't feal it in person. Super cute pants by the way...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Recent Posts You Might Like

A Yard And Change

By
Do you have a fabric that you love and has been hanging around but is too small to use? Maybe you found a wonderful fabric with a super cute print but there's only a yard left.  I've got a few projects I worked on all with roughly a yard of fabric. And I have a few tips for making that yard and change go further! Cutting Layout: You can get a lot more mileage out of a yard of fabric if you can get creative with how you lay out your fabric. Cutting things single layer will give you the most control. My favorite thing to do is unfold the fabric and fold the selvages in to meet in the middle. That gives me two folded edges to work with. I had to overlap these to get enough width for the tank top. Just make sure that your pattern pieces don't also overlap!  This one was especially fun for me because I really loved the print on this swimwear knit but am not yet up to sewing swimwear. But a nice flowy hiking tank is perfect for this! In the future I'd love to experiment with...
3 comments
Continue Reading »

Help Our Buyers Shop!

By
  Comment on this post with what you are looking for right now and our buyers will seek it out!  I am craving wool gabardines and ponte knits in fun autumn colors. What about you?
129 comments
Continue Reading »

Sewing Vintage for Summer

By
Hello sewing friends!  I was highly motivated to try another one of the vintage Polynesian Pattern dresses I’ve collected during our hot weather. The patterns are all dramatic and fashionable and really apropos for summer styling. This one is number 204, the Pilialoha Dress.  The gown includes a wide boatneck that many of them feature, plus a very beautiful back gathering and wraparound closure. I always find that the special details on the back are such a chic surprise compared to the simple front.  I chose a lemon covered cotton lawn . I am really delighted with the quality of this cotton, it’s luxuriously soft and smooth. The scale of the lemons and blossoms are just right and not overwhelming, and the soft yellow background is beautiful. This could not be more charming and summery!  I also chose some excellent lightweight interfacing for my facings, and the real highlight is these Dritz Floral Sew-On Snaps that I’ve had my eye on for months! Finally, the perfect ...
4 comments
Continue Reading »

Athletic Wear Refresh: A Bold New Gym Set

By
There’s something especially motivating about refreshing your workout wardrobe with pieces that feel like you. As part of my ongoing athletic wear refresh, I’m adding another handmade set to my gym wardrobe—and this one might be the boldest yet. Lately, I’ve been taking a closer look at my handmade wardrobe and thinking more intentionally about what I actually wear in this season of my life. Athletic wear has become a big part of that. Instead of treating workout clothes as an afterthought, I want my gym wardrobe to have the same personality, color, and style as everything else I make. And this fabric made that very easy.  The Fabric That Started It All   The moment I saw this vibrant multicolored paisley, I was immediately drawn to it. The mix of warm reds, oranges, greens, turquoise, and golden yellow against the light background feels bold, energetic, and a little unexpected for athletic wear . There’s something about the print that reminds me of Etro and other higher-end f...
7 comments
Continue Reading »