Made by a Fabricista: Inspired by Ready to Wear

Do you see cute clothes in stores or online and think to yourself "I can make that!"? It happens to me often! I was a pretty big clothing shopper before I began sewing. And though I still buy clothes when I find a great deal, I usually end trying to recreate the outfit instead of buying. That is what happened with this jumpsuit. This black and white jumpsuit leaped out to me when I was scrolling through the gram. If you know me I love black and white, stripes and jumpsuits, so it's no surprise this was love at first sight.

When I saw this Be Stripe Back Jumpsuit by Kiomios I immediately thought of McCalls 8047 as the overall shape is similar. I sewed the bottoms straight from the pattern. Yes, I could've added slant pockets like the inspiration photo, but I didn't want to add any bulk. I did however alter the bodice to achieve the looser fit of the RTW outfit. I made the following changes:

added 1" at the center fold
added 2" to the hem
added 1.5" to the side seam using a curve ruler to grade the curve to the underarm seam.

This pattern piece served as the new front and back bodice. I also created cuffs to the sleeves by cutting 4" strips the length of the circumference of the armhole (18"). I sewed the short ended together then folded the strips lengthwise and sewed to the sleeve hem.

A critical part of this making a copycat version was finding a similar striped fabric. I needed a vertical stripe knit with two way stretch as the fabric is used both against and with the grain to achieve the horizontal bodice and vertical pants. Additionally the stripe pattern needed to be uneven, with the black stripe being wider. This double brushed jersey had everything and was on sale for just $3/yd! Sadly it's already sold out, but try this red and white stripe or cream and mustard brushed jersey.

The brushed jersey works perfectly for this jumpsuit as it's super soft. It's feels like I'm wearing pajamas!

All in all I think my version looks similar to the RTW garment that served as my inspiration.

Tiffany

Tipstitched.com

Made By A Fabricista: Three Bengaline Basics – A Jacket, Skirt and Vest

Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Sharon from Sharon Sews excited to share my latest Fabricista makes with you. When Fabric Mart offered an array of stretch bengaline suiting fabrics , I choose three different fabrics to sew myself a few basics to be worn as the season transitions from winter to spring. The bengaline fabric I used is a woven rayon/nylon/lycra blend fabric with the stretch running vertically (lengthwise on the fabric) instead of horizontally (selvage to selvage). It lends itself well to fitted and structured garments, such as jackets, pants, skirts and dresses. Because of the vertical stretch, I folded the fabric cross grain to cut out my fabric pieces so the greatest stretch would go around my body. I used a stretch needle size 75/11 due to the lycra in the fabric. I also eliminated the interfacing as I discovered this fabric did not like fusible interfacing and I did not have any sew-in interfacing on hand. Now let’s talk about the garments...

Made By A Fabricista: FROM FABRIC TO FASHION: - The Saguaro Set with Fabric Mart Fabric

The weather in Southwest Florida is finally starting to warm up. With the warm air and bright sunshine, I have been thinking about refreshing my “at home” wardrobe with some fun easy pieces this year. I have wanted to make The Saguaro Set for some time now. When I saw the beautiful selection of rayon challis on the Fabric Mart website, I knew now was the perfect time to get it started. THE FABRIC I researched a lot to see which fabric would work the best for this pattern. I chose the Deep Amaranth Pink 100% Rayon Twill Challis for my project. It is a beautiful color that to me looks more coral. The fabric is light to medium weight and has beautiful drape. The care instructions said gentle wash or hand wash. I prewashed the fabric in cold water on the delicate cycle. However, after drying it on the delicate cycle, the fabric had an almost vintage distressed look. I was a bit co...

Made By A Fabricista: Revisiting a Pattern After Five Years

Have you ever used a sewing pattern and then immediately vowed never to sew it again? Well, I have. It all began in the spring of 2020 at the start of the pandemic lockdown. I tackled sewing projects that were more challenging to help me grow as a seamstress. There was one pattern in particular that almost did me in, the Seamwork Penny shirt dress. The Penny dress pattern has a classic button-up dress shirt style bodice with a gathered skirt and pockets. It is a beautiful take on a shirt dress, and my sister and I loved it. The only downside is that it was recommended for intermediate-level sewists and I was only an adventurous beginner back then. I think I had only ever made one button-up shirt before attempting this Penny Dress and it didn’t even have a collar! Despite all of this, I thought “Why not try it, what’s the worst that can happen?” Thankfully the worst didn’t happen, and the dress turned out surprisingly wearable, but I had some intense frustration at the end. I...

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