Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: Sewing in Black and White

Hello Fellow Sewists!

I am excited to share my very first Fabricista project with you all. As I thought about what I wanted to see for my March project, I started thinking about Spring and Easter. My mind about immediately went to Easter white, so I decided I wanted to make an Easter Sunday worthy look featuring white fabric. As luck has it, I found a beautiful white cotton/rayon blend suiting and an incredibly gorgeous black and white textured bouclé fabric. It was hard tell for sure, but they seemed the whites would match. And to my joy, the fabrics arrived and were a perfect match. 


(Look at the texture on this bouclé!)

Full disclosure, I struggled a bit to narrow down what exactly I wanted to make with the fabrics. Originally, I planned to make a two piece set (skirt or pants and a top) with the white suiting fabric and then a coordinating trench style coat with the bouclé. However, the white suiting was much heavier than I thought it would be. The quality was unbelievable frankly and I knew this was really much better suited for a proper suit jacket instead of a top. I found this Vogue 8887 pattern in my stash and decided a white suit would be a great addition to my handmade wardrobe. 


But what to do with the bouclé now?  During a recent pattern shopping spree, I picked up this new McCalls pattern 7513. 

I decided I’d just make another jacket and wear it with the white pants from the suit, as I love to mix and match.  I selected View B, the longer length jacket with pleated back peplum. 

The sewing process for both patterns was pretty straight forward. The Vogue pattern is definitely more of an intermediate design. There is nothing very difficult, but you do need to know you to install a zipper and do button holes. The pants are interlined while the blazer is fully lined. Both pieces are cut on the bias, so I did use 5 yards of fabric to make the suit. 

(Inset details of white suit)


(Inside of jacket-self faced and satin lining) 

The McCall’s peplum jacket is also intermediate or advanced beginner maybe. Again, you need to install the button holes, but the rest of the sewing is straight forward, the pleating and jacket collar take some time but were straight forward to do. The bodice and sleeves of the jacket are lined and all hemming is done by hand. 

(Lined bodice)

(Pleated peplum prior to hemming and attaching to lined bodice)

(Pinned sleeve prior to hand stitching lining to sleeve hem) 

Now let’s shift to the styling of these pieces. I paired the white suit with an Ogden Cami from my handmade wardrobe. I have several of this camis sewn up and all look great with this suit, adding a nice pop of color. This particular cami is made from a textured silk that I’ve had in my stash for years. 

And I paired the white pants with a black blouse from my RTW wardrobe and the bouclé jacket.  

I also styled the bouclé jacket with a basic black scuba knit dress (fabric also from Fabric Mart) from my handmade wardrobe. 

I really enjoyed working with these gorgeous designer fabrics and will be stalking the designer category for more fabrics to add to my stash. They were an absolute dream to sew with and complimented the patterns perfectly. I love my new custom made “designer” looks.  It really is a treat to sew up pieces with top quality fabrics without breaking the bank. 

It turns out that black and white, both monochromatic and mixed together, are trends for Spring/Summer 2021. I’m not a trend follower but not I’m also not mad about being on trend. After watching the runway shows of several of my favorite designers, I am even more obsessed with the black and white trend.  I’ve now pulled together fabrics from my stash and have planned an entire new black and white collection. I’ll be making a black linen suit and then several black, white and printed tops to mix and match together. I look forward to sharing my new collection with you all on my Instagram and YouTube channel soon! 

Do you have any plans to make a Spring suit or some Easter whites?  What about the black and white trend-are you in to it?  Let me know in the comments section. 

I’ll see you all back here soon for my next Fabricista project. Until then, take good care and Happy Sewing!

SHEREE   @shereesalchemy


Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following categories: BOUCLE & SUITING.

Comments

  1. Beautiful details on the boucle jacket. It pairs so well with your black skirt.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, my goodness! What a beautiful outfit and job. Your insides look better than my outsides!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your outfits are so nice looking. Can’t wait to see how the rest of your plans turn out for following up on your collection. Thanks for the peek into what is to come.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful jackets. A lot of work looks like!

    ReplyDelete
  5. You really nailed it. Special fabric deserves the professional finishes and thought you gave to pattern selection. And such superb work you do too. Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love that jacket! All the pieces are terrific, so wear them with a smile!

    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.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Workwear Ready

I'm excited for my first post in 2023! At the beginning of the year, I recently went back to working in person so now I am looking to make and wear pieces that I can wear to work.  The goal is to be functional but also very fashionable since I am a fashion design professor. I saw this blue denim fabric and knew I wanted to make some pants; I just wasn’t sure what kind.  I decided to make Mimi G x Simplicity S8985 View B pants.  I liked the oversized flare look, I just made one slight modification to them by adding a pintuck along the front.  This was easy to add since the waistline was called to be slightly gathered to fit.  The fabric had a hand closer to linen and was very lightweight which was great and very satisfying to sew.  I lengthened the pants by 3” and finished with a 2” hem. The top I used Simplicity S9707.  It’s an oversized partial button down top.  I decided to create a high low hem by combining two different views.   I loved the print of the fabric but honestly as s

Made By A Fabricista: Spring into 2023 with Liberty of London!

Hi Fabricista Fans! I'm excited to be back with my first FabricMart project of 2023 and my second with Liberty of London Tana Lawn ! This fabric is so luxurious and wonderful to work with, I just can't pass it up whenever I see it come on sale! With such a high thread count, Liberty of London doesn't easily crush, and although it's 100% cotton, it's so flowy that it's perfect for billowy dresses, blouses, and skirts. With my $50 budget this month, I purchased 2 yards of Tana Lawn and made a Peony Patterns Rosemary Dress with inseam pockets for my youngest daughter. This is a gorgeous button down dress with long and short puff sleeve options. After cutting it out, I realized I had plenty leftover for a skirt for my eldest, so I whipped up the FREE Peony Patterns Apple Berry Skirt for her. Since she needed a top to go with it, I raided my stash for some additional fabric, and found a lovely eggshell Fabric Mart Rayon Lycra hidden away. (Don't worry, I still ha

Made By A Fabricista: A Denim Set for Spring

Happy Friday All! I am ecstatic to share my latest make that I had on my to make list for a while.  My goal for the month of February was to sew a mini vacation capsule for a trip, but unfortunately I did not get a chance to. I was able to make 3 of the 6 pieces including this denim set. When this beautiful denim fabric arrived, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I have been wanting to recreate a linen look I made a few years ago using the Montoya coat pattern with a few adjustments.  I created VIEW A without the peplum and lengthened it by 6 inches. Instead of sewing the tie inside the seam of the top like I did here, I wanted to make it separate so that it looks like a jumpsuit. (Read the blogpost here ). Moreover, my body has changed and I needed to cut a size larger so that I can rock it as an open vest or a top tucked in. I love the way it turned out but wish I had extended it by 8 inches instead of 6. For the pants, I went to my tried and true simplicity 8605 pants pattern and