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: Milo + Citrine

Hello sewing friends! It’s Andrea - @happy.things.here on IG and today I’m on the blog to share some sew inspo on one of my favorite kinds of garments to make – cardigans! I absolutely love making them and wearing them year-round, whether it’s an extra layer for around my house in the winter, as my outermost layer in Spring and Fall, or paired with a dress on a cooler summer evening. I love love love cardigans! And there are so many great cardigan patterns out there – chances are that each of your favorite pattern companies offers multiple cardigan patterns. Button-less cardigans are great beginner patterns, and a handmade cardigan is a lovely personalized gift since it’s more forgiving for fit and you don’t have to know someone’s exact measurements to make one. And you can make them in all sorts of knit fabrics too.  Today I chose two cardigan patterns to share with you that I think bring a little something extra to the table. They are the Seamwork Milo and the Made by Rae Citrine.

Week 4: Jeansmaking- What They Made

This is it, the final round! And we certainly did not go easy on our three remaining contestants this time. This round they had to make their own pair of well fitting jeans. I think they all did an absolutely outstanding job! Take a look what these ladies accomplished & be sure to vote for your favorite! (Link at bottom of post.) And, don't forget to show us your me-made jeans on Facebook or Instagram. Details at the bottom of this post. Danesha from  Classyfied Life So first I must say that this entire challenge has been just that...a challenge! Two weeks ago there was hurricane Irma and I was blessed enough to not lose power and then I went out into the aftermath to capture some photos of my submission. Then two weeks ago I had a big trip planned so I had to do EVERYTHING  in two days . Then the BIGGEST challenge of all...THIS week! I got the challenge and I was super excited to have an extra few days and then before I could even get started I ended up in the eme

Made by a Fabricista: Revving up your style in the Dana Marie Moto Jacket

Hey friends - I am so excited to have been invited to participate as a Fabric Mart Fabricista this month!  This year is the year I challenge my sewing skills.   I have wanted a moto jacket for some time.  Not just any moto jacket but one that has a classic and timeless style. I saw the Dana Marie Moto Jacket pattern on the Fabric Mart website and knew that was the one.  The fabric I used was a beautiful porcelain white/black/silver 100% polyester plaid weave boucle suiting.    Remember when I said I wanted to challenge my sewing skills?  😉 This fabric was beautiful but fragile to work with.  It was a great mental challenge that had me problem solving before sewing to avoid any potential problems.  I first traced out the pattern onto tissue paper to determine the fit.   I used scrap cotton fabric to sew up a “practice run” of the jacket.    I was pleasantly surprised at how easily the jacket comes together.   I sewed up the muslin in one evening.  It was time to cut into the beautifu