Made by a Fabricista: Black Summer Outfits

Hey Friends! It’s Tea and I’m back with another Fabricista Sewing Blog. This month I made a few sewing projects for this post including  the Southport Dress by True Bias, a McCall’s pleated skirt pattern, a Vogue stylish hat , and a simple and easy jersey Burda Style tee. I’m excited to share my experience with you and give you a review of the patterns and fabrics I used to make these projects. 

Growing up in New Jersey, summer was remarkably hot. My mother often cautioned my siblings and I to avoid going outside in dark clothing. “Dark clothing attracts heat and going outside in this summer heat in all black can cause a heat stroke …” mom would say. I’m sure many of you have heard this before. It’s definitely something I heard every summer. 

Although I agree with mom, I love wearing black throughout the year, and I usually make a few black summer outfits. Since childhood, I’ve learned a lot more about how and when to wear black clothing in the summer without attracting heat or causing a “heat stroke.”

Needless to say, black clothing has become a bit of a summer wardrobe staple for me. It’s one of my favorite colors to wear; I especially like light to medium weight black clothing because they seem to attract less heat than heavier weight black fabrics. That’s why I selected this black and white fabric from the Fabric Mart website. The color balance is beautiful and this fabric will attract less heat than an all-black fabric.

Fabric Choice 

Two fabrics were chosen to complete these projects. The main fabric I chose for this project is the black and white floral print fabric; it is a medium weight stretch poplin cotton that is approximately 58”in width, with a slightly stiff drape. I was attracted to the white floral contrast. I think it adds to the fabric’s design and it is visually pleasing. As I mentioned in my previous post, I love cotton fabrics, especially sateen, poplin, and voiles. So, this was a fabric that was on my wishlist for sometime. I’m happy I was able to work with this. 

The second fabric that was selected to create this look is a red-orange jersey knit fabric. This fabric is very light-weight and is translucent. Originally, I wanted to make a cardigan to wear overtop of the Southport dress. But I couldn’t find a pattern that would accommodate this fabric. This fabric is somewhat sheer and requires a lining for tops and dresses. Although, I didn’t make a lining for this top. I plan to wear a camisole underneath this top. Although the fabric is thin, I didn’t have any problems sewing it. I would recommend using a needle designed for light weight knits to prevent ripping the fabric. 

Dress Pattern 

The Southport Dress by True Bias is an advanced beginner’s pattern that consists of seven pattern pieces, which includes the bodice front and back, the skirt front and back, waistband casing, button placket guide, and a drawstring pattern. This pattern features four buttons on the center front bodice, a modest slit on the front skirt, and pockets. The dress is designed to be sleeveless; therefore, bias binding is used to finish the raw edges. The pattern does not have a bias binding guide. So you will need to cut and measure your binding without a guide or instructions. But this is very easy and simple to do. 

Although, I hacked the pattern and made self-drafted sleeve. I chose the longer maxi length version and made a few modifications to the skirt and bodice patterns. (See the Alterations and Modifications section in this post for more details).

I found this pattern to be very easy with great instructions, perfect for advanced beginners. I chose this pattern because I wanted to make a summer style maxi dress, and this sleeveless pattern is perfect for summer. Although I added sleeves to my dress, this dress can still be worn during the summer months because the sleeves are short and the fabric is a medium weight cotton. 

Alterations and Modifications to Southport Dress 

I made quite a few alterations to the Southport Dress pattern. First, I extended the cut of the armscye approximately two inches. This was necessary in order to add the sleeves. In addition, I dropped the waistline down by one inch, moved the bust dart up an inch, and added a fifth buttonhole and button to the button band. To finish the raw edges of the sleeves I made wide double fold bias binding with the black and white daisy print, and sandwiched the raw edge of the sleeve in between the binding and top stitched it in place. 

Lastly, I cut the front skirt on fold instead of cutting two pieces out as the instructions suggest. The original design for the front skirt pattern features a slit on the center front. I omitted this detail because I didn’t want to breakup the big daisy print on the front skirt. A center seam may look a bit awkward with this printed fabric, and may distort the big floral design. That’s why I cut the front pattern on fold. 

 Skirt Pattern

To make the skirt I used the McCall’s M7253 an out-of-print pattern that I’ve made last year. I fell in love with this pattern the first time I made it and claimed it as a “Tried and True” (TNT). This was another easy project that took about an hour to complete. This pattern features six variations of a pleated skirt including length variations and an optional lower band.

I made View D, which is the knee length option with a center back zip and waistband. This particular view consists of four pattern pieces, so it’s simple and easy to make. Perfect for an advanced beginner. As far as alterations and modifications, I didn’t have to make any. The pattern is true to size and sits comfortably on my waistline.

Top Pattern

This simple and easy Jersey knit top was made with the Burda Style 6820 Pattern. This pattern is designed for beginners, and consists of four pattern pieces. I’ve made this top pattern several times and I always get a lot of wear out of the garments that I make with this pattern. The pattern pieces includes the front, back, neckband, and sleeves. Unfortunately, I lost the neckband piece for this pattern. So I turned the neckline inward about ½” and used a zigzag stitch to finish the neckline. I also used and zigzag stitch to finish the sleeve and hem of the top as well. 

There are two sleeve length variations including in this pattern,  including short and long sleeve options. I wanted a ¾ length sleeve. This was a simple and easy adjustment to make. I simply cut the sleeve pattern near the shorten/lengthen line. 

Hat Pattern

When it comes to hat making I’m inexperienced and out of practice. I didn’t expect perfection and I certainly didn’t achieve it either. However, I am content with the end result and look forward to perfecting this pattern in the near future. I used the Vogue V8844 to make this hat with a ¾ yard remnant. This Southport Dress gives me beach vibes, so I wanted to make a hat that would accommodate that style. This Vogue pattern has four variations. I went with the easiest pattern, which includes three pattern pieces, the top, brim, and side. This pattern calls for lining and interfacing. 

5 Tips on Wearing Black Summer Outfits

All black clothing and fabrics have a bad reputation when it comes to summer dress. However, there are ways in which you can wear black in the summer without attracting too much heat.

• Firstly, choose black fabrics that have at least one other color such as this black and white floral print featured in this post. In fact, this print has the perfect balance of both black and white, which is helpful in maintaining cooler temperatures. 
  
  
• Secondly, use light-medium weight fabrics such as linen, cotton, voiles, chambray etc… 
  
  
• Third, I choose patterns that are summer friendly that are sleeveless or have short sleeve options. 
  
  
• Fourth, heavy weight fabrics such as denim, wool, and leather are avoided. 
  
  
• Lastly, choose patterns that fall away from the body such as tent and maxi dresses. A-line skirt patterns are perfect for this as well. 

That completes my second blog post as a Fabric Mart Fabricista. I’m loving all of these creations and hoping to wear them throughout the summer. Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog post today. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my sewing makes. I’m excited to share my August blog post with you. Stay tuned to see what I make next. Until next time, stay creative everyone! 

TEAMEAKA | @crumpetsteaandsewing

---

Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following categories: POPLIN & JERSEY KNITS
You can also shop our entire collection of True Bias patterns HERE.