Made By A Fabricista: Sheer Fashion - Fall Fabricista Feature

Happy Fall! I am so excited for the transition into fall and to share with you my October Fashionista Feature with Fabric Mart. This time of year calls for layering and transition into cooler weather with jackets, sweaters, long sleeve tops and maybe even light turtlenecks. This may seem like a lot, but we are going to keep it transparent for this make and expose all the layers so to speak!

It’s all about the layering for the fall and I’m usually drawn to lighter weight fabrics for that reason. I love chiffons, georgettes, silks, lightweight jerseys and even mesh fabrics. These have been my favorites so when I came across these two fabrics from Fabric Mart it was fabric love at first sight. First let me say, printed mesh tops have been my new obsession this fall! These tops are like second skin. Yes, they are thin and translucent but, for those of us who are a little more modest, with the right print and the right undergarments they come across so chic and prints give them a cool effect.

I’m loving this zebra print with grayish purple hues. You can never go wrong with an animal print and the color combo is right in line for the season. Stretch mesh fabrics can be a little tricky to sew but so easy and quick with the right needle and techniques. This fabric doesn’t fray much at all and you must know that over time, the stretching of the fabric and the raw edges can get a little loose. I left the edges raw at the sleeve of my bodysuit because I like the raw unfinished look on the mesh at the sleeve hem. Also, I didn’t want to risk any puckering or stretching in any areas.

With lighter translucent fabrics I tend to use a French seam a majority of the time. It takes a little more time because you have to sew every seam twice but it comes out really neat. For the bodysuit I used fold over elastic to finish the leg opening, stretching the elastic slightly as I used a zig zag stitch. I find that fold over elastic is a little more comfortable than regular elastics. It doesn’t cut into the skin and it's pretty much a seamless fit. The turtleneck is doubled over to avoid any raw edges at the neck. I like an extra long neck on my turtlenecks, so I always add a couple inches more on the height when cutting out the neck piece. I used Simplicity pattern 8513 and made some adjustments for fit at the hip and crotch area also.

So, of course I have loads of plans to make these turtleneck bodysuits in so many prints this fall and winter. This is definitely not the last time you will see me in this piece or in this particular style. I have already started remixing this piece in my wardrobe.

I teamed this lush mesh print with a beautiful silk chiffon fabric make which I’m obsessed with! The print and colors in this fabric are gorgeous. It's a floral print with a watercolor effect. The colorway picks up the colors from the mesh fabric and the print mixing is stunningly eccentric in my opinion.

By now you should know that I love versatility in my pieces and getting the most out of one look. Well, my original plan was to only create a dress to wear over the bodysuit; however, I also felt the print from the bodysuit would showcase better if I made a skirt. So I created this skirt that doubles as a dress depending on your mood. Now this isn’t the first time I have created this type of piece. I have made this several times over the summer. It's such a convenient piece. I get so much versatility and wear from the style. And it is so easy to create.

For the chiffon style however, I did a little extra! This skirt/dress has an elastic waist and a ruffled gathered effect at the waist. But unlike my past creations, I also added a double ruffle at the hem of this skirt to give it more volume because you can’t do chiffon without adding ruffles somewhere. Chiffon fabrics make the prettiest ruffles. I also lined this piece and added a contrasting ruffle attached to the hem of the lining because volume and contrast although cliche is a necessity!

Finally, some of the same techniques and tools I used for constructing my mesh bodysuit, I also used on this chiffon skirt. Although, because of the non stretch fabric and bulk of the ruffle seam I found it useful to use my serger for most of the seams. The raw edges of these chiffons do in fact fray quite a bit and I usually either use a rolled hem or, in this case, I turn the hem under about 1/4 inch to finish the ruffles. I love this piece as a dress or skirt and it pairs well with leggings, tights, bare legs and tall boots.