Made By A Fabricista: Tropical Breeze

Hi everyone, so question, are you a fan of indie patterns? Did you know that I’m an indie pattern designer as well? For my blog post this month I decided to use indie patterns for my feature. Buying indie patterns is a great way to support the sewing community, as a designer it’s so rewarding to see others make your designs and all the variations that are made from it.

When I saw these printed charmeuse fabrics I was so in love, I couldn’t decide on which one to choose so I went with two beautiful options to create separate looks. I knew the fabric I selected would be perfect for my upcoming vacation. The colors are vibrant and bold and even more beautiful in person.

For the first look I made a two-piece set. The top is from another indie pattern designer @the_sew_sew with the pattern being called the “Tie tee” pattern which I did a pattern test. I love this pattern and it was perfect for this fabric. The pattern requires a lot of bias binding which I used out of the self-fabric. It has a couple of view options with me making the gathered waist view with the wrap around ties.

Often when sewing charmeuse fabric, you want to use a self-enclosing seam such as a French seam to prevent unraveling and gives a nice clean finish. Charmeuse can be very “slippery” when sewing so you also want to make sure that you pin well while sewing. I also use a sharp needle such that’s a 80/12 to prevent puncture marks in the fabric and gives you more precision.

The shorts are from my own pattern line and are called the “Anse Marcel” shorts which were released last summer. These are a fun breezy shorts pattern that were perfect for this fabric and looked awesome with the top! For this look I was able to use all my fabric and was also able to get some beautiful additional bias binding from it.

The second look is another soon to be released pattern from my pattern line that comes in the option of either a jumpsuit or a dress. It features shoulder ties and a cinched waist using both elastic and ties. The draping of the fabric was perfect for this gathered look. I loved the pattern to fabric, and it gives me all the tropical feels that I need for my vacation. Look out for this pattern to be released later this month.