Made By A Fabricista: Sewing Summery ITY

Hi sewing friends! I’m dropping in to share a few makes sewn with ITY fabrics and inspire you to try out this slinky, cool-to-the-touch fabric for hot weather if you haven’t yet, or to recommend some patterns that work fabulously if you already love it. This is by far my favorite knit to wear in summer. Since it moves easily there’s lots of airflow, and it just skims the body. More often than not, it has a four-way stretch that doesn’t grow when worn, so it works great for loads of styles. 

ITY stands for Interlock Twist Yarn and the knit gives it some wonderful drape and stretch. There are lots of different weights and even some differing textures. Because it’s so fluid, the fabric really resists most wrinkling. I’ve sewn three different weights and prints here to show off just what ITY can do! 

This white floral is a lighter weight and features a slightly crepe-textured finish, and I think that combined with the large and spread-out floral makes it quite elegant and eye-catching. 

This outfit is a Luna Tank from Helen’s Closet (a freebie!) paired with the Amber Culottes from Minerva Patterns. I love all the swing and swish in both the top and bottoms; this outfit has a lot of movement when I’m walking around, and that is quite possibly my favorite feeling! You can see how perfectly it gathers at the waistband. 

My second outfit is a very summery midi dress. Long dresses always seem extra elegant and this low back and V-neck give some nice exposure in contrast to the length. 

This is a Pattern Emporium Vacay All Day Dress in another lightweight ITY, but this one possesses a smooth surface. The dress hangs and ripples so beautifully, and it’s not so heavy that it drags down or stretches in length much. 

The straps are reinforced with clear elastic inside, which adds to the overall stability. ITY has a wonderful bounce to it, and this A-line tent dress benefits from that springy effect, not to mention that the weight will likely keep you from experiencing a Marilyn Monroe-style exposure incident during a breeze. 

My faux jumpsuit is a pair of separates also from Pattern Emporium: the Pleats to Meet You Pants and the Keep It Simple Top. 

This ITY is thicker and heavier than the previous two, but still thin and slinky enough so that the pleats don’t add a lot of bulk to the pants silhouette. This fabric is so amazingly comfortable, just perfect for travel or running around on the usual errands. 

Plus sewing a matching set gives me extra options to mix up these pieces with others in my wardrobe. 

And guess what? A bonus top! When I cut my dress to have a center back seam, I was able to add this Crush On Me Tee to my closet as well. The boatneck and grown-on cap sleeves are so cute, and that high-low hem is easy to tuck or leave free. 

A couple of tips for sewing with ITY! It tends to curl when stretched, so I use extra wonder clips right along the raw edges (particularly on neck and armbands) so that the raw edges all stay lined up evenly when sewn. I tend to further divide necklines into eighths instead of fourths since this fabric has good recovery and that helps even out the snapback on stretched pieces. I use extra pattern weights (hello, giant washers!) to keep my paper pieces in place since it’s very easy to accidentally shift bits on this smooth fabric surface. Finally, a new rotary blade helps shear through both layers at once easily, otherwise you’re looking at sharkbite edges and those are difficult to line up neatly for sewing. 

I will highly enjoy wearing all my new ITY pieces this season. 

KATIE  | @kak513