Made By A Fabricista: A Berry Bold Suit – Scallops and Wide Legs for Fall

Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Sharon from Sharon Sews back with a fabulous Fabricista make for fall.  I fell in love with the color of this stretch suiting and couldn’t wait to sew myself something to wear as the weather starts to cool off.  

Before I share about my jacket and pants, can we have a moment to appreciate this “Jazzberry Jam” color? It brings to mind strolling through my local farmer’s market, filling my tote (handmade of course!) with fresh produce, and then baking seasonal goodies, something I love to do when the weather turns crisp.  Of course, I’m not wearing my suit for that outing! 

The fabric is a designer polyester/rayon/lycra mid-weight stretch suiting that has a lovely drape and a wonderfully soft feel.  I ordered it with a jacket and pants in mind, but honestly, it would have also been stunning sewn into a vest, skirt, dress, or even a lightweight coat or cape.  It’s such a versatile fabric. 

I ordered matching thread from Fabric Mart, a feature I really appreciate as I can’t always find the color I need locally.  For interfacing, I used Palmer/Pletsch PerfectFuse Medium, which is a rayon/poly fusible weft interfacing.  You do need to preshrink it, so follow the instructions before applying it to your garment pieces.  I used a universal 80/12 sewing machine needle. 

The pattern I used for my jacket is the Style Arc Delphine Woven Jacket, a pattern I’ve sewn twice before. In fact, one version was a Fabricista make using Bengaline fabric.

This time I choose the jacket with the scallop front detail.  Apparently, I’m still on a scallop kick, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon as I think they add a playful, whimsical touch. Just a few months ago I mentioned scallops having a fashion moment, when I decided to add them to the ruffle pants in my last Fabricista project!

Since this is one of my TNT (tried and true) patterns, all the fitting alterations and construction details were already worked out, which made the sewing process go smoothly.  The only change I made was to add shoulder pads. The pattern doesn’t call for them, but I like the little bit of structure they provide in the shoulder area, and the small pad works well with my body shape. 

For closures, I pulled some round silver and gold tone buttons from my stash. They give off a bit of a 90’s vibe, which makes sense, since I probably bought them back then, haha! I may swap them out later, but for now they work. Besides, I usually wear my jackets unbuttoned anyway.  

The pants are another TNT pattern, the Style Arc Fifi Woven Pants.  They have a wide front flat band, with elastic in the side front and back, large front slant pockets and wide legs.  Just wide enough to show off the flowy drape of the fabric when I walk. 

A few days after I received this suiting fabric, I spotted an ITY knit at Fabric Mart with “Jazzberry Jam” listed as one of the colors. I bet you can guess what happened next! Yep, I quickly ordered it to sew a simple T-shirt for those times when I want a more casual look with the pants.   There are a multitude of T-Shirt patterns to choose from, and mine is the Itch to Stitch Kashi Tee pattern.

Of the two pieces, I suspect I’ll wear the pants the most as they are so versatile!  Where I live, this time of year we wake up to cool fall weather only to have hot and humid summer weather by noon.  The other day I paired my new pants with a sleeveless top and added a long denim jacket (another Fabricista make – blog post here) that I removed once it got hot, hot, hot. 

Having a matching jacket and pants means I can wear them together as a suit or pair each separately with other items from my closet for added versatility.   

If you’ve enjoyed my Fabricista posts, come find me on YouTube and Instagram for even more sewing fun and inspiration. 

Until next time, Happy Sewing!

SHARON  | @thesharonsews