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

Made By A Fabricista: Which comes first – the fabric or the pattern?

Ah, the age old question garment sewers are often asked – do you choose the pattern first and then look for fabric, or do you buy fabric and then later decide what it will be when it grows up? If you are a sewist with a large fabric stash (like myself), then perhaps you are on Team Fabric. I would say I definitely lean that way, but there are also times when I land somewhere in the middle – I see a fabric and I think, I’ve just seen a pattern and these two would be perfect together! And that’s how gorgeous dusty rose stretch velvet and a recently released cardigan pattern came together to create the newest addition to my wardrobe. And had me improvising a few things along the way. First. I have to admit - I have a stretch velvet problem. I see it pop up on the website and I almost always grab it, especially if I see a sale. It’s not the easiest fabric to sew (it’s slippery as heck!), but I love it so much and I especially love using it in non-traditional ways. In my last blog post, I...

Made By A Fabricista: Back In The Saddle

If you don’t know in October my beloved Bernina sewing machine blew a fuse and started smoking while I was using it. She went to the shop for repairs, and then I moved. So it’s been a bit since I’ve sewed last and I’ve had trouble getting back into it. I knew I needed a simpler project to get me going again. Julie sewed up a Jarrah sweater recently ( restock coming soon! ) and gushed about how simple and rewarding a project it was. Then we got in this beautiful wool/cashmere sweater knit from England. I was seeing lighthouse keeper, sheep herder in the highlands. I knew it had to be my Jarrah sweater. I did lengthen the bodice by 3 inches. I actually sewed up a mock up with the curved hemline, but decided that wasn’t for me and went with the straight hem. Of course I took zero photos of said mock up. Oops. Otherwise I sewed it up in a size 6 as is. Using the serger this really does sew up quickly. The dropped shoulder creates clean, simple lines that make it easy to sew u...

Made By A Fabricista: A Wooly Wearable Blanket.

Twirling in a me-made outfit! I live in a small town where the nearest fabric shop is a road trip away, so I almost exclusively shop for fabric online. Having access to an online shop like Fabric Mart with a solid search engine is incredibly helpful. But by far my favorite aspect of Fabric Mart is what I call the “Drape Picture” included in each listing! This picture gives me all the information I need and I find it more helpful than the exact weight per yard/square meter. Seeing how the fabric falls close or away from the body gives me a clear idea of how it will behave and inspires me to make it into something that will highlight the fabric’s nature. When I saw the drape of this “Baked Plum” wool suiting , I immediately wanted to immortalize those beautiful folds into a skirt! I opted for a simple self-drafted pleated skirt with a deep hem. I wear my dresses year-round and rely on wool skirts that I layer under or over my dresses for warmth. I cut two panels for the front ...

Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Search This Blog