Made By A Fabricista: Fall Sewing with a Fabric Fave

Hello sewing friends!

It’s usually around this time in late summer when I start to get excited about Fall sewing, and here we are! One of my favorite types of fabric for the colder months is Double-knits - specifically Liverpool. So today I’m very excited to share my love of this amazing fabric plus two new pieces I just added to my wardrobe.

So let’s talk fabric! Liverpool is a member of the Double-knit family – fabrics that are constructed using two needles which creates a double-layer of fabric. They have less stretch than classic knits but they have really nice structure and are a joy to sew. Liverpool has a textured surface – often bubble or crepe-like – and is usually medium weight. And then bullet fabric is a kind of Liverpool fabric that often has a finer and softer weave. To be honest, I really can’t tell the difference most of the time, so I just call it all Liverpool. 😊

I LOVE Liverpool knit for pants, dresses, structured skirts and jackets. Fabric Mart always has an amazing selection of solids and prints, and I have quite a lot in my stash because I tend to buy and then hoard those gorgeous designs. For my two pieces I created for this post, one came from stash fabric and for the other, I specifically picked out the fabric to go with the pattern. Any guesses as to which is which?

OK, if you guessed the skirt is from my precious stash fabric, you are correct! I love how this one came out but I will admit it was painful to cut into this one; however, this is the second time I’ve made this pattern so I felt confident about the outcome. This is the Pattern Emporium Slay All Day Skirt, a basic pencil-like skirt with various lengths, waistbands, and also different options for where to place the skirt slit (I went with classic side splits). I also sized up because I didn’t want the fit to be very form-fitting. I paired it with a Seamwork Astoria top in a Fabric Mart sweater knit from a few years ago. Here’s the skirt dressed up for the office:

And here’s me dressing it down for summer lounging. This fabric feels nice against the skin and is super comfortable. I’m wearing it with a rayon linen top I made using the Seamwork Sorbetto top for my last blog post on matchy matchy sets.

The high degree of structure also makes it simpler to sew – and details like these side slits that require straight stitching on the sewing machine are smooth sailing. Here’s a shot of that detail:

My second Liverpool Fall sew is from one of my tried and true patterns – the Ellie & Mac Tres Belle dress, which features a faux wrap top. This is an older pattern from about seven years ago. I was one of the original testers on this pattern so if you look carefully through the tester photos, you may see me! I love Liverpool for dresses because it does have that structure but also still some stretch. I used this beautiful large scale houndstooth print and I am in love with the result! I used a coordinating navy blue Liverpool for the neckline and sash.

So what are you sewing up for Fall? Have you sewn with Liverpool fabric before? If not, give it a go – I think you will fall in love with it too. 😊

Happy Fall Sewing!

Andrea | @DelcoSews

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