Made By A Fabricista: Sewing Spring Outfits

Hello sewing friends! I’m always excited to start planning projects for the upcoming season, and even though autumn is my favorite seasonal change, spring is a close second. Having bare arms and exposed legs feels almost overdue at this point, and I’m diving into a new pretty outfit with lots of great details to show off in sunny weather. 

(Also, stay tuned, because one pretty outfit turned into an unplanned bonus outfit with some marginally-careful cutting and no master plan.) 

I chose a pair of fabrics (and of course, matching threads) that I really tried hard to coordinate online and totally lucked out! The blues are darn near exact matches and I’m just giddy over this fortunate turn of events. The idea of lighter saturated blue denim like this has been on my mind, and this shade is so super springy and fresh, just exactly what I want to wear right now. Kind of 70s? Let’s say yes. This is a midweight 100% cotton denim twill with no stretch and lots of body. 

Which brings me to my first garment… I’ve had the idea of a bold denim skirt, specifically the Style Arc Ayla Woven Skirt, ever since I sewed one in a lawn and realized the cocoon shape and darts would be very standout in a heavier fabric. I guess that’s both a pun and a truth right there. 

The topstitching would also look magnificent in a coordinating color, but I didn’t want to overdo the details, so I kept it subtle and matching. I like how the darts are topstitched on this design, too. I haven’t seen that before, and it makes this special. My youngest saw this skirt hanging up when I finished it, and he was sad to learn I didn’t actually make parachute pants. 

You can really see how the cocoon shape is impossible to miss! The elastic waistband is super comfortable (and I topstitched a couple of rows to reduce the bulk) and side seams pockets finish the garment. Tiny tip: I made the elastic a little tighter than usual in order to help hold up the weight of this skirt. 

For my new blouse, I wanted something to coordinate with my skirt obviously, but my goal was also something bias cut because the striations on this voile told me they wanted to be diagonal. I chose the facing neckline finish since I wanted to support the neckline and adding bias tape to a bias cut seemed like a riskier endeavor. The cotton/rayon blend voile is very lightweight, and I find this a bit more stable than rayon alone. It’s very smooth and medium-drapey, and very cool and comfortable to wear. 

I chose the Chalk & Notch Aria Top. I’ve owned this pattern for a fair bit of time, and have not sewed it yet, so I love having the opportunity to finally sew one. This is View B with the gorgeous lowered square back and tie closure, and I sewed a size 2 with no changes. 

I used the ruffle edge finish on both the sleeves and waistband. All of these are such stunning details! 

As I was eyeballing my leftovers, it occurred to me that I could probably carefully cut another garment from each fabric, so I found some patterns that don’t require much yardage. 

My second top is a Fantail Tank from The Sewing Revival. I used the round neckline and I just love that front gathered detail. A simple addition that makes the tank so much more special. This pattern requires under a yard of fabric and was a great choice since it has a really focal detail. 

And I used up nearly every last scrap of denim on a pair of Chalk & Notch Reya Shorts. I’ve sewn a few pairs of these, but all in lighter weight fabrics, so this was a small gamble, and I think they came out fine. Really, it’s the pintuck for me on this design. Why is that so gorgeous? I find that it really elevates a plain pair of shorts into something much more sophisticated. 

I altered the height of the midrise waist just a bit to accommodate 1.5” elastic, which is my favorite for comfort. And I literally only had enough fabric for one lone back pocket, so I gave it a cute label to keep it company. These will take me all the way through summer. 

And with these four new pieces, I’m much more ready to tackle the shifting season! I hope you are enjoying your changing weather and new sewing plans! 

Happy sewing!

KATIE  | @kak513