Made by a Fabricista: Happy Fri-YAY Clothes!

Just like the rest of the world, I love Fridays! I get to wear more casual clothing to work and I daydream about what I am going to sew! For this month's post, I wanted to make a casual Friday outfit. I didn't want just any jeans but some sort of dressier ones--does that make sense? I also wanted a breezy top that was somewhat dressy as well but in some super awesome fabric.

So here is my outfit:

I choose to use the StyleArc Katherine Pant. The legs are what drew me to the pattern--not skinny but also not too wide and those slant pockets are cute. I knew they were just what I wanted to go with this amazing denim.

See Fabric Mart's Denims HERE

This denim is the perfect weight for these pants and actually, it would work equally well for a shirt dress, jacket, or a structured top. I love that it is printed and the floral design is right up my alley!

Katherine Pant - Straight leg tailored pant with seam detail

For my top, I used a New Look Pattern that I've tried before and love. It is easy to put together and I thought the texture of the fabric with the draping would be very nice and I am happy with the result.

I've always had issues with upper back leg bagginess. After quite an extensive search, I found a link that talks about reducing that by equally lowering the bottom of the back crotch and also at the waistline. You redraw the crotch to compensate for the lower seam line and then stretch the crotch seam to fit the front leg.

You can kind of see what I did above. Sorry I didn't take a before photo! Stretching the inseams so that matched wasn't difficult at all.

I think this technique worked well but when I use it again, I am going to try a 1/4" rather than a 1/2" adjustment. I may have gone slightly overboard with the 1/2"!

For the top, I used a favorite New Look pattern. I love the sort of twisted front and the split

neckline.

I made view C.

This fabric is from Halston. Do you shop the designer fabrics? This fabric is just so pretty and fun to work with.

I used a single-layer for the sleeves, and a double layer for the front and back.

I matched up the 'plaid' lines on the layers so it didn't blur the design.

See the wonderful texture in the fabric?

I enjoyed creating this outfit and now need the weather to warm up so I can celebrate a casual Friday in my new outfit!

Thanks so much for reading!

Sue from Ilove2sew!

Made By A Fabricista: Bold Aspen Dress for Spring

As I write this in mid-April, central New Jersey weather is showing small signs of spring. My neighbor’s daffodils are blooming and our magnolia tree is trying to unfold its vibrant magenta petals. I am in the midst of preparing my wardrobe for the warmer months, even if we are still huddling against windy 30 degree days. For me, warm weather means linen. I love breathable, floaty linen sundresses and drapey, loose linen wide-leg pants. My vision for a spring piece was something bold and bright, inspired by the natural colors of blooming flowers, but also something that could transition well between the warmer and cooler months. When I saw Fabric Godmother’s Apsen Dress, I knew that it had the sensible transitional opportunities I was looking for while also providing a blank canvas for fun prints, patterns and colors. With the pattern in mind, I then turned to the stunning linen collection that Fabric Mart always has on hand to see what colors or patterns would best suit my visio...

Made By A Fabricista: Celebrating warm weather with Spring sewing!

Hi sewing friends! I don’t know about you but boy, was winter cold and dreary this year! The weather here in the Philadelphia area has been slowly improving, but Spring sure did take her sweet old time to arrive. So by April, I was definitely in the headspace of needing to sew up things that were either bright and cheery or meant for the warmer weather I am very much craving right now. I recently purchased a few SewBexx Patterns so I took them on a test run to create some Spring makes. First on my list was to make a top using this absolutely gorgeous ITY fabric I picked up last year. I had two yards which was enough for a long sleeve shirt. I chose the Olivia top, which is oversized with a drop shoulder, has multiple lengths and a split hem. I think the pattern is intended for heavier fabrics but I was envisioning how lovely this top would look with the drape of ITY knit fabric, and it did not disappoint. It came together for me quickly and was a straight forward sew…and I love the br...

Made By A Fabricista: Stripes For Spring

Hi everyone! It’s finally warming up here in southeastern Pennsylvania and I wanted to make a light, flowy dress for springtime. I snagged a vintage Laura Ashley pattern from Joanns on one of my last trips there. I somehow didn’t have anything in my pattern stash with a sweetheart neckline, so I thought it would be a good addition. The pattern calls for a giant gathered skirt, so I knew I would need something lightweight and drapey for it. Something like a pink striped cotton fine seersucker. The fabric is light and has a really nice drape, almost like a challis . I knew it would gather beautifully. I got to work cutting everything out, with help from my assistant. When I say the skirt is massive I mean it. I ran into an issue right away where my fabric isn't wide enough to cut the back panel without opening the fabric out. And my three yards of fabric wasn’t enough to cut two back panels. I ran into this issue last year when making my pinafore dress . In ...

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