Made by a Fabricista: Inspired by Ready to Wear

Do you see cute clothes in stores or online and think to yourself "I can make that!"? It happens to me often! I was a pretty big clothing shopper before I began sewing. And though I still buy clothes when I find a great deal, I usually end trying to recreate the outfit instead of buying. That is what happened with this jumpsuit. This black and white jumpsuit leaped out to me when I was scrolling through the gram. If you know me I love black and white, stripes and jumpsuits, so it's no surprise this was love at first sight.

When I saw this Be Stripe Back Jumpsuit by Kiomios I immediately thought of McCalls 8047 as the overall shape is similar. I sewed the bottoms straight from the pattern. Yes, I could've added slant pockets like the inspiration photo, but I didn't want to add any bulk. I did however alter the bodice to achieve the looser fit of the RTW outfit. I made the following changes:

added 1" at the center fold
added 2" to the hem
added 1.5" to the side seam using a curve ruler to grade the curve to the underarm seam.

This pattern piece served as the new front and back bodice. I also created cuffs to the sleeves by cutting 4" strips the length of the circumference of the armhole (18"). I sewed the short ended together then folded the strips lengthwise and sewed to the sleeve hem.

A critical part of this making a copycat version was finding a similar striped fabric. I needed a vertical stripe knit with two way stretch as the fabric is used both against and with the grain to achieve the horizontal bodice and vertical pants. Additionally the stripe pattern needed to be uneven, with the black stripe being wider. This double brushed jersey had everything and was on sale for just $3/yd! Sadly it's already sold out, but try this red and white stripe or cream and mustard brushed jersey.

The brushed jersey works perfectly for this jumpsuit as it's super soft. It's feels like I'm wearing pajamas!

All in all I think my version looks similar to the RTW garment that served as my inspiration.

Tiffany

Tipstitched.com

Made By A Fabricista: Embracing Winter in Wool Boucle

As winter drags on, the cold weather is such a bummer to me and feeling uncomfortable and cold so often is rough. Meanwhile, I listened to a podcast all about how people in very northern countries deal better with the onset of dark, freezing winter with a radically different mindset of embracing the inevitable season by reframing the chill as refreshing and the opportunity to spend most time indoors as cozy. I can do that! I found a gorgeous, quintessential wool boucle suiting in black and white to make myself a luxurious outer layer while I’m outside attempting to embrace the sting of dry winter air… It’s kind of working. So classic, so chic! Wearing boucle is always an uptown move and I certainly do feel sophisticated in it. This black and white houndstooth combination feels especially Old Hollywood, and what a treat to make something with this! I sewed the Daphne Jacket from Vivian Shao Chen. There are no closures, and the shape is boxy and very easy to wear over multipl...

Made By A Fabricista: Valentine’s Day Cozy Lounge Set

What comes first: the pattern or the fabric? How do you make your sewing plans? Throughout the month of January, my social media feeds were flooded by fabulous sewists sharing sewing resolutions and goals, and designing thoughtful plans for their 2025 makes. While I am a big planner in my day-to-day life, when it comes to my creative hobby, I am much more spontaneous. I find that fabric design and texture often inspires me most so I typically look for fabulous prints or bold colors and let the fabric tell me what it wants to become. As I turned my attention to my first-ever (!) Fabricista make, I wanted something to get my creative juices flowing. One evening, Fabric Mart shared an Instagram story that highlighted their Dusty Mauve Sweatshirt Fleece . It had a nice stretch, was fleece-backed, and was a muted baby pink that spoke to me. It was soft and feminine, perfect for a cozy day or night by the fire. I immediately knew I wanted to make a cute pair of sweatpants for a fun Vale...

Made by a Fabricista: Fun Fabrics

I am so happy to still be a part of the Fabricista Blogger Team. I joined in the middle of the pandemic and have really enjoyed myself as a blogger. Fabric Mart has truly been my go to place for shopping for fabulous fabrics that reflect my style. I love that I get to shop deadstock fabric that will help give fabrics additional lifespan and fabric is typically limited quantities so you will be part of the few with that fabric. As someone who is big on individuality this is such a plus for me. Can we also talk about the great sales that Fabric Mart runs? I literally stalk the site daily to find new fabrics and catch the featured sales. During one of my daily visits to the site I came across this gorgeous corduroy fabric with a unique animal print. At the time I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to make with it but I just knew I had to use this for my next featured make. I was also able to get matching thread, another...

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