Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: Suited Up

Image
By

Welcome to my August post, friends!

By now I think you all know I love to give myself a good challenge project – usually one that involves a difficult fabric. Thankfully this month I chose to use an easier to work with fabric to cut myself a break… but I chose a beast of a project. Are you surprised? I’m not! 😊

I have been a little burnt out on sewing projects for myself lately and was having a really hard time coming up with an idea for this post, so I decided to sew for someone else.  


Who would be the recipient of my latest make? My partner. I decided to make a suit, to be specific…yikes!

To start, I picked my outer fabrics from Fabric Mart – a deep navy-blue pinstripe wool blend suiting. I chose this when it was 70% off to get the most bang for my buck. It washed up beautifully and sewed up even better! My partner picked his lining fabric and for a guy who likes black, dark black, darker black and blackest black, I was shocked he picked his fun floral silky print fabric! I used two patterns I had hidden deep in my stash, McCall M7987 and Simplicity S8962.

I love how clean and sharp the edges came out. This is the hem of the sleeve and the vent, doesn’t that floral print look amazing with the navy color? 

The pant pattern had the option of a slim leg or a straight leg and even though I went with the slim leg, I still needed to take the leg in quite a bit to get the fit he likes. 

We also needed to do quite a few adjustments for his broad shoulders and quads as well to get just the right fit. He also didn’t like the patch pockets on the blazer as called for by the pattern, or the patch pockets on the pants as called for – so I hacked in some welt/flap pockets on the blazer and welt pockets on the pants. It took some engineering and finessing, but I got there!  


Have I mentioned I like tough projects lately?

By day, he is a tech consultant so these pieces individually will serve him well on client meetings and while traveling. We also have another wedding this year, and hopefully this makes the cut as his outfit! 


Overall, I love the result of this project and my picky client gave high praise! The fabric pressed beautifully, the inside is a fun pop of print and I gotta say, the model is really selling this make for me!

CHELSEA | @thatssewchelsea

Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following categories: SUITING.

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 8, 2022 at 11:07 AM

    This is such a great looking suit. And your model wears it well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousAugust 8, 2022 at 1:21 PM

    Wow, Chelsea! Hats off to you. Awesome sewing and tailoring skills. Great fit, very well done!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousAugust 11, 2022 at 12:24 PM

    Great looking suit and I love the lining fabric too.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Falling for Knits

By
We are now well into Fall, even though the temps are still relatively warm here in Texas.  I love the fall season and dressing for Fall.   When it comes to the conversation of knits vs. wovens I typically sew mostly wovens. So for this post I decided to sew completely knits!  With the holiday season right around the corner I saw these three dress styles as perfect for Friendsgiving/Thanksgiving gatherings.  The first look is a tried and true pattern Simplicity S9372.  Using this gorgeous burgundy ponte knit , I like how this pattern fits throughout. I chose this color to add to my typically neutral palette in my closet.  I also wanted something I could wear to my sorority meetings and found this color perfect.  It's an easy sew with back fisheye darts  and invisible zipper to add to the tapered style.  The neckline and armholes are finished with bias binding giving it a clean finish on the inside.  I used a universal needle to sew a...
8 comments
Continue Reading »

Made By A Fabricista: Closing 2025 with a Lined Jacket

By
Hello again, sewing friends! It seems we have arrived yet again in the grandest season for layering, all this oncoming cold weather. I like ending the year with something warm and very useful. Seems based on my past Fabricista posts, I love to sew year-end outerwear, and this round is no different!  I challenged myself with a new lined coat (wait, jacket? Coat? I feel like the presence of wool changes things?). Anyhoo, since the lovely Chalk & Notch Den Jacket has been in my queue, I proceeded ahead. I like the large pockets, the option to line or not, and the extra bodice and sleeve seams for topstitching.  Sewing this coat is not at all difficult, but the many pieces and loads of topstitching will take a bit of time. My version took me a few multiple-hour sessions to complete. I sewed a size 2, which matches my measurements, and I made no alterations. Hint: for a quick size test, just employ the lining pieces.  Gorgeous, muted blue as a soft wool flannel ? This is ...
1 comment
Continue Reading »

Made By A Fabricista: Chalk and Notch Wren Dress: My Buffet dress for the Christmas season!

By
  I recently sewed the Chalk and Notch Wren dress using a beautifully soft black voile from Fabric Mart, and it turned into such a satisfying, enjoyable project. The pattern itself is very easy to understand and straightforward with clear instructions, intuitive construction, and a relaxed fit that makes the sewing process easy. A buffet dress in the sewing community is a dress that is loose fitting, so you can eat at the buffet without your dress being uncomfortable afterwards, lol! Because the voile I chose is extremely thin and transparent, I opted to line the bodice and first tier. Adding a lining not only provided modesty but also gave the delicate fabric a bit more stability, especially around the neckline and button placket. A helpful tip when sewing a lining into a lightweight bodice is to treat the lining and the main fabric as one. I sewed the bodice as you would for a lined bodice, and the first tier I sewed the pieces together with a basting stitch to make the process...
3 comments
Continue Reading »