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 bright colors in this fabric. More about ITY coming up in this post!

When I buy a pattern, I like to make it a few times straightaway, so that’s what I did with this one. In fact I cut out four tops and so far have only sewed two. Here is my second version, where I made a few changes. I went down by two sizes to get a closer fit (but still quite loose), and I shortened the sleeve. I also narrowed the neckband slightly and played with the direction of the fabric for the bottom bands. The fabric is one of those really fun urban/wavy rib knits that have been popular the last few years. I have this fabric in at least two other colors and it’s such a versatile base with great stretch and also some interesting texture.

After making these two tops to transition my mindset to warmer weather, I decided to look even further ahead…to summer! I knew I’d need a few pairs of shorts this year, and also more basics that could flex from work to weekends. I struggle with the discipline to sew solid color basics because I get so dazzled with all the fun prints, and basics are what I sorely need. So I compromised a bit and sewed up one pair of fun shorts (the Dahlia pattern) and an “elevated” basic – a shimmery but still solid colored tank top (the Tara tank).  Here’s the new ensemble!

Tara is a knit tank pattern that has options for fully lined, reversable and a shelf bra. For this version, I did fully lined and sized up because the pattern is meant to be very fitted and I wanted a little more room. I also added the step to understitch the neckline which I find really helps the lining stay put. I used a sparkly ITY knit; yep, more ITY sews for me! I seriously am obsessed with this fabric. It’s a light weight but not see through knit that has a high end look and feel, but also holds up well going through the wash and dryer. It’s comfortable and cool in the summer, and Fabric Mart always has an amazing selection. Here’s a close up of the tank – I will also wear this with workwear for the office.

Dahlia is drafted for wovens and has multiple length and waist band options. I started off with the paperbag waist and then shortened the height a bit for my preference. I used a shirt weight linen with a fun parrot print – look closely and you’ll see them in the print hiding amongst the leaves! Because it’s a shirt weight, it’s on the lighter side, but I think it still worked very well for these shorts. I sized up one size to get a nice loose fit and I’m very happy with how they turned out. Here is a closeup:

I started another piece for this post but between work and life events, ran out of time to finish it. I’m working on a dress from their Drew pattern and I’m very excited about the fabric I chose. Although it’s a causal style garment, I am using a dressier pink boucle knit I grabbed on the website a few months ago. I think it’s going to be beautiful! I’m slightly nervous because it doesn’t have the required amount of stretch but I’m keeping fingers crossed it works out. If you’d like to see how it turns out, be sure to follow me on Instagram so you can check it out in the next few weeks. Here is a work in progress shot:

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this warm weather is here to stay. I do love sweater weather but summer dresses in ITY fabric are my favorite things to sew and wear. 😊 

 Happy Sewing!

Andrea  |  @happy.things.here