Made By A Fabricista: A Pink Suiting Set for Spring

Spring is here! So is my first blog of the year. I had some inspiration with this one. I saw a picture on an Instagram profile and wanted to make my own. Now, my version ended up a little different, but overall, I really love it. However, I still want to recreate the inspiration pic at some point.

For this look, I chose a cotton candy pink double weave suiting. It is soft, has a semi-textured hand, and has a crepe weave on the wrong side. The fabric does have some stretch to it. I absolutely love the color and feel of this fabric. This is a suiting fabric with the softness of a knit. The thing I do not like about it though is it snags. So, I had to be careful using pins and seam ripping to prevent snags.

I had the Fernanda Vicki Sews pattern in mind but once I downloaded the instructions and saw how many pieces were involved, I switched to a different pattern, lol. I ended up making the Riana Blazer. It has a semi-fitted blazer with a straight silhouette. A belt and belt loops that you can tie to sinch in the waist. I wanted to cover the belt in fabric like the inspiration picture. However, the kits I ordered were very flimsy and my fabric did not fully cover the buckle in some areas. This fabric frays on cut edges, so I was also getting some fraying that I couldn’t hide. So, I omitted the buckle and just kept the belt same as the pattern.

The blazer itself seemed a little big. I did take about half an inch off at the shoulder seam because the design made my shoulders look bigger than I wanted. This blazer has patch pockets, but I wanted the double welt flap pockets from the Fernanda because that’s what my inspiration pic had. So, that is what I did. It has a notched lapel collar and long two-piece set-in sleeves. The sleeves seemed a little big, too, but I just went with it. Two buttons fasten the blazer at the center front. There is a partial lining, which, this part gave me some grief! I had a hard time figuring it out based on the written instructions. After much struggling, I looked at my downloads and there was a video instructing how to do this part. They knew the instructions didn’t make sense, lol! The jacket is hip length, but I shortened it about 3 inches.

This pattern also called for a lot of hand sewing and since I am not the best at it, I did take some short cuts. I used my handy dandy stay tape in the places that called for hand stitching and on the hems. I was running behind and, as I mentioned, I am not the best at it. However, I do feel that the hand sewing would have made the hems look better. 

I wanted a matching set, so I also made a pair of pants. I had some patterns in mind, but after cutting one and making a mockup, it did not fit properly in the butt/waist. I am not experienced in drafting patterns or making a butt adjustment, nor did I have the time to try, so I tried a method I’ve seen many times. I found a pair of pants I no longer wear but fit me nicely. I took them apart and used the front, back, and waistband as a pattern. I crossed my fingers it worked, and it did! I just kept it simple and added an invisible zipper on one side and sewed a blind hem. I have made pants before, so I knew how to assemble everything and did so quickly. I plan to create a paper pattern with the pant pieces and use it to make more pants. 

I really love this outfit! I made a quick video detailing how I made the pants on my social media sites. Please be sure to follow me to view and keep up with what I am making! I plan to sew more memade clothing this year. Thank you for reading!

ADRIA SHANELLE  | @AdriaShanelle