Made By A Fabricista: Turning Simple into Statement – Scallop Trimmed Top and Pants

Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Sharon from Sharon Sews back with another Fabricista make.  This time I choose a rayon/nylon blend designer suiting fabric – obviously because of that gorgeous blue color – and decided to sew myself a matching blazer and pants.  Ha! Just kidding. As you can see I sewed a matching set, just not a suit.  

Just because a fabric is labeled “suiting” doesn’t mean it has to be sewn into a suit. When I ordered this fabric I planned to use it for a dress. But, true to form, I changed my mind just as I was preparing to cut out the pattern pieces for the dress. 

Let me explain. The day before, I wore one of my favorite pairs of pants (with a flirty side ruffle) which I had sewn a few years ago using McCall’s 7786.  I was admiring the way the blue fabric draped, which got me thinking “how great would another pair look in this new fabric?”  I pulled out the pattern and started cutting before I could change my mind. 

Lately, I’ve been seeing scallops on ready-to-wear clothing, so I decided to add a little twist to this pair of pants. Instead of finishing the side ruffles with a narrow hem, I used my sewing machine to stitch a small, scalloped edges.  The perfect little detail to elevate the look of these pants. 

I used white thread so the scallops would be more visible, but this design detail would look good with matching thread also. Speaking of thread, I ordered matching thread with my fabric. I love that I only need to select the “Add matching thread” box when placing my orders, eliminating the need for me to try to find thread locally. 

The perfect little detail to elevate the look of these pants.

The movement of the ruffles on the sides of the pants is what makes these so fun to wear. The ruffle is open on each side to mid-thigh, which allows for the movement, but does not expose my legs when I’m standing still. 

These easy-to-sew, wide-leg pants feature front pockets and a flat front waistband with an elastic waist.  This blue pair is the tenth version I’ve sewn using this pattern. Clearly, it’s one of my tried-and-true favorite patterns. 

Since matching sets still trending, I sewed an oversized, loose-fitting pullover woven top to wear with the pants. I used the Itch to Stitch Melrose Top & Dress pattern but skipped the sleeve and hem bands for a cleaner look.  To tie the look together, I added the same scalloped stitch details as the pants. 

Interested in adding scallops to one of your own garments?  Here’s how I added mine.

1) Stabilize the back side of the garment hems. I used Totally Stable Iron-On, Tear-Away Stabilizer as that’s what I had on hand.  You just want something to help support the stitches as you sew the scallops.  

2) Select a scallop stitch from the decorative stitches on your sewing machine. I had a few different options to choose from and picked the one with a narrower curve

3) Start stitching along the edge of the hem.  I had the edge of my fabric close to the 5/8” line on my machine as the hem allowance for the pants was 5/8”.   If the fabric starts to bunch up a bit while you sew around the curves, just raise the pressure foot and readjust the fabric.  I have a knee lift on my machine which I find helpful as I can raise the pressure foot while keeping both hands free to manipulate the fabric.  

4) The last step, and the one I found to be the most time-consuming, is to gently remove the stabilizer then cut around each scallop, taking care not to cut into the stitches.  

This two-piece set would have been cute on its own, but the contrasting scallops turned it from simple to statement making. 

Let me know if you think you’ll try this!  

Until next time, Happy Sewing!

SHARON  | @thesharonsews