Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Sharon from Sharon Sews with another Fabricista make.
When I saw this linen blend designer fabric on the Fabric Mart Fabrics website, I was intrigued. After all, I, like many of you, love to find designer fabrics at an affordable price.
It is a linen/nylon/rayon/Lycra blend, and I wondered what the designer had created with the fabric as I wasn’t familiar with that combination of fibers. Surprisingly, I discovered a sleeveless, lined, mid-length vest in the same color with an almost identical fabric composition.
Perfect! I’ve been wanting to sew a longer vest with matching pants, and that discovery confirmed this fabric would work beautifully for the look I had in mind.
The vest I’m wearing, from the June 2026 Burda Style magazine, it is not what I was originally going to make.
You see when I found the designer’s vest, I remembered seeing a Butterick pattern that was almost identical. I ordered the pattern excited to sew a designer-inspired vest without the designer price tag.
But the more I looked at the pattern, the more I realized I would probably never wear it. Don’t get me wrong, it is a beautiful, tailored vest. But now that I’m retired my wardrobe is more casual.
Why waste my precious sewing time just so I could say I had sewn a designer dupe? That’s why I changed my mind.
Instead, I chose a casual Burda vest that felt much more like something I would wear.
It is a simpler design, with a single snap closure at the neckline. The easy-fitting vest has Dior darts for subtle shaping, interfaced front, neck and armhole facings, and no lining.
By the way, I used my favorite Palmer/Pletsch Perfect Fuse medium interfacing, and ordered thread to match so I knew I’d be set to sew as soon as everything arrived.
The Burda vest seemed like the perfect transitional piece for me, especially since the cooler fall temps won’t arrive here for at least another month.
There was, however, a little problem with the vest. I traced and cut my normal size and began sewing. Everything was coming together beautifully as the fabric was easy to sew and press. When it was time to sew the side seams, I decided to baste them and check the fit.
Good thing I did, as the vest was huge!
The fit was so bad that I was regretting my decision to not sew the designer-inspired vest. I almost scrapped the Burda vest as the fit was so big and sloppy. Instead I verified that I hadn’t accidentally traced or sewn the wrong size (I hadn’t), and got to work fixing the fit.
I took in the seams. Then took them in some more. And some more. In the end, the finished vest was almost two sizes smaller than what it had been.
Even after all that it still wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned when I started the project. But at least it was wearable. After all, that’s what really matters isn’t it?
After my unexpected adventure with the vest, I pulled out a TNT (tried and true) pattern for my pants, the Style Arc Bob Woven Pants. These pants are a quick and easy sew, plus they are so comfortable with their wide elastic waistband. I know the barrel leg pants aren’t for everyone, but I love them, especially my Bobs. These linen blend pants make number six for me.
One of my favorite pairs is made from a linen blend I bought from Fabric Mart Fabrics, so I already had a pretty good idea that I was going to love them in this fabric, too.
This time I added floral embroidery along the sides, just for fun. Nothing too bold, just a subtle touch to make my favorite pants feel a little more special.
This outfit ended up being a good reminder that sewing isn't about sewing something simply because you can. I could have spent my time recreating the designer-inspired vest per my original plan. But if I already knew I wouldn't wear it, why spend precious sewing time making a beautiful vest that would simply hang in my closet.
That’s why I changed course and chose a pattern that felt more like me. My Burda vest definitely gave me some fitting headaches, but I ended up with a layering piece I’ll wear.
And the Bob pants? Well, six pairs probably tells you all you need to know about those, LOL.
If you’ve enjoyed my Fabricista posts, come find me on YouTube and Instagram for even more sewing inspiration.
Until next time, Happy Sewing!
I've never heard of that fiber blend, either, but it certainly resulted in some really nice garments! You were so right to try to determine which style vest would get the most wear in your lifestyle.
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