Fabricista Fashion Challenge Final Week!

Here we are at the final round of the Fabricista Fashion Challenge!  This has been a fun, busy, stressful time for me.  I pushed myself to make things that were out of my comfort zone; yet I also made some things that were totally me.  I am happy I was picked to participate, and enjoyed the challenge. 

This final week we were to take an article of clothing in our closet that we do not wear.  We then had to make 2 other pieces to go with this original item. 



A few years ago my Mom gave me this amazing jacket. It is my favorite color and I was so excited. Then it sat in my closet all this time because I felt I never had anything to wear with it. Sure I could have worn it with a pair of jeans and a top, but my closet is full of t-shirts and yoga pants. I currently do not have any jeans that fit me (though I hope to make a pair soon). So this jacket was the perfect item for this last challenge.



The pants were the hardest for me to decide upon. I tried 3 different patterns before tracing off a RTW pair that I borrowed from my Mom (thanks Mom!). I had issues with the other patterns in getting the crotch curve and thigh area just right for my pear shape.



They were all close, but not close enough for this last challenge. So after 4 muslins (1 of each pattern, and the RTW trace off), I set off to buy my fabric only to find that the one I had my mind on was not stretchy enough.



I’ll admit, I was a bit crushed. However, after some thought, I found this animal print fabric in the Ponte section. I wasn’t sold on it at first but after I sewed the pants and put them on, I am sold now! The fabric is so soft but heavy enough for pants. I am very happy and comfortable in them.



I know it is hard to see the details with the print, but there is a mock fly and fake front pockets. I didn’t want the bulk of any pockets in the front. There are pockets in the back as well as a yoke. The waistband has elastic encased and this is a pull on pant. All seams are serged. Topstitching was done with my cover stitch. These are one of the most comfortable pair of pants I own now.


I wanted to make this color block top for awhile now so I was set on making it to work with the jacket. This is a BurdaStyle Pattern (10/2014 #104, #103 is the same but without color blocking). The top is an envelope-type in that the back comes over to the front at the shoulders; it also has a slight cowl. It was time consuming to trace all the pieces, cut each color, and sew them together, but it was worth the trouble. I’ve made this envelope top 3 times before but not in color blocking.  I made a floral muslin; a gray long sleeve, and a blue sleeveless version.



I completed a ½” sway back adjustment, and a 1” full upper arm adjustment. I used a size 38 for the shoulders/high bust, a 40 for the bust/waist and graded out to a 48 for the hips. I was careful to match my seams so that everything would line up on point.



I cover stitched each color hem separately before serging the shirt together. I even switched out serger thread in the middle of a seam where the top goes from black to white because I did not want the threads showing to the front side.



I absolutely love this top; it is very much my style. I also love that it pulls the jacket and pants together into an outfit. This is something I can wear that is dressier than my tees and yoga pants, but still very comfortable.



Fabric for pants: 2.5 yards of Ponte Animal Print from Hancock Fabrics, purchased just for this challenge. $25
Straight sewing time for pants: 2 hours  (does not include tracing, fitting, muslin, or adjusting time)



Fabric for top: 1/4 yard white cotton lycra, a Fat Half blue cotton lycra, and 3/4 yard black cotton lycra.  The total was around $9.10. 
Straight sewing time for top: 2 hours  (does not include tracing, fitting, muslin, or adjusting time; Tracing and adjustment time was almost 3 hours itself!)

Want to see what the other finalists made for the last challenge?  Head on over to FabricMart’s Blog to see and vote for your favorite!