Made By A Fabricista: Skipping Winter - Tailored Outfits in Twill & Shirting for Spring

Hi Fabric Mart fans! I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving! This month, while perusing the Fabric Mart collection, I was drawn to cotton twill fabrics. My son, who's growing like a weed, is always in need of new pants! I could easily have made him multiple pairs of pants, however I was also drawn to a bright blue stretch twill for me. I just can't resist a bold color on a jacket, and this blue was calling my name! I hope you love these outfits as much as I do!

Since I planned to make pants for my son, I knew I'd need to make a button-down shirt as well. Fabric Mart had a range of fabulous cotton shirtings and it was hard to land on just one, but I eventually picked this royal blue gingham which pairs perfectly with the tan twill pants. When it comes to woven patterns for boys, I can never go past Oliver+S. I've made their dress shirts so many times now - the finishes are always lovely, and always so worth the time and effort. I used the Buttoned-Up Button-Down Shirt with the Art Museum Trousers.

One thing I really loved doing with the shirt was playing with the angle of the gingham - I cut the cuff, pocket, outer back yoke, collar, and button placket on the bias. I cut the inside back yoke piece on the straight grain so prevent the yoke from getting distorted.

When I make a shirt and pants set, I love to also sneak the shirt fabric into the pants, and I did this by using it for the inseam pocket bags and waistband facing. Since I realized the pocket bag would be visible from the front of the pant, I slightly modified the pattern by appliquéing a one-inch strip of twill to the edge of the pocket bag piece.

It had been a few years since I'd made myself a jacket, and I took a risk by trying a new-to-me pattern company, Waffle Patterns. With so many pattern pieces in the Yomogi Jacket, it took forever to get everything cut out and adjusted, but I got there in the end. I initially found the sleeve too narrow, had to blend 3 sizes for my bust, chest, and hip, and also added about 1.5 inches to the length. I also found that I needed to size up all over by a whole size to accommodate the sweaters I'm most likely to wear underneath.

For this jacket, I used a gorgeous blue cotton stretch twill, combined with a light blue satin lining. I do love to do a surprising color for my linings, and I almost did bright green, but in the end decided to play it a little safer with the blue! That truly is the beauty of sewing your own clothes - you can have so much fun with surprising color choices!

When making jackets, it's important to use a quality interfacing as well. I really love the Palmer and Pletch PerfectFuse Tailor Ultra interfacing! It's so easy to apply, it feels really nice (it has a cashmere feel!), and it helps the fabric drape beautifully.

To stitch the buttonholes, I had the most success when I applied some wash-away stabilizer to the top of the fabric as I stitched it. This helped to create a lovely bead on the buttonhole, and also prevented the stretch twill from getting distorted during that step. I highly recommend using a buttonhole chisel to cut open the buttonholes too as this also helps to minimize distortion (and reduces your risk of accidentally ripping through your buttonhole end).

I hope you're inspired to try something new this winter! Happy sewing!