I feel extremely lucky to a part of the Style Maker Fabrics Fall Style Tour again! My first time was in 2017, and I felt lucky back then, too! Style Maker Fabrics has such an amazing variety of fabrics this season, and I’m completely convinced that I grabbed the best two.
Fabric Details
For those of you who have sewn with Robert Kaufman’s Dana Knit (55% cotton, 45% rayon), you know it’s pretty dang good, but for some reason there are no other fabrics like it…until now! This cotton modal jersey knit is the most luxurious mix between cotton spandex and Dana knit. It’s a little bit heavier than Dana knit, but it has better recovery because of it’s spandex content. I hope that makes sense, and if you have NO idea what I’m talking about, then you just need to order some and see for yourself. You will NOT be disappointed, and you will most likely order more. 😉
The weight of this fabric was perfect for this sweater, and it would probably make an amazing t-shirt too! I am completely willing to test that for you though, because I really want to get more of this fabric in the color ‘moss’. (I can’t stay away from green, lately.)
I decided to go WAY out of my comfort zone and get the cinnamon color, and thankfully, I love it! I was really nervous until I put it on after I finished sewing, and I thought, “Oh, that’s actually not bad!” I think I stray away from the yellows and oranges because of my hair, and (true) brown because I really dislike that color. But then I see other blondes wearing those colors, and it gives me some serious FOMO. So after sewing this sweater, I feel much better about venturing out of my usual dark color scheme a little bit in the future.
I sewed this other top for the tour out of this gorgeous soft Tencel twill in the color ‘Hunter’. When I chose it, I didn’t realize that the suggested garments for it were pants, skirts, or dresses – I just saw that it was Tencel twill and went for it! The only other time I’ve sewn Tencel twill was a few months ago with some fabric from Blackbird Fabrics. It was a nice fabric, but it was a little lighter and more delicate, and also not as soft. This fabric from Style Maker is a beautiful medium weight, and it wasn’t nearly as delicate (and I ironed the crap out of it).
The fabric easy to sew for the most part, especially with my new-to-me Bernina machine, which is a tank. I had trouble with the collar, but I honestly think that was more me than the fabric. I have basically given up hope of ever getting good at collars. Haha! If someone told me that I start a shirt business in the future, I would full on laugh and say, “yeah right.” 😉 So if you struggle with collars, you are not alone!
Pattern + Alteration Details
Let’s start off with my Tabor V-neck again. I have been avoiding v-necks ever since 2015 when I made my first v-neck Union St Tee. I had extreme beginners luck, and tried making another one little while later…complete fail and frustration. I was probably using horrible fabric (knowing what I use to choose back then), and I gave up… For 4 years. (*face palm*)
I made a test version first (because I was stinkin’ scared, duh!), out of a burgundy fabric I got in LA. I made a size 10 which matched up with my bust measurement. I went with the cropped straight hem view with the medium thickness neckband, and added 3″ of length. It went just fine without any problems (my machine didn’t eat the fabric!), and after finishing and loving the heck out of it, I started on the next one.
I have had a sweater from the Un-Fancy blog pinned to my Pinterest for a while now, and I thought it would be fun to recreate using the Tabor V-Neck by Sew House 7. Although my inspiration is a knitted sweater, it was actually really easy to sew something similar.
I sized up to a 14 for an over-sized fit, and used the version with the side split hem view with the thinnest neckband, and long sleeves. I also lengthened this version by 4″ because I wanted it a little longer. I also really wanted the thick hem to be different lengths, so it took a little bit of brain power to figure out how much extra length to add to the front and back. Then I used the Astair Tee instructions as a reference on how to hem it.
I chose not to lengthen the sleeves because I was going to add cuffs and that was just the right amount of length for me. I got my Blackwood Cardigan out as a reference and widened the sleeve by about 1″ at the wrist, and used the Blackwood’s cuff pieces. You could use ANY pattern that you have that has sweater cuffs though.
I am extremely happy with how close I got to my inspiration! Since the hem was two different lengths, it didn’t turn out as clean as I was hoping, but I know to try a different method next time. This sweater is going to be perfect for our slightly chilly California winter, and I’m excited to wear it a lot more in a couple of months!
Next up is my Kalle Lou, as I like to call it. Feel free to name your daughter that. 😉 I have been having lots of fun with franken-patterning lately and after making my Willamette x Carolyn mashup, I felt pretty good about trying again with two other patterns! This is a mashup of the Kalle Shirt Dress by Closet Case and the Lou Box Top by Sew DIY.
I used the neckline, collar, and placket of the Kalle, and then used the Lou for the rest! I wanted the shirt to have a yoke and cuffs, so I drafted my own, and it work out really well! I would usually make a size 12 in the Lou, but for this I wanted the extra width, so I went up to a size 18. When I was getting ready to sew the shoulder seams, I realized they weren’t matching up because I goofed and didn’t make the front piece wide enough. So it’s actually more like a 12-14 now. I also added 1″ of length to the Lou when I was tracing, but I might add another inch next time.
I was trying really hard to get it close to my Everlane inspiration, and it’s SO close! But I lost 4″ in width when the shoulder seams didn’t match and I really wanted that extra width. I plan to try again because I love this top SO much and the Tencel twill comes in the most gorgeous colors! I’m thinking of getting aubergine or pewter for my next go at it.
Here are the links to the Hunter soft Tencel twill, and the cotton modal jersey knit in the color Cinnamon if you are interested. I hope this information has helped you get an idea of what these fabrics and patterns are like, and if they are something you would love too! There are so many more amazing women sharing in the Style Maker Fabrics Fall Style Tour, so make sure you check out Heather from Heather Handmade’s blog post tomorrow!
9/23 | 9/24 | 9/25 | 9/26 | 9/27 | 9/28 | 9/29
9/30 | 10/1 | 10/2 | 10/3 | 10/4
Fabric was given to me by Style Maker Fabrics in exchange for a blog post to review and promote the Fall fabrics. All opinions are my own.