Hi all!

One thing I love about the sewing community is the inspiration we get from sewists all over the world! We have just got back into lockdown so I’m living for dopamine dressing at the moment!

I love creating clothes that make me, and others smile. This two-piece suit certainly fills that brief!

Minerva gifted me this gorgeous wool/poly blend suiting which is the perfect fabric for both of these makes. The check lining is from Jones and Taylor – Mary sells the best linings around! I decided to go full extra with the make – so glad I did, I’m obsessed.

Regular readers will know that I’m obsessed with check fabric. I especially love the bold colour of this fabric.

The pants are the Britney pants by Viki Sews. As I’ve made a couple of pairs of pants before I didn’t look at the instructions. Instead, I looked at the markings on the pattern pieces – notches, darts etc. These details showed me how the pattern comes together. I constructed the front and the back of the pants separately, which is how I normally make jeans then I sewed the side seams checking for fit. The last step was adding the waistband and the hem facings. This was the third time making this pattern, I love it so much!

The jacket is the Nancy jacket from Viki Sews. It is a cropped jacket pattern only available in Russian at the moment. I made size 44 using the 162-165cm height range. The diagrams on the pattern, and my construction knowledge, meant I was able to put together without translating the instructions. I wanted to lengthen the jacket but I was running low on fabric, so I didn’t. Once I’d sewed the jacket together, I decided I needed the 4cm hem length, so cut a 7cm wide hem facing. I added shoulder pads to the jacket to give it a bit more structure.

One tip for cutting out check fabric is to cut out the front, back, sides, and collar facings side-by-side so then you can line up checks with the pattern pieces. I am amazed at how well the check on both garments lines up – especially at the center back. I loved working with and wearing this fabric. I often avoid polyester but the addition of poly in this fabric means it wears well as it doesn’t crease. One less thing to iron is perfect!

A friend described the outfit as a modern Clueless inspired outfit. This is maybe one of my favourite outfits ever! I know I will wear both pieces loads either together or as separate pieces.

I hope you like this make!