In my never-ending pursuit to add fun tops to my wardrobe, my current one is McCall's 7723.

This time of year, I tend to make pieces that will work now and later. So, I wanted a top that would work with pants, jeans and shorts. Plus, this one is so cute and frilly! And history has proven that I love a good ruffle!

Since this top obviously has a lot going on, I really wanted a fabric that had a little something extra, that wouldn't compete with the design elements. I've had this crinkly-textured fabric for over a year that I picked up from Jo-Ann. The thing about this fabric is, it can't be pressed! While testing it out, all of that beautiful texture was smoothed right out. So I had to be careful in my selection of designs.

I was pretty impressed with how this fabric took to the lack of pressing. The seams look great, especially in the front where I had to do a 1" FBA that added additional vertical darts.

These ruffles are my favorite! I don't think I've ever enjoyed creating ruffles this much in my entire sewing life. 

 See here how I made them:

And don't forget to enter my giveaway for the Ultimate Presser Foot 32 pcs!

Anytime I can get away with replacing a facing with bias binding, I do it. 

Since this fabric can't be pressed, a facing would've been a horrible idea. It would've never stayed in place. This is such a cleaner look.

And I finished it off with a narrow hem, created with my Flat Hem Foot 7mm.

My pants are my 3rd iteration of DP Studio LE302. I used this pattern before for the pants in the gray suit and part of the McCall's 7728 jumpsuit.

My fabric is this emerald green cotton/poly bottom-weight twill I found at Jo-Ann. This one has no stretch, and they fit great. But just like with no stretch denim, the longer I was wearing these I noticed that they began to relax.

These are my newest pant obsession for right now. So I'll be making these throughout the rest of spring and summer... unless I run across another pattern I have to make.

Sometimes the fabric comes first. I found this beautiful, lightweight Glacier Gray Heathered Stretch Suiting from Mood Fabrics.com. I knew it would be perfect for spring and that I wanted to make a suit with it.

First came the pants. I'd recently discovered DP Studio LE 302 Trouser. I'm always on the lookout for a great pants pattern that I can create over and over again and this one is pretty darn good. I needed a straight leg pattern because I wanted pants that I could wear with either heels or flats. That way I can get more mileage out of my pants. 

These pants are beautifully drafted. They're high-waist with the front pockets that extend into the center front that I've grown to absolutely love! 

I didn't sew the complete fly situation. I tend to skip that part a lot on trousers and only do it on jeans.

There is also one single-welt back pocket.

The pants have pintuck creases and inseam slits. This pattern was pretty good right out of the packaging. I cut the size 44, I added 3 inches to the length. This is a European pattern, so the seam allowance is 1cm. The only thing I would change next time is to create a contoured waistband. This one has a straight waist and I had very minor gaping at the center back that I quickly fixed by adding darts.

This jacket pattern has been in my pattern collection for 12 years. Since off-the-shoulder isn't going anywhere anytime soon, I thought I'd pull this jacket out. I've been seeing similar style blazers for a few months now, so that's how this one got back on my radar.

This jacket is Vogue 2893. It's been out-of-print now for many, many moons.

It's from the Donna Karan Collection Spring 2005.

I couldn't find any pictures from anyone that had actually sewn this pattern. I googled and searched for pattern reviews...nothing. The only other way I could get a glimpsed of what it looked like was from an old magazine ad.

The details of this jacket were crazy, spectacular and off-the-chain (do they still say that??)! This is why I was so drawn to it. Sometimes I want to sew something up quick, and other times I want things that will entertain me while I binge watch a complete series on Netflix. 

How often do you find suiting fabric juxtaposed with athletic mesh and a corset-style laced-up back? Like never! So, I was really excited to be able to add something so interesting to my wardrobe.  

Another thing that I loved is the decorative zig-zag stitching. I used the #46 on my BERNINA 350 PE. The athletic mesh was already in my stash. 

I really love both of these pieces and I can't wait to break them up and wear them separately. This jacket will be so fire with a pair of black distressed jeans for a night out. And these pale gray pants are going to be worn with everything. They're the perfect neutral that my closet has been missing.