Observer Fabrics Blog Tour with April Rhodes

I am thrilled to be the next stop of the Observer Fabric Tour, designed by April Rhodes for Art Gallery Fabrics. I really love April’s style, and have been a big fan for a while now. Side note, because of her I want to learn how to knit now too. She’s very, very talented! I love ALL of the fabrics in April’s new collection, but I knew right away I wanted to work with this voile indigo window crystal print. It’s even more gorgeous in person! The voile is so soft to the touch, and sews up beautifully. I’m always impressed with the amazing quality fabrics Art Gallery provides. Simply stunning!

I had this vision of a faux jumpsuit in my mind for this print. I wanted something simple to show off the print, but more than just a shirt. I needed a whole outfit made of this beautiful stuff. The best thing about my faux jumpsuit is that it creates so many outfit options. (The shirt is just tucked into my pants). I’ve worn these two pieces together as shown, and also separately. I’m really happy with the results!

For my top, I decided to go with the Onyx Shirt by Paprika Patterns from indiesew.com. I picked this top because of it’s simplicity, but what really sold me was the fun cuff and epaulet detail on the sleeve. I sewed up a size 2, and didn’t make any modifications to the pattern. It’s a super quick and easy pattern to sew up.

For the pants, I decided to go with the Alexandria Trousers by Named Clothing. (Also from indiesew.com). I’ve had my eye on this pattern for a while now, and this was the perfect excuse to try it out. I thought they would pair well with a matching shirt tucked into them. Again, these were easy to put together. I was mindful of matching the pattern on each of the front and back leg pieces, so it took a little more time cutting these out, but so worth it, they turned out just how I imagined. I sewed up the size 34/2, and again I didn’t make any modifications to the pattern, except for slightly cropping the hemline. I made my waist tie out of the Observer voile as well to match the whole look. For my next go, I really want to try this pattern with a twill for fall/winter.

I’m so happy with this whole look. I think it translates well from end of summer to fall. I’m excited to pull it back out for spring too once the snow has passed here in Utah. The best part of it all? It’s so comfortable! I honestly feel like I’m walking around in my pajamas all day long. Does it get better than that!? I don’t think so.

Special thanks to April for having me on this amazing tour. I’m blown away by all the other creations sewn up with this gorgeous collection. Check out April Rhodes Observer Fabric Tour blog post to see all the other great stops of the tour! Up next: mysweetsunshine!