A Summer Suit

This post is sponsored by Baby Lock. Patterns and fabric were generously gifted.

Hello! It’s nearly summertime and I have been loving the idea of making a summer suit. I’m loving all the trousers and vest combos lately, and when Matchy Matchy Sewing Club released their new cotton linen twill fabric, I knew I had to jump on this trend.

I have a confession to make… I have never owned a pair of trousers in my life! I’m a pretty casual girl most of the time, currently staying at home with my four kiddos. I always brushed trousers off because I didn’t think I would really reach for them on a day to day basis. My mindset has changed lately! I love how you can pair them with a graphic tee, or even just a plain white tee and give them a more casual look. Also, they are so comfortable!

So this is me embracing a slightly dressier pant, and so far, I’m loving them!

A few quick project details!

First off, the fabric! I picked this gorgeous blue bonnet cotton linen twill from Matchy Matchy Sewing Club. It’s the perfect thickness for a light summer pant, and the cotton aspect makes it super soft. It was a dream to sew with as well. I love that dusty/baby blue is a big color for spring/summer this year, and it also looks slightly like a light denim so easy to wear lots of ways in my wardrobe. I will say I was very tempted by the red color option too though!

Now for the patterns!

I’ve seen the Protea Pants by Paradise Patterns floating around a lot on Instagram, and I’ve always been drawn to their fit. I love the wide leg and the long front pleat. This was an easy decision for me. I made a size 0, grading up to a 2 in the waist. I ended up taking out almost 1 1/2″ from the waist because they were too big. I have a 27″ waist measurement so I’ not sure how I ended up with extra space. I was able to take in the side seams slightly and the back center seam to get the fit I needed. I thought about taking in the darts (which would have been the correct way to go) but I needed to take out so much I just played around with the back center seam and it worked out nicely. Otherwise no complaints! The instructions are reallly well done and I learned a lot of great tailoring tips I didn’t know prior. Overall, I’m really happy with how these pants turned out. I’m excited to play around with styling them different ways.

Now, for the vest. Linen vests are a really big trend right now. I love the idea of being able to pair it with a matching trouser but also on it’s own with jeans or a skirt. For the vest pattern I went with the Pipit Vest by Common Stitch. It’s often paired with the Protea Pants by many sewists so this is nothing new here. This vest is also very well done. It’s just two pattern pieces and comes together very quickly. The instructions were very clear and easy to follow. I sewed up a size 6, and it fits really cute. I chose to use mother of pearl buttons as they another big trend for spring/summer and they paired nicely with the dusty blue color of my fabric.

For these project, I used my Baby Lock Brilliant sewing machine and my Baby Lock Celebrate serger. Let me tell you, making button holes is such a breeze EVERY TIME. I love how easy and fool proof it is. They both sew so beautifully and make sewing so much fun. I just love these machines so much.

Again, I’m really happy with how this project turned out. The blue bonnet color is so beautiful, it’s for sure giving 1989 vibes if you follow. These two patterns work really well together and create a really nice little set but also are fun to style as separates too. I’m excited to see how many different looks I can create with these two pieces mixed into my current wardrobe.

If you head to my instagram page you can follow along and find reels of the finished project in action as well as the making process of this fun outfit.