Ya Basic! And I love ya!

I have been sewing for myself for the last three years and can say that I hardly ever buy anything RTW. A new pattern comes out and I have to make one (or 5) but I often overlook the “basics” – those pieces you turn to week after week either as part of or the entire outfit. A wardrobe full of date night dresses and workout gear is not the most functional when you spend M-F with a toddler 🙂

Recently I was getting ready for a day at the splash pad and realized that I didn’t have a white t-shirt! How could that be possible?!? Then I was looking for a black tank – nope, no dice! I vowed to stop living in my workout clothes, but alas, I had forgotten to make anything else. That’s it! The time to sew those basics had come and you know I would only make them with the best fabric I could get my hands on 🙂

I wanted to make sure that these pieces would fit great and last for a long time and I knew just what to use – my ride or die – Phee Fabrics rayon spandex! Sure, there are lots of pretty colors of rayon spandex on the site –  Turquise, Orchid and Olive, but did you know the basics are there too??? Light and dark Gray, Cream, Bisque and and of course, BLACK AND WHITE!

I was ready to create two staples for my wardrobe – pieces I will wear year round on their own or layered up with some of my other Phee makes. First up, the black rayon spandex tank – I used the fitted tank option from George and Ginger’s Romy Set. I love the v-neck and coverage (no special bras necessary) and now that Phee has that super fluffy french terry, I know what I will be using to finally make the Bolero from the Romy Set to go with the tank!

For the white rayon spandex t-shirt I used the Sweet Tee from Patterns for Pirates. A few small mods – I used the banded option but hemmed the bottom and tacked the bands on the short sleeves up for a little detail.

The rayon spandex is so perfect fro these pieces – it has excellent recovery and will fit the same after hours of wear. They do not fade! I HATE a faded black shirt. And no pilling! No one wants to go through the trouble of making the perfect top only to have top toss it after a few washes because it looks old and ratty.

So these two tops got me thinking – was anything else missing from my wardrobe? The LBD (little black dress)!! From a girl who only wore black growing up it’s hard to believe I have hardly none in my closet now. But I did have a black dress. And I loved the style of it -sleeveless midi with a hi-lo straight hem and a small side slit for a little extra leg. But this one fit like junk! (and sadly has since I bought it years ago but I couldn’t seem to part with it despite).

The old dress

The old dress

So I thought about patterns I had and realized I could recreate this with a few mods to the P4P Essential Tank Dress and Phee black rayon spandex– I used my RTW dress as a base pattern and marked off on the pattern pieces where to cut. I tried on the dress after the basic construction and lowered the side slit a bit.

To say this dress is complete love would be the understatement of the year! I am obsessed and can’t wait to wear it out to dinner this weekend in Manhattan.

As we approach the new season, take some time to figure out what  #notsobasicbasics your wardrobe needs to swing into fall.

Happy Autumn!

Liz

PS- If you love Phee Fabrics as much as I do, please use the  affiliate links in this blog to shop. I will receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you!) I can’t wait to keep sharing my adventures in sewing all of these incredible fabrics and look forward to hearing about yours!

August 16, 2019June 17, 2020 by Elizabeth De Virgilio Categories: Rayon SpandexTags: capsule wardrobe, Cozy French Terry, Rayon Spandex 2 Comments