Made by a Fabricista: Army Green Linen

Happy Thanksgiving week! Today's fabricista post is loaded with a whole army of green linen clothes...every pun intended! This sewing blog post started with my daughter who wanted an army green linen jacket! I bought one for myself a couple months back and she absolutely loves that jacket! I told her I could buy one for her, and she asked if instead, she could try and sew one for herself! Of course, of course, of course! My mama heart was proud and my maker heart was so excited!

I hopped onto the Fabric Mart website and searched for the word army. This linen/rayon/spandex army green fabric popped up and I knew it would be perfect. Since it was listed "as is" I ordered a bit extra to make sure we could work around the slight imperfections. I washed it up, and just found a few spots we needed to work around!

My sweet girl (who is 15) found the pattern she wanted to use, the Hampton Jean Jacket. She printed, taped, and cut out the pattern, all taking it one little baby step at a time. Well, she lost steam before this post needed to go up and was so relieved that I was working on a few things with the leftover fabric. She is so very close to finishing her jacket. She just has to finish attaching the collar, the sleeves, and then the hem band! I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of her and how she has stuck with such a detailed sewing project. She's off at a camp for a couple of days this Thanksgiving week, and then she said she's so excited to get back and finish up her Hampton Jean Jacket! I'll keep you posted when she finishes this project!

Here are the things that I sewed with her leftover fabric. I'll start with the shorts. These are the Lander Shorts, a pattern that I have sewn again and again. I love a high waisted shorts pattern and these fit the bill! I made one tiny little modification, making them a side zip pattern, eliminating the front button fly. I like this change, however, I think this fabric is just a little too lightweight for shorts.

The next thing, and I am in love with this one, is the Calvin Wrap Top. This fabric matches so perfectly with this pattern! This is another True Bias pattern, and as always, it is so, so good! I have made this wrap top once before and noticed I needed to make a few changes. Kelli's patterns are designed for a C cup and I am an A cup. A small bust adjustment was very easy to make, and really helps the fit of this top look so much better!

The Calvin Wrap Top is a true wrap, with a small little buttonhole on the side that the ties slide through. There's a small snap that's hidden in the middle to help everything stay put securely without any worry of things coming unwrapped!

There are bra slides that attach the straps, which are just bias binding. One of the greatest things about this pattern is that it uses such little fabric. Just a yard is all you need, making it a perfect project to use up all of your sewing leftovers!

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and I cannot wait to update you on my daughter's linen jacket progress!

Here's a quick recap of all the materials I used in these projects!

Fabric: Linen/Rayon/Spandex army green fabric

Jacket pattern: Hampton Jean Jacket

Shorts pattern: Lander Pants

Tank pattern: Calvin Wrap Dress

P.S. I'm also wearing a pair of Lander Pants (the jeans paired with the Calvin Top) and an Archer shirt (paired with the Lander shorts) all made with Fabric Mart fabrics (click on the links to see the Fabricista blog posts about these two makes)! Thanks Fabric Mart!

Made By A Fabricista: Just Wear It Out!

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Made By A Fabricista: The Sheer Volume Of It All!

This garment was inspired by a dress I saw in an ad, and when I went to purchase it (which I rarely do)…I realized that the dress didn’t come in my size. Ticked off and with $300 back in my pocket, I decided to draft it myself. The description listed the fabrication as a silk cotton voile, so I used that as a starting point to recreate the simple yet elegant silhouette. My drafting experience is limited; I’ve only ever made garments that are pleated rectangles that fit into an elasticated waist. No darts, no complicated calculations, and definitely no sleeves. But I’d have that dress if it’s the last thing I do! I made a drawing, created a Pinterest board to document my inspiration, and narrowed down the features I really wanted to have: billowy bubble-hemmed bishop sleeves (say it three times fast!), a fitted and lined bodice, and a gathered tiered skirt. Finally, it was time to shop for fabric. I knew I wanted a silk blend of some kind, without breaking the bank. For weeks, I ke...

Made By A Fabricista: In Love with Linen

Linen is the best fabric to sew and wear. I selected a beautiful 100% linen from Fabric Mart that is a steel blue and cream floral linen to sew up a By Hand London Hannah Wrap Dress pattern. The flowers look like Dahlias. I originally sewed a Toile from a black and white cotton bedsheet, wore the dress a lot but never made it again. I gave the Toile away to a friend who always commented on how much she loved the dress. When I saw this fabric, I knew I wanted to make the Hannah again. Linen is so easy to sew the entire experience reminded me why linen remains one of my favorite fabrics to sew. I look for a light to medium weight European linen for a dress. I like a rayon or cotton blend with linen because it seems to have more drape and be more soft. Linen gets softer with washing and wearing it. This particular linen feels crisp and after ironing and washing, softens up. I like how Fabric Mart describes the fabrics as top, dress, blouse, shirt weight under “Use” and will describe...

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