Made by a Fabricista: Jamaica Inspired Vacation Pieces

Happy Saturday ALL!
Feeling nostalgic and not being able to travel this summer, in late July, I decided that for my birthday month August, I would infuse a little bit of Jamaica 🇯🇲 in my sewing plans. Even though I had to cancel my trips this year including this summer, I wanted to showcase a few pieces inspired by the vibrant colors.

August is a special month for me as we celebrate Jamaica’s 🇯🇲 Emancipation day 3 days before my birthday and Jamaica 🇯🇲 Independence 2 days after my birthday. Whenever possible, I would schedule my trip to Jamaica around that time of the year so that I can celebrate the festivities during my birthday month. If you have been following my sewing journey for a while, you know I absolutely love working with bold prints and bright colors.

After digging through my stash and finding a good amount of linen that I have accumulated from Fabricmart, I decided to make a tiered linen dress with the Rastafarian colors (red, yellow, and green). I lucked out with just enough red and green from my March post and about a yard of yellow from my stash. I wanted to make a maxi dress but decided to create a midi instead as I did NOT have enough linen fabric in all 3 colors. For the bodice, I hacked the True Bias Ogden cami cutting the bodice 3 inches below my natural waist and used Erica Bunker’s tiered dress tutorial. This was an easy make and I absolutely love the simplicity of the dress. Fabricmart has a variety of solid linen which is perfect for a summer tiered dress.

I wanted to create a yellow maxi dress but didn’t realize that this yummy yellow nylon blouse weight fabric would not work without being lined. I was also skeptical that I would look like a YELLOW highlighter rocking such a bright yellow maxi dress so I opted to make a pair of lined shorts instead and plan to make a matching top using M8009 bodice this weekend. I actually prefer to make sets as I am able to maximize my looks.

For the shorts pattern, I decided to give Vogue 1708 a try as I have plans to make the infinity wrap romper. I wanted to test the fit so what better way to do it. In addition, I am not a fan of shorts so this A-line cut style is perfect for my taste.

I opted to style it casually with a t-shirt personalized with my Cricut machine and dressy with a jacket made using Simplicity 9059 from our cultural fabric I purchased on my last trip to Jamaica. This fabric is used in costumes and worn during many traditional cultural events. Want to learn more? Check out a blog post I wrote about the rich history of the fabric here. I absolutely love these pieces and definitely will be ready for my next trip to Jamaica.

Here is a TIP when working with a pattern that has both the shorts pants pattern combined.

If you do NOT plan to trace and you are making the shorts before making the pants, fold the line of the shorts and place pattern weights or PIN directly on the line. FOLD the pattern UP and cut that area first extending by an extra inch on each side.

This works perfectly and saves you the headache from cutting the pattern for the shorts and then taping it again when you have to make the pants. I personally love to use my FISKARS rotary cutter when working with silky or slippery fabric because it makes it so much easier to cut. Did you know that Fabricmart sells notions including this cutter?

Because this is a shirting fabric I had to line it with a nude polyester lining fabric from my stash.

I also selected a green polyester crinkle chiffon from Fabricmart to make a maxi kimono that I can rock as a coverup at the beach. Unfortunately, the green is sold out but the indigo blue is still available. For the kimono, I used Simplicity S1108 made several times here and here.

I am all set for my next trip to Jamaica when things return back to normal. I have made quite a few pieces this summer that is PERFECT for my next Caribbean vacation.

Have you subscribed to my BLOG yet? What are you waiting for? Be sure to stop by https://www.maricamitchell.com and subscribe so you don’t miss out on the announcement for a few upcoming GIVEAWAYS! Don’t forget to stop by my Instagram page to check out my latest makes!

Thank you so much for READING.

ONE LOVE,

Marica - https://www.maricamitchell.com

Made By A Fabricista: A Tipsy Martini Transitional Three Piece Look

Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Sharon with Sharon Sews with my latest Fabricista make – a three-piece set I can wear as the weather transitions to fall here in Texas. It may look like a summer outfit but there will days filled with sunshine and high temps well into November. At first glance it looks like a nice, lightweight jacket, top and pants. But look closer – it’s sewn from the designer Tipsy Martini cotton sateen that was originally used by the designer for a pajama set. Now I could have sewn myself a pair of pajamas using the Closet Core Carolyn Pajama pattern (available at Fabric Mart) and replicated the designer pajamas. But if I had gone that route the only ones who would have seen this adorable kitschy fabric would be my family. This print is much too cute to hide out at home. This Tipsy Martini cotton sateen fabric was lovely to sew. I used black thread, an 80/12 universal needle, and Palmer/Pletsch Perfect Fuse Medium interfacing (link here). Note that this is a rayon fu

Made By A Fabricista: Hooray for Cozy Fall Sews!

Greetings, all! I am in such high spirits with the best-of-all-seasons just beginning and change is finally in the air. I always rejoice when the sweatiest time of the year passes and we can all take a deep breath and gear up for cozier times. Neighborhood Patterns is a new-to-me designer, and I came across them on Instagram in late summer and fell in love with the Plain Jane Skirt. This is such a simple A-line skirt, but with nice details like large inseam pockets and an optional drawstring, and though I’m sure I could draft this style myself, the appeal of having it all done for me was too tempting to pass up. A sew such as this is a lovely palate-cleanser and this was the first project I sewed after returning from a cross-country trip. Perfect! The gorgeous plaid flannel is exactly what I want to be wearing in the fall. The fabric is SO soft and a pleasure to snuggle up in. Because flannel does not have much body and is prone to stretching or shifting with all its mechanical give,

Made By A Fabricista: Quilted Jacket Chronicle

What do you get when mixing the best things about apparel sewing and machine quilting? A quilted jacket! It's funny that I elected to sew myself a quilted jacket for this Fabricista blog because I don't consider myself much of a quilter. I can count on my hands the number of quilted projects I've made over the last few years. While I fully appreciate the end product of quilting, I don't normally gravitate toward starting quilting projects. That's why making a quilted jacket is a new and exciting project for me! It gives me the fun of making a quilt on a much smaller scale. If you are an avid apparel sewist and are new to quilting, this is the perfect project to take for a quilting test drive! For my quilted jacket, I used the Seamwork Easton Jacket pattern. I decided to stick with a solid-colored fabric for the jacket's exterior and ordered 4 yards of Dark Umber Brown Lycra Stretch Canvas Suiting from the Fabric Mart website. I wanted a contrasting color for the

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