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.

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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.

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Thank you so much for READING.

ONE LOVE,

Marica - https://www.maricamitchell.com