Made by a Fabricista: Boho Chic Summer

Hello Gems! I'm so excited to share this month's look as a Fabric Mart Fabricista featuring two gorgeous fabric selections from Fabricmartfabrics.com. If you know me by now, you know that I adore a cool, floor length, boho chic look. There is something so sophisticated, sexy and cool about a free flowing look this time of year made from lightweight breathable fabrics such as the ones used for my most recent Fabricista make.

Although the weather is warmer, I still enjoy creating long flowy dresses and free flowing silhouettes to stay cool in the summer and beat the heat. So for my June look, I did a hack of Vogue pattern 9311 and created a voluminous floor length dress with large billowy sleeves and a plunging neckline. I used Fabric Mart's Rayon Framework Crinkle Challis fabric, which is very light weight and breathable, but not transparent.

I love the drape of this fabric and how it just melts onto your body. I added facing down the front and made it a button up so that this piece could easily double as a cover up!

But, I believe what makes this dress so special are the little details added that draws even more interest to the piece. I cut through the volume of the sleeve and added ruffles along the seams. I believe this amplifies the sleeves and gives the illusion of even more added volume to this part of the dress.

I also added an open back feature to the back bodice and finished it with binded edges ending with a tie at the back of the neck! The dress has an ruffled skirt at the bottom that adds so much more movement and catches the air when you are walking!

This piece in itself makes a beautiful bold statement worn as a dress but I wanted to mix it up a little. During the Summer time we spend a great deal of leisure time pool side and strolling beaches, so a cover-up is always a necessity. So, I featured this piece as a coverup also and created a beautiful pair of wide leg pants using McCalls pattern 8223. I used Fabric Mart's Rayon Polka Dot Voile fabric for these pants and created a matching bra top from the fabric left over!

This fabric is a little silkier than Rayon Challis. It has a slight sheen to the surface but it is still very lightweight and has a beautiful drape. It sews up quite nicely. I was afraid it may slip all over the place due to the shine and slip of the fabric surface. However, it held up quite nicely on the cutting board and under the needle. Despite the weight of this fabric it is very opaque and not sheer at all!

I am so in love with how the pants turned out! The width and volume in the leg is beyond wide and its so beautiful to watch in motion. The fabric feels great against the skin and the pattern was pretty easy to construct. I can definitely see making a few more of these pants for the summer season.

The top I created for this look is made from a hack of one of my favorite bustier patterns this season from Daria Patterns. It is derived from the Rose Cafe Bustier pattern. I pretty much followed the pattern instructions leaving off the straps and adding a tie to the back. I chose a tie closure for this top so that the strapless top would remain tightly secure. This piece does have an underwire. This is one reason this is one of my favorite tops to create. However, it is always nice to be able to control the tightness of the top to insure support up top.

I kept the styling on this look very casual and simple! I added a DIY bag and a pair of comfy yet fashion forward Hurricane Tevas. This keeps the look effortless, cool and ready for Summer. However, dressing up this look and mixing the pieces up would definitely be an option. I am all for versatility and creating stylish options from my pieces.

I had so much fun creating this look and absolutely love the way it came together. I can’t wait to see what other looks I can create with these pieces in my wardrobe !