Made By A Fabricista: Completing My Handmade Cruise Capsule

I was lucky to go on a weekend cruise to the Bahamas with my husband! For the occasion, and for this April post, I initially planned on doing two versions of the Wanda Wrap Dress: a colorful sleeveless one for daytime excursions and a darker mid-sleeved one for nighttime outings. Thankfully, I did the black one first and realized I preferred to sew something else with the other fabric.

Why? Indeed, the dress is very comfortable to wear. It is flowy, elegant and a good option for day or night, depending on the chosen fabric. But, with its six panels full skirt, its faux-wrap top, and its extended waistband, this dress took almost two yards of fabric to make, even in a small size! With this jersey knit elastic fabric, it ended up being bulky and heavy to pack. Knowing I am used to traveling with very minimal luggage (backpack forever!), bulkiness and weight do not work for me. I will wear this in Miami, but it won’t travel much with me in the future.

Also, making the Wanda Dress wasn’t as easy as I expected, primarily due to my own mistakes. I found the top tricky because of the long stretches of fabric were hard to manipulate. I also messed up with the skirt and sewed two side panels together by mistake. There are many tips and tricks to unpick Serger stitches, but in my impatience, I opted to just cut along the stitches. I figured that losing a couple of millimeters of fabric wouldn’t make a big difference in such a full skirt, and luckily, I was right. If this is a sacrilege in the garment-making world, please forgive me and forget I said it!

Another tip up my self-taught-sewist-sleeve: this fabric is very elastic and relatively heavy, so to avoid stretching it while sewing, I opened the first drawer of my sewing table. It worked as an improvised support and extension! When you have a small sewing space at home, you need to make it work!

The colorful fabric had precisely the same composition as the black one, so I thought a more practical use was to make two pieces, lighter and more useful than a big dress. I opted for a faux jumpsuit: a tank top and a short I could wear together or separately: more looks, less fabric, less weight, win-win-win. I drafted my own top and used a skort pattern with pockets by Lulu Ferris. I believe the skort came out a little too loose, but it is ok for a beachy look! It took me only a couple of hours to make both pieces because they were easy to cut and put together.

I did a simple rolled hem for the tank top sleeves and neckline but only used a Serger at the bottom. It is thinner than a hem so that I can attach it in a knot for a different look. I am all for practical and multi-purposed garments!

I know these two outfits may not account for a “capsule.” But this cruise was delayed thrice due to a hurricane in 2019, followed by two pandemic years. So, I’ve had the chance to sew a couple of garments each time, and in the end I’ve gotten my cruise capsule! I am proud to say that 90% of my luggage for this weekend cruise was handmade, mostly with Fabric Mart fabrics: I packed my long Stasia dress, the cardigan and short beach dress, and these two new additions: the wrap dress and the faux jumpsuit.