Made By A Fabricista: Two pieces and three days in Vegas

This time around, I realized that half of all of my Fabricista post included linen makes–which did not stop me from selecting another linen! I had never sewed with linen before this partnership, and am really glad that Fabric Mart has such a variety of colors, weights, and sometimes prints to choose from. For this make, I went back to the same yarn-dyed chambray that I used as one side of my last post–the quilted reversible coat–but this time chose a different color. Unlike my last pick, where the yarns were purple and white, this one was the mandarin orange and purple. And let me tell you, this combination is stunning in real life!

You can really see the different colors in the yarns after I washed and before I sewed it all up. The color is predominantly orange, but the hint of purple gives the linen such great depth and it looks different from every angle and in every different light.

I happened to have a three-day weekend trip to Las Vegas planned not long after I received this fabric and I decided to put it to work for my trip. I wanted to make a two piece matching set that I could use all three days by pairing it with other items in my wardrobe, and the results did not disappoint.

In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month this May in the U.S., I selected patterns from two designers who are of Asian descent. The bottoms are the Soline Culottes (max waist 54”, 64” hip) from Stay Stitch Patterns and one of their duo of designers, Candice, is a woman of Asian descent. The top is the bodice of the Lena Horne dress (max chest 51”, waist 46”) from Tabitha Sewer, a designer of Black and Filipino descent. While I like to support Asian businesses year-round (and small businesses on the whole), I wanted to highlight these two to my Fabric Mart friends in honor of APAHM. Also, because it’s Vegas and just for fun, I decided to wear my Philippine sun crown all day because where else could I wear this type of headgear and it not be unusual?!

I sewed a size 16 in the Soline Culottes, but plan to size down for the next time. I also removed the paper bag waist by reducing the height of the waistband to two inches and skipped the drawstring tie. I will likely do this for future modifications as I did not want to add anymore height for the already high-waisted bottoms. I made the size 16 in the Lena Horne as well and was able to figure out how to hem the bodice into a top instead of attaching a gathered skirt. I would love to make this again as a top, since gathered skirts are not my style, but I would lengthen it a smidge for more coverage. Somewhere along the line, I did something so my side seams didn’t line up at the zipper, but I am not too fussed about that imperfection. Vegas was hot so this was perfect. Both were simple makes that I could replicate over and over again.

The linen itself was so lovely to work with. It sewed and pressed like a dream. As is my practice now, I did serge the edges after prewashing to prevent fraying while I was sewing, and it worked great. I do think that the chambray is probably best for dresses or tops, because it is lighter weight, but these flowy culottes are holding up just fine. The color is just so lovely. I fell in love this this fabric first when I saw it on the website, but then it’s extraordinary hue encouraged me to look into what would be complementary to it, and sure enough, purple was encouraged!

I wanted to pack very light for my short trip so I just brought this two piece set, and another pair of shorts, and did some mixing and matching! My friends and I also decided to get matching shirts while in Las Vegas and I daresay the blues and purples on the shirt go great with the orange. I loved being able to make these two pieces and mixing it with other pieces to create unique looks. I am definitely going to travel with two piece sets more in the future!

NICOLE  | @nicoleangelinesews

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Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics in the following category EXCLUSIVE CHAMBRAY LINEN.

💡 Did you know? 💡

A good portion of Fabric Mart's linens are reorderable!

This means that even if the color you're looking for is currently unavailable, it should come back in stock soon!