Made By A Fabricista: Feeling Festive in Red

Happy Holidays! I’m so excited to bring you this all red holiday look that would be a hit at any holiday gathering this season. Whether you’re headed to your company holiday party or just going to sit in your living room, you’ll fabulous doing so.

For this month’s post I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I have been a Sew It Academy student since Mimi G opened it back in 2016. Sew It Academy is her online sewing academy that shows you what to do once you open your sewing machine and different lessons come out every month showing you different techniques and how to sew different things. Sew It Academy now offers PDF patterns and sewalongs that come with them. I made the Boxy Pullover Top and the Bubble & Wide Hem Skirt which are both Sew It Academy patterns.

The Boxy Pullover Top is the first garment class offered in Sew It Academy, so it’s super easy to make. I’ve seen several YouTube videos for the same top and they are all pretty much contructed the same way. I cut a size 18 and I graded at the waist to a size 26. The way that I did that was by making a line from the size 18 until I met the size 26 line.

I also added 5” to the hem. I’ve made this top before and wanted to make it longer this time around. Below is the first one I made with left over fabric from my last Fabric Mart make.

There are only a few pieces to this pattern. The front and back bodice, the front and back facing and the sleeves. First, staystitch the neck line of the front and back bodice and then sew them at the shoulder seams using the seam allowance the pattern requires. Then you want to sew the front and back facing pieces and then you want to pin the facing to the neckline.

Once you sew down the neck facing, you need to under stitch and then turn the facing to the inside of your top and press everything nicely.

Next the sleeves will be sewn in using the flat method where you open out your top flat, place the sleeve on top of the sleeve opening, right sides together and then you sew them in.

I also like to baste in the hemline to make it easier to sew later. I press the hem in at the hemline and it makes it so much easier to sew later. Once you’ve sown in your sleeves, right sides together, pin down each side up to the sleeves and sew it down.

Once you’ve sewn your top closed, all you have to do is sew your sleeve and top hem and you have yourself a boxy top!

I then moved on to the Bubble & Wide Hem Skirt. With this pattern you can make the bubble skirt or you can make a wide hem skirt. As you can see, I made the bubble skirt for this make. I made a size 24. This is another simple pattern with few pieces. You have the front and back of the skirt, the lining, pockets and waist band. I never really thought about how a bubble skirt is contructed and I thought it was so clever. Basically, the lining is shorter than the outer skirt. The outer skirt is gathered at the hem and then attached to the lining hem! I really think this is so cool. I’m easily impressed. lol

Since I already had an idea in mind of what I wanted to make, I set out to look for the perfect fabric to bring my vision to life. I came across this Fruit Punch Pink Polyester Mikado Twill Suiting fabric. I love how it had the right amount of shine and was very easy to sew. The fabric is sold out, but you can find other Twill Suiting fabric on the Fabric Mart site.

This is the perfect holiday party set. I also love that they are separates and I can wear each piece with something else. My holidays will be low key so I may not wear the skirt, but I’ll be wearing this top with some cute jeans and some heels. Maybe I’ll make the other view for the skirt which is the wide hem skirt. If you are interested in these patterns, you can sign up to Sew It Academy using my affiliate link.

Well, this is my last blog post for 2024 and it’s been an amazing year of sharing my makes with you all in the beautiful Fabric Mart fabrics. I try to share a tutorial or something that I learned while I made my Fabric Mart makes and I hope you all enjoy that style. I’m hoping that I can share something new with you or a different way of doing something and I hope you find it beneficial.

Hoping you all have a joyous holiday season and I’ll see you all in 2025! Below are a few more photos of my boxy top and bubble skirt. Until next time!

JOHANNA | @soveryjo

Made By A Fabricista: Pattern Emporium’s Lyrical Top Featuring Fabric Mart Fabrics

Sewn in a lightweight rayon challis , this top combines style, comfort, and fluidity. There’s one thing I love in a summer sew: effortless drape—and the Lyrical Top by Pattern Emporium delivered just that. This pattern is a new release, and when I spotted this dreamy rayon challis from Fabric Mart Fabrics, I knew it was the perfect pairing. Lightweight, breathable, and with just the right amount of movement, the fabric really brought the pattern to life. Today, I’m sharing all the details—from fabric choice and construction to styling and fit—plus a few thoughts on why this top might just become a repeat sew. Pattern Overview: The Lyrical Top by Pattern Emporium The Lyrical Top is a relaxed-fit design with bloused sleeves and a gently flared frill cuff. It comes with three sleeve lengths and two neckline variations. I chose the tie-neck view, but there’s also a collar option for a slightly different vibe. I’ve been looking to add more stylish tops to my wardrobe this year, a...

Made By A Fabricista: Oversized Jenna Shirt for Summer Fun

I may or may not have had several meltdowns during the making of this Closet Core Jenna Shirt… But let’s back up first. During the month of May, I promised to wear handmade garments every single day for the popular sewing challenge “Me Made May.” I really enjoyed thoughtfully putting together my outfits each day. While I was doing this, I was taking notes of the gaps in my wardrobe. Particularly, I don’t have many transitional shirts that could work for on-camera work attire and be comfortable for the weekend. When I saw this delicious cotton lawn on the Fabric Mart website, I knew that I wanted to make a button up shirt that would be both work appropriate and a nice overshirt for summer evenings over my tanks and tees. I have made a few button up shirts before using a vintage Stretch & Sew pattern but I decided to try my hand at the Closet Core Jenna Shirt (up to a 60” chest) which has had rave reviews on social media and pattern sites for being a great pattern with e...

Made By A Fabricista: A matching set and a happy error.

Hi sewing friends! Today I’m sharing a new outfit I made inspired by looks I’ve been seeing pop up in my Facebook and IG feeds a LOT this year. I’m talking about those monochromatic matching top and bottom outfits, sometimes in linen, sometimes in a flowy knit - the ones that advertise they go effortlessly from loungewear to office wear to going out wear. So I decided to “sew the look” using Fabric Mart fabric and a few patterns I already in my massive pattern library. First, let me share that I have very few solid color pieces in my closet. I’m so taken in by whimsy and geometric prints that this is still a gaping hole in my wardrobe - a matching solid color set was actually a practical addition for me. So let me walk you through how I created this look, and also tip you off to an error I made while cutting that worked out pretty well after all. Can you spot the error? Hint - it’s somewhere in the top: Here’s how I went about building my matchy match outfit. And here’...

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