Made by a Fabricista: Maxi Looks for Summer

Happy Saturday All!!

This summer break seems to be flying by so quickly and I only have one month before I return to virtual teaching. After parent surveys, union, and school board meetings our school district is returning to virtual teaching and learning next month. The cases in Miami Dade County have surged over the last few weeks and with over 70K cases in the county where I teach, and a growing 300K + cases in Florida, I don’t even know when things will return back to normal due to COVID-19.

I have been heartbroken but the only thing I can appeal to others is to stay safe and wear your mask. I am blessed so far to have no immediate family member affected by this pandemic. It has been a tough year for most of us but I am pretty sure that this too shall pass.

Now let’s get into my summer sewing plans!!

Last month I selected 2 prints: a zebra chevron and an animal print and knew I wanted to make maxi looks for summer. Unfortunately, both challis prints are sold out but there are some amazing prints available here. To be quite honest, my black and white dress was a NO brainer as I knew I wanted to create a maxi dress using the bodice of V9253. I made this pattern several times hacking the bodice so it was a quick and easy sew. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to make another maxi dress or a 2 piece look that I could rock more ways than one. After losing my creative juice with what top to make, I decided to just stick with something easy-breezy, a cami to go with the simple maxi skirt with pockets I made a month ago.

This is indeed a 2 piece and the top was made using True Bias Ogden Cami, a quick 1 hour sew. I actually wanted an animal print cami so that I can rock it under a black suit when things return back to normal. I personally feel that animal print is so classic and is a trend that never goes out of style. As a lover of print, I pretty much have a touch of animal print in my closet from my prescription glasses frames, jewelry to shoes.

For the cami, I cut the size 10 with no modifications. I have made several Ogden camis (here, here, here and here) and love it, even more, when I make sets.

For the skirt, I drafted an easy maxi rectangular skirt using my waist measurement. The total width of the skirt is 2.5 times my waist measurement and of course, I use the elastic waist technique from my May blog post here. I even added some deep pockets too!

I am hoping that my creative juices hit before my birthday which is in 2 weeks and 3 days. Even though my birthday plans are canceled, I definitely plan to enjoy every bit of it. It looks like I will be celebrating via ZOOM as I do not want to put my son at risk. I also plan on making a few things and definitely continue my birthday tradition, a professional photoshoot. Be sure to head over to my BLOG and SUBSCRIBE as I plan to do a week-long of giveaways including fabric from my stash and a gift certificate from Fabric Mart.

Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to stop by my Instagram page and blog to check out my latest makes.

One Love,

Marica - https://www.maricamitchell.com

Made By A Fabricista: Closing 2025 with a Lined Jacket

Hello again, sewing friends! It seems we have arrived yet again in the grandest season for layering, all this oncoming cold weather. I like ending the year with something warm and very useful. Seems based on my past Fabricista posts, I love to sew year-end outerwear, and this round is no different! I challenged myself with a new lined coat (wait, jacket? Coat? I feel like the presence of wool changes things?). Anyhoo, since the lovely Chalk & Notch Den Jacket has been in my queue, I proceeded ahead. I like the large pockets, the option to line or not, and the extra bodice and sleeve seams for topstitching. Sewing this coat is not at all difficult, but the many pieces and loads of topstitching will take a bit of time. My version took me a few multiple-hour sessions to complete. I sewed a size 2, which matches my measurements, and I made no alterations. Hint: for a quick size test, just employ the lining pieces. Gorgeous, muted blue as a soft wool flannel ? This is ...

Made By A Fabricista: Chalk and Notch Wren Dress: My Buffet dress for the Christmas season!

I recently sewed the Chalk and Notch Wren dress using a beautifully soft black voile from Fabric Mart, and it turned into such a satisfying, enjoyable project. The pattern itself is very easy to understand and straightforward with clear instructions, intuitive construction, and a relaxed fit that makes the sewing process easy. A buffet dress in the sewing community is a dress that is loose fitting, so you can eat at the buffet without your dress being uncomfortable afterwards, lol! Because the voile I chose is extremely thin and transparent, I opted to line the bodice and first tier. Adding a lining not only provided modesty but also gave the delicate fabric a bit more stability, especially around the neckline and button placket. A helpful tip when sewing a lining into a lightweight bodice is to treat the lining and the main fabric as one. I sewed the bodice as you would for a lined bodice, and the first tier I sewed the pieces together with a basting stitch to make the process...

Made By A Fabricista: Sheer Elegance and Everyday Comfort with my Two New Tops

Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Sharon from Sharon Sews with my last Fabricista make for 2025. While many sew a special holiday outfit at year’s end, I went in another direction sewing two tops that couldn’t be more different. One is sheer and elegant while the other is easy comfort for everyday wear. These tops reflect how I dress at this stage of life. As an over-50 sewist, these two tops reflect how I dress at this point in my life. Sometimes I want something a bit special, other times more basic. Either way, sewing them in beautiful fabrics, custom fit to my body, makes all the difference in how I feel when I wear them. Even though I’m quite pleased with my two tops, my original plan was to sew a jacket with the tropical print stretch twill and pair it with a top sewn from the soutache mesh knit . Sadly, I wasn’t quick enough to get enough of the stretch twill to make a jacket, so a top it was! You do know you have to act fast when you see something you love on Fabric ...

Fabric Mart Fabricistas

Search This Blog