Made By A Fabricista: Hacked Transitional Two-Piece

August is a weird month: I’m over here sweating in a Midwest heatwave while pumpkin spice and autumn hues are starting to make their appearance everywhere. I wanted to make something that was lightweight, but could be the base for some really cute layering, and in a color that would take me from summer to fall. Fabric Mart’s exclusive rayon prints were perfect for this project. You can tell that they were curated with transitional seasons in mind, and when I saw the video previewing them in Instagram, I knew I had to get my hands on some. I am a person who loves big prints and this negative yellow floral print was oh so right.

I love Friday Pattern Company patterns. Their instructions are simple and clear, and I also adore the super cute encouraging messages laced throughout the instructions and the pattern itself. However, I find most of their designs to not quite match my style. They tend toward the romantic, with lots of ruffles and gathers, whereas I prefer more straight lines. When I saw their Davenport Dress, there were elements that I loved about it, but I wasn’t sure about for myself. Luckily, Fabric Mart carries many of their paper patterns, so I thought I’d give it a try with their beautiful exclusive rayon prints.

As you can see, I did not end up making the dress. After some thinking, I decided that I would try removing the sleeves so that it would be less voluminous on top, and of course, nice for summer and easy to layer. After even more thinking, I realized that I have not been gravitating to dresses and skirts this year. For many years I never wore pants. That’s not an exaggeration - I would wear dresses year round with increasingly thicker tights as the weather dictated. But my style has shifted and I prefer to wear pants. So I decided to make separates again! I hacked the Davenport dress into a sleeveless top, and made another pair of Soline Culottes to go with.

I made the culottes in my last post, and these are actually my fourth pair! After making them for my May post, I fell in love with making and wearing them. I did end up sizing down one size to make them a little less flowy, but this time, I topstitched the elastic like the pattern calls for. I had never done that before, but I think I like how it gathers the pants more evenly.

I loved the construction of the top. The burrito method was used for a really beautiful finish and the gather at the center front was done with elastic. I ended up making bias binding to finish the bodice and it worked great. I didn’t need to re-draft the arm syces, like you sometimes have to if you take a sleeved top and convert it to sleeveless, I just omitted the sleeve. I also lengthened the top about 5 inches, since the bodice of a dress comes above my natural waist. This was easy since the bodice is cut straight down on the sides. In fact, it was so easy to hack this into a top, I will absolutely do it again!

I really enjoyed making this ensemble, and it’s actually the fifth two-piece set I’ve made this year! My May Fabricista make really kicked off my love for two-piece sets and I’m glad I get to take this one into the fall with me. It’s perfect with a jean jacket for a moderate summer evening, but I can also see it being paired with the same jacket, booties and a cute hat for fall.

This is my last post as a Fabric Mart Fabricista. I have had mental health challenges throughout 2022 and I am taking a step back in many areas of my life so I can center myself and focus on my healing. I am so grateful that Fabric Mart selected me to join their team back in 2021–it was truly one of the best thrills of my sewing life. Although I may not be posting as a Fabricista, don’t worry, I still have plenty of Fabric Mart fabric in my stash that you’ll see in the future. Take care and thank you!