Marimekko Makeover

Finland is regularly deemed the happiest country in the world- so it makes absolute perfect sense that a Finnish design house- Marimekko -is responsible for the most joyful designs in fabric and housewares. 

In preparation for a short trip to Finland in May, I pulled out a Uniqlo Marimekko collaboration ready to wear sundress that I purchased in 2021-it is a size extra large- the only size that was available by the time I got around to shopping.  I always intended to take it in, but somehow never got around to it.  So I changed course and decided to completely transform the garment into an easy tunic top that I could wear on my trip. 

Keeping with a Nordic theme, I turned to the Esme top pattern by Lotta Jansdottar in her Everyday Style Book.  Esme is a simple tunic pullover style perfect for showcasing the fabric’s bold splash of flowers. This is a super easy make - the only tricky aspect of this project was identifying the straight grain on the fabric, which I did by folding the sundress in half at center front.  Once I marked the straight grain, I was able to cut out a front and back, using the existing hemline- easy peasy.  

The exuberant print is called Talkoot (work party) and was designed by Fujiwo Ishimoto in 1978.  I did a little research and learned that Ishimoto created 400 patterns for Marimekko from 1974 to 2006.  

The fabric is a cotton linen blend and amazingly traveled well without wrinkling. See my Esme top in action- in Helsinki and on a day trip to Tallin below.

While it was definitely easy to be happy while in Finland, I was especially glad to honor Marimekko with a my own Marimekko garment. This year is significant for the design house because it is the 60th anniversary of Marimekko’s bold and iconic Unikko poppy print -designed by Maija Isola - and still inspiring happiness.

Also, (interestingly) I observed a significant number of people on the street sporting Marimekko. Perhaps these joyful designs have something to do with the country’s high happiness score.