Project Run & Play

UPBEET TEE AND SEED SHORTS

April 11, 2019


There is currently a pretty awesome sewing contest going on over on Instagram.  You can read all the details here.  In summary, sew up at least one of the patterns from the Project Farmer's Market collection and share at least three photos tagged with #prpdesignercapsulecontest by May 1, and you could win some amazing prizes with a combined value of over $600 USD.  This is what I would have entered if I was allowed!  An Upbeet tee and some Seed shorts.

Project Run & Play

SEED PATTERN RELEASE: PROJECT FARMER'S MARKET

March 11, 2019


I am very excited to let you know that the Seed pattern is now available to purchase!  (The Seed pattern is currently on sale - no code needed). This pattern has been in the works for a few months and I've only been able to share little snippets of it's details.  For the past four months I have been collaborating with seven other designers to design a spring capsule wardrobe of sewing patterns!  Some months ago, Audrey, the director of Project Run + Play contacted me asking if I would be interested in contributing a pattern to such a collection.  I participated in the sewing competition many years ago now but am one of the several past contestants who have gone on to design PDF sewing patterns for kids. I decided to jump in since I was in great company and knew I would enjoy the enthusiasm and encouragement that a group can bring.  

Dresses

Project Run & Play: My signature style

October 03, 2013


At the eleventh hour I managed to finish and photograph this pastel striped dress to share in the Project Run & Play sew along for the final week of series 7.  The final week is My Signature style.  This dress took me hours - mostly because I photographed most of the steps along the way (which must be done when children are not around!!), since this dress is version 2 of my 'work in progress' next pattern.
 
When I think about what 'my signature style' is, I would probably say: feminine (because so far, two out of three of my girls have proven their girliness by refusing to wear 'boy pants'!!), youthful with a touch of vintage.  I think this dress encapsulates that.
 
 
Did you notice the scary shadow monster Isabella created?  She actually loves doing shadow creatures, so I will have to show her this one!
  
I really hadn't gotten as far as working out what I would sew for this week had I still been competing, but my entry would have included three dresses for my girls, possibly using this pattern.  I would have used more bold fabric choices if competing, but I loved this pastel stripe and didn't want to go out and buy something when I have plenty of fabrics in my newly organised crates of fabric. 

This version of my next pattern was made up in a vintage looking pastel stripe and has pastel aqua piped detailing.  I bought the fabric from a local quilting shop, but have lost the selvage ( really need to establish a system of recording the fabrics I use!).  Like the first version of my pattern (which you can see here), the dress features a v-shaped bodice, a central dress seam, pockets (these ones are rounded) and a deep hem.  I am happier with the rounded pockets than the rectangular ones.  I also achieved a more distinct 'V' with this version of the dress.
 

This version of the dress would also suit heavier fabrics as a winter pinafore (although something as heavy as denim would not gather well...perhaps velveteen or soft pinwale corduroy).
 

I had fun with the stripes, creating interest by cutting them both ways to complement each other.

 
The back features two violet vintage buttons from my stash.  They remind me of my Grandma's 'tiddliwinks' that I used to count and play with as a child!  The fabric also reminds me of matching tracksuit sets my Mum made me and my two older sisters when we were young!


I will be making the other couple of views of this dress/top in the next couple of weeks to show you.  I am aiming for an all seasons pattern so there are a few sleeve options, and also a collar option.

 
Have you voted for your favourite of the designer looks for this week?  They are all awesome this week I think.  Voting closes in less than 24 hours, so head here if you would like to vote!
 
If you would like to see more of 'my signature style' and purchase my pattern on sale, you can check out my most recent Debbie's birthday dress here!
 

Bathers

Project Run & Play//Week 3: Mad for Plaid

September 24, 2013


So last week I said I was not going to sew along with Week 3 of Project Run & Play...well, I changed my mind!! This was not what I would have sewn up if I were still in the competition.  As I said in this post, I was going to make Isabella a muted plaid fitted duffle coat with a fur trimmed hood.  A bit like this one.  Underneath she would have worn a blue velveteen Debbie tunic with plaid collar and trim and a matching plaid skirt.  But...it's spring her and today was 25 degrees!!  So, I will be making up my original idea next year, and for  now, a plaid swimsuit and hat was a good idea for my little Emily! 


When I first started brainstorming ideas for this week a month or so ago, vintage style plaid bathers with swimming caps for my girls was one of my ideas.  But plaid lycra?  Hard to find!! I did find an awesome range at an online shop in the UK but they were going to charge 30 pounds to send 1 metre of fabric!! I was not that committed to the cause, so I put the plaid bathers idea to rest.  Last week I happened upon this plaid/houndstooth spandex at The Fabric Store, and then I decided I would make up the bathers anyway, since Emily does not have a pair.

 
These bathers were unpicked in varying places about three times, but luckily you can't tell!  I originally wanted a ruffle along the top, but it went all wobbly when I top stitched, so unpick, unpick, unpick, and I went for a plain white band instead.  I added little plaid bows with buttons at the straps for fun.  I used the bathers pattern from Ottobre magazine - Summer 2009.  I shortened the body a little for Emily.


Ow.....how cute is this tummy???


The back is crossed (the two lumps you can see on Emily's back are not budding fairy wings, they are the straps that I hadn't cut down yet - I was in a hurry!)


The hat is from the same Ottobre magazine as the bathers.  The fabric is thrifted (and happens to be from the Aunt Grace collection - circa 1995).
I have used this pattern before, but I am not overly happy with the shape I achieved in the crown.  Ottobre patterns require seam allowances to be added - something you shouldn't do roughly when drawing out a hat pattern...Emily doesn't mind though! 
So I am happy to have some bathers and a hat for little Emily for our warmer months ahead!! 
 
For more plaid goodness, have a look here!

Dresses

Project Run & Play//Inspired by Candy: The Lovely Lollipop Dress

September 16, 2013

 
Unfortunately, although my Cloudehill dress did not receive the least public votes, with the combined judges score, it did not progress in the Project Run & Play competition.  I felt pretty deflated on Saturday after receiving the email as I was quietly confident I had done a good job of remixing but still staying true to the Popover dress pattern...anyway, such is life!  Small fry in the grand scheme of things.  Thank you very much to all of you who did vote for my dress - I really appreciate it!!
 
That said, I was sad to think I couldn't share this dress that I spent so much time on and LOVE!! But yesterday I decided I would publish the dress anyway and will enter it in the sew along...there's no way this baby is sitting in the cupboard and not being seen!! 
 
 
I actually took the photographs of The Lovely Lollipop dress on the same day I photographed the Cloudehill dress, as when I researched old fashioned lolly (candy) shops in my local area, Cloudehill gardens and this sweet old fashioned lolly shop were only minutes apart.  This meant I had this dress sewn about a fortnight ago.  I knew the competition would be less stressful this way if I worked ahead, but I also ran the risk of sewing something that would not be entered in the competition.
 

I am so happy with how my outfit turned out.  For the Inspired by Candy theme, I sewed this dress for Isabella as well as the tutu she wears underneath that peaks out the bottom of her dress.  I also candied up a singlet of hers,  washi taped some white canvas shoes and made some candy hair bobbles to match!!


When I started brainstorming ideas for "Inspired by candy" I immediately thought of these colours, but thought red and white might be too predictable.  I toyed with black and white (humbugs) and also the colours of licorice allsorts...but I really didn't want to use black.  I decided to just head to one of my favourite fabric stores and wait to be inspired.  On the way, I quickly stopped in at a little lolly shop in my local food court/supermarket.  I found this lollipop, and was literally "inspired by candy"!!! 

 
I promptly bought the lollipop for $2.50 and with my three girls in tow, we headed out to buy fabric!! The girls were very good and understood the lollipop was for "the competition" and that they could only admire it from up on the shelf until we would open it when the dress was all finished and we were up at the special lolly shop for photos!!
 
When we reached the fabric store, I pulled out my inspiration and started holding it up against the fabrics...after finding the candy stripe coral, I knew my lovely lollipop dress was the right decision.  The coral stripe and solid coral red looked so much like candy to me I had to buy them!!  I also picked up the sweet little red spot not knowing how I would use it.  After finding the belt buckle, I bought some ivory which I knew I would also use for a collar. 
 
Fabric details:
Coral solid: "Kona Coral cotton"
Ivory solid: "Kona  Natural cotton"
Striped candy pink:  "A day in the country: Palette Pleasures (coral pink)"
Small spotted red and white: "Happy go Lucky"
Lining fabric: "Spots and stripes" for Spotlight.
Tutu: coral coloured bridal tulle with pink crepe underskirt (the crepe was kindly given to me by the mother of a lovely friend).

Outfit details:
Bodice: I drafted the whole dress myself without any patterns.  I did have bodice patterns I could have used, but wanted to make this dress all by myself, so for the bodice I traced a fitted top of Isabella's which I shortened.  I wanted some detail in the front so added the solid coral red piece with piping down the centre.  The cream buttons are vintage from my stash. 
 
 
The back closes with an invisible zipper and the whole bodice is lined with a candy spotted fabric. Which is hand stitched along the invisible zipper. 
 
 
Piping: The piping is covered with a combination of store bought bias binding and some I made myself with the identical fabric (because I underestimated how much bias I would need).
 
Sleeves: The sleeves are simple little caps (lined and piped).
 
 
Collar: I drafted the peter pan collar myself.  It is also piped with the candy piping.
 
Belt: I hadn't initially planned on adding a belt, but I found the plastic belt buckle for about 80c and immediately bought it and am so glad I did!!  The belt is interfaced for some extra form and is also edged in candy piping. The belt loops are intertwined embroidery thread.
 
 
Skirt: I wanted a full and twirly skirt.  I decided to alternate the two main colours of the dress to create a three quarter circle skirt.  I pieced them together and with a bit of taking in here and there, managed to line the skirt up nicely with the bodice.  The hem is hand stitched, so the seam is not visible.
 
 
Tutu:  I also wanted the dress to have a nice full look, but did not want this to be permanent.  A dress with a permanent tulle underskirt would not be very practical, so I made a separate coral coloured tutu from coral tulle with a pink crepe underskirt.  The underskirt and tulle are sewn straight onto the wide elastic and I hand stitched some stretch silver sequined band on the outside of the waistband.  The tulle and crepe were cut into a full circle skirt.



Singlet:  the singlet is one Isabella already owned.  I just stitched a rectangle of the spotted fabric from the dress onto the top in a candy shape ( I cut the rectangle with pinking shears).  Isabella is pictured here at Cloudehill gardens on Juliette's photoshoot...there was no way she was creasing the dress in the car - it hung on a hanger until we got to the lolly shop! 
 
 
Shoes: I did not have a pair of shoes for Issie that really suited the dress and I did not want to go out and buy a pair of shoes just for the outfit.  So I borrowed a little pair of white canvas shoes from a friend and taped them up with some pink and red fabric washi tape!! Fun!  They suited the dress perfectly.
 
 
Hair bobbles:  The lollipop hair bobbles were made with fimo (modelling clay that can be cooked and set).  I rolled out red and cream liens and twisted them together to form lollipops then punched holes with a skewer before cooking them. These were originally going to be the buttons on the dress but I decided it looked a bit too busy and that cream buttons looked better. 
 

  Talk about "inspired by candy"...the photo below says it all (and was not set up!!)
 
I love these photos....Isabella had such a lovely time in the lolly shop and was allowed to pick five things to put in her basket and buy from the nice shopkeeper (or should I say "copsheeper" as Juliette likes to call them)!
 
 
 
I quickly snapped this shot...waiting to be served!! 

Issie had so much fun at the lolly shop (or "candy store" as it would be referred to in the US)...She has asked about four times since if we can go back!  And she LOVES her candy dress!!  She will be wearing it to every birthday party she is invited to until I can't do the zip up anymore!! 

She actually wore her lolly bobbles to kinder this morning and asked if her candy dress had won the competition.  I told her no, and her response was, "Maybe we could go and see the ladies and ask them if we can go back in the competition?"  I told her they lived in America...she conceded that perhaps that was a bit too far and we both agreed she was lucky to have such a special dress!
 
 
Have you sewed along for this week's "Inspired by Candy" theme?  I will add my creation to the sew along and look forward to seeing some  more candy inspired creations there and also to seeing the other contestants entries in the voting poll tomorrow.  I don't plan on sewing along for next week's theme: Mad for Plaid...I had envisaged a muted pastel plaid fitted duffle coat with fur trimmed hood over a little velveteen Debbie tunic with plaid trim and a plaid skirt, teemed with tights and knee high boots.  But this is not something I am going to make now since it is not really the right season here for coats (I would have sewn it up with room for Isabella for next winter).  Instead, I am going to sew for myself next week - joining in with selfish sewing week!  I will probably sew along for the final week, My signature style, and show a bit more of the two patterns I am slowly working on (in all my spare time!!!!).
 
 
 That's all from me and from Isabella with her lollipop lips and a mouthful of jube!  I hope you like my creation:))
 
Thanks again to all those who voted for me in Week 1 and for all the lovely comments on my Cloudehill dress...I really appreciate it!
 


Oliver and S

Project Run & Play Season 7: Week 1//The Oliver + S Popover dress remix

September 10, 2013

 
I am very excited to share my outfit for Week 1 of Season 7 of Project Run & Play!!  The Cloudehill Dress is my creation for the Oliver + S Popover Dress remix challenge! 
 
 
The Popover Dress pattern is a sweet and simple A-line dress with lovely bias straps and accent strip across the front and back bodice.  I loved the straps and did not want to forego them by adding sleeves.  I also loved the accent piece at the top of the bodice and didn't want to give that up....hmmm...so how was I going to remix this pattern?    
 
1/ I pieced many rectangles (of varying widths) cut from different fabrics together to form the accent bodice piece (which I also made slightly 'taller' to capture more of the piecing);  2/ Repeated this piecing across the hemline and up the side seams to create interest (adding this piecing  up the side seams meant I adjusted the dress front and back of the pattern side seams so the dress would not be too wide;  3/ I added more fullness and detail to the front by sewing three pleats into the fabric before cutting out the pattern;   4/  The pleats are top stitched with embroidery floss to match the bias straps;  5/  The hemline is hand stitched so as not to detract from the colourfulness and piecing of the hem feature;  6/ The dress is also fully lined so that the many seams created from 'patch working' the feature pieces together are not brushing against Juliette's skin.


 
 
Here you can see I pleated the fabric before cutting out the dress.
 
 
The rectangles were cut with a rotary cutter, pieced and pressed.  The excess I cut from the bottom of the pieces became the side panels. 
 
 
Here you can see the lining - which is not pleated or pieced at the top of the bodice.
 
 
The popover dress pattern comes with a pattern for dolly too...and since I made this doll for Isabella (and one for Juliette too which is currently undergoing repair) a couple of years ago, and it happened to be exactly the right size to fit into the dolly dress, how could I resist making a mini popover? 
 
 
Juliette thought it was a great idea and would not let her doll go for the entire photoshoot!! 
 
 
I also wanted to make something for Juliette to wear in her new bob hairdo... so I made an origami butterfly hairclip (using this tutorial - I omitted the top stitching and instead hand stitched the opening shut).  I  added a beaded body and antennae and just slipped the butterfly onto an alligator hairclip.  Perfect for our Aussie spring! 
  
 
The Cloudehill Dress is named after the beautiful gardens where we ventured out to photograph Juliette in her dress (thank you to my sister Jules for helping with fending the kids away from me and the camera!!).   When I started imagining how I would remix the Popover dress, I knew I wanted to have some lovely gardens as a backdrop.  I found Cloudehill following a google search of my (semi) local area.  Cloudehill Gardens are located about half an hour's drive from our home.  They are looking lovely now...really beginning to bloom.
 

I purchased all the fabrics I used for The Cloudehill Dress from a local quilting shop (in my hometown of Warrnambool) called Periwinkle's Patchwork.  With my Mum and three sisters in tow (who graciously endured my indecision, mixing and matching until I finally chose the fabrics!!), it was a good excuse for us to have some time together without children!
  • Green spotted fabric - a gorgeous print, but unfortunately it had no name on the selvage;
  • Bright floral -  by Kate Spain for Moda (print # 27141);
  • Coral red and cream 'fly wire' pattern - from A day in the country range (Palette Pleasure);
  • Cream and larger blue spot - Kei honeycomb dot - blue on white.
  • Lemon and tiny blue spot - selvage read: Cream Basic, XLN pty ltd;
  • The gunmetal blue/grey bias binding was also from Periwinkles.  I picked up the lining of the dress (a simple green cotton lawn) from Spotlight.
 

Now...how to vote!!!   If you would like to vote for my Cloudehill Dress, I would be so grateful!!! It really is very quick...just pop over to Project Run & Play and mark the box titled: sewpony - The Cloudehill Dress at the bottom of the post, and then click 'vote'.  You can vote from any web device (or more than one if you have one!!).  While you are there, make sure you check out all the sew along entries so far...they are fab!! (Just click on 'home' to show previous blog posts). 
 
Voting closes at 8pm Thursday 12 September (US - Mountain Standard Time), which is around midday Friday 13 September for East Coast Australians.

**If voting from I-phone, you will need to select to 'view web version' to show the full site and the voting box. 


THANK YOU!!!