Sew Along Signature Looks Top 5

Many thanks to the Project Run & Play Sew Along judges for including my Cute as a Button look in the top 5 for the Sew Along Signature Looks (ack !! I can't believe it & I'm absolutely thrilled ! )





Check out all the top 5 & vote for your favorite. My competitor's entries are AMAZING !!!  Voting goes until Sunday night & the winning look will be announced Monday morning.

Have a great weekend !

Sew Along Finale Look

 {Project Run & Play Season 3 Sew Along}

The Project Run & Play sew along participants were invited to create a signature look reflecting their style. I've named my ensemble Cute as a Button.

A few quick things about my style:
1) repurposing, refashioning, upcycling, basically giving clothing and/or textiles a second life
2) embellishments
3) sometimes vintage, sometimes sweet, sometimes French... I like to challenge myself & try new things
4) I'm inspired by my children, what they like, their favorite colors... sewing them dress up clothes, etc.

How I achieved this in my sew along finale look:
1) I repurposed a white dress (girls size 10) into a white shirt (girls size 4)
2) cute buttons on all 4 separates that tie the whole look together
3) I made adjustments to a vintage pattern McCall 6568 Child's Coat from 1946
4) my daughter's favorite color is pink

To create this Cute as a Button look I sewed with muted pink suede ~ it's super soft & a slate grey linen blend.

We live in Minnesota where wearing a jacket (or outerwear in general) is a given 3 out of the 4 seasons of the year, so I wanted to sew a coat. At a local vintage shop I found McCall 6568 Child's Coat from 1946 size 4 (original price was only $.35! I paid $2.00)

Adjustments made to pattern:

:: In 1946 it appears that little girls worn coats that were quite short ~ hitting about mid-thigh. I wanted a more modern look, having the coat fall to the knee. I did this by lengthening the coat 2 inches, not by just adding 2 inches at the hem, but by lengthening 6 different pattern pieces by 2 inches (& making the necessary adjustments) in between the waist & hem.

:: I added on seam side pockets.

:: I added several little pleats on the sleeves at the shoulders (giving a more feminine look).

:: I did not add the shoulder pads.

The cap pattern I used was Little Cap by Leila & Ben 

Adjustments made to pattern:

:: I cut off some of the bottom of the cap & in it's place added a band with a ribbon-like trim (made out of homemade bias tape) topped with one cute little button to one side of the brim (giving it a feminine look).

The rest of the items:
::slate grey drop waist skirt with messy pleats, 2 buttons on the side of the top band, elastic in the back of the skirt
:: repurposed white dress (girls size 10) to a white shirt (girls size 4) with grey fabric covered buttons & a pink flower pin (it's removable)
:: pink suede bow hair clip
:: white tights dyed grey
:: shoes spray painted grey
:: I assembled my own fabric covered buttons

A couple little notes to add...
:: I could have started Monday (Feb 6th), but I didn't start until Saturday (Feb 11th).
:: All along the way I changed my mind a gazillion times.
:: And in case anyone was wondering that's a 1952 Singer 301 black sewing machine.
:: I hope to have the details on how I put all of this together soon.

Be sure to check out all the signature looks at the Project Run & Play flickr group.

Cutie Crown

{2011 Craft Books}

:: Stash Happy: Felt: 30 Fun Projects for Felt (and Fabric) Lovers by Amanda Carestio
:: a great book for using up your scraps of felt and/or just felt from your stash
:: I like sewing with wool felt, do you, too?
:: I sewed my daughter the cutie crown in salmon, white, & olive green wool felt
:: the crown ties up in the back with some ribbons which is quite different & adds a nice feminine touch, don't you think?
:: my daughter helped pick out the buttons & the vintage lace trim is from my stash
:: wool felt is from here
:: flower templates can be found here
:: I did a round up of dress-up crowns, that's found here

Happy Tuesday everyone !

Paper Doilies for Gift Wrapping

{2011 Craft Books}

:: Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday Crafts: 225 Inspired Projects for Year-Round Celebrations by the Editors of Martha Stewart Living
:: super thick book full of tons of ideas with beautiful photos
:: I was mostly inspired by the Valentine's day section from this craft book (and some Easter projects too)
:: I wrapped some chocolate bars using some paper doilies, pink ribbons & rickrack, and decorative papers ~ they will make such pretty Valentine's day gifts :)

Happy (early) St Valentine's day !!!

Easy Breezy Blouse

{2011 Craft Books}

:: Sewing in a Straight Line by Brett Bara
:: 26 projects all made by sewing straight lines ~ isn't that a great concept for a book !?!
:: hey, this is a surprise ~ some sewing for moi !   I fell in love with this fabric at the store & just had to buy some expecially because it was on clearance, then the challenge was to find the perfect project for it, which was accomplished once I came across the easy breezy blouse (it only cost just a little over $3 to make this blouse!)
:: this was my first time working with chiffon (that's an example of one of the reasons why I do a craft book month because I enjoy new challenges, trying new techniques, etc.)
:: as you may have guessed the blouse has lots of French seams & time consuming hems
:: many thanks to my 4 year old daughter who took the photos (using a tripod) of me modeling the blouse :)

Thanks for checking in and have a lovely day !

Felt Adventure Mat

{2011 Craft Books}

:: Weekend Handmade: More Than 40 Projects and Ideas for Inspired Crafting by Kelly Wilkinson
:: The felt adventure mat was just too cute of a project, I just had to sew one... one side is green with grass/stems & the other side is sky blue with tree branches
:: my daughter plays with it in my studio while I'm busy... she loves adding flowers (can you tell??)... there's no such thing as too many flowers, right !?!

Hoping you have a crafty Wednesday !

Change Your Mind Skirt

{2011 Craft Books}

:: 1, 2, 3 Sew: Build Your Skills with 33 Simple Sewing Projects by Ellen Luckett Baker
:: Free patterns from the book: Insulated Lunch Sack, Eyelet Headband
:: I sewed the Change Your Mind Skirt... my daughter averages about 3 outfits per day, so I love the fact that this skirt is reversible !!!
:: Fabrics used:
red & pink apples: Farmer's Market "Summer" color palette by Sandi Henderson
pink & green flowers: Nearby Floral in Candy by Michael Miller
:: Total cost to make it: $6.81
:: Any projects you sew from this book, be sure to add them to the 123 Sew flickr group

Happy Tuesday blogging friends, see you tomorrow !