Project Run & Play Season 16: Signature Style Sew-Along Part 2

Tangerine For Chloe

This child!  This child has my heart!  This is nearly eight year old Chloe, the daughter of a dear friend and former teaching colleague, Kaye.  I have 'known' Chloe since she was just the proverbial "twinkle in her mama's eyes".  She is sweet, smart, kind, spicy, artistic, creative, loyal, and loving.  She has an imagination unrivaled by her peers.  She IS a mermaid.

I made Chloe another "Luna" dress because the style is just so her! Bohemian/artistic/imaginative!  The first one was made just a little over a year ago but the bodice is too tight to get on now.  The pattern has a simple skirt without a placket so once a child grows a bit in the chest/shoulders area, it becomes too small even though the bodice itself is roomy.  Read on to see how I conquered this problem!

This was Chloe's first "Luna" .  (Blogged HERE.)

Chloe loved going out to lunch and then having our photo shoot.  

The next day she told her mother that she just had so much fun

 and that she felt like a princess!  

Pattern:  Violette Fields Threads "Luna", size 7, (a tad large right now)

Fabric:  Cori Dantini Hello World floral,
"Depths" by Alison Glass for Andover Fabrics, 

and a house green all from Hawthorne Threads.

Trims and Buttons:  my stash

The arrow in the bottom left photo is pointing to line drawing of a mermaid.
  Perfect for Chloe!

If you are familiar with the "Luna" pattern, you will notice that I have changed the back bodice up a bit in the above photo to solve the tightness issue.   I added a two and a half inch bias bound continuous placket to the back skirt and a second set of ties.  The bodice is actually quite roomy once it gets past the shoulders.  This version of the dress will fit Chloe much longer than her first one.

Mirrors are wonderful for showing both sides of a dress at once!

These photos show the placket and ties.

These poses are all her own!  She was cracking us up!

Well, this is the last hurrah for Season 16 of Project Run & Play.

 It was a lot of fun to sew along with the challenges.  

The best part, though, was seeing the outfits on the 

little girls for whom I made them

 and watching them enjoy the clothes.  

Please check out the Signature Styles for the primary contestants HERE 

and the sew-along contestants HERE.

Project Run & Play Season 16 Signature Style Sew-Along Part 1

Sweet Summer Sisters 

Oh my stars!  These girls!

These sweet little sisters are Harper (age 5) and Rory (age 3) and I have the delightful pleasure of not only working with their mommy, an amazing kindergarten teacher, but I have the pleasure of seeing the girls often.  They always seem very pleased with the little gifts I make them and enjoy wearing them.  When Rory was given another skirt recently she said, "For meeeee?", and hugged it!  

I think these two have me wrapped around their fingers almost as tight as Chloe does!

I originally thought that these would be posted for the "Sew Your Stash" sew-along challenge on Project Run & Play.  I had them sewn and we photographed them at the children's museum on the same day as the three entries I got blogged in time for that contest.  I just couldn't get this set blogged quickly enough.  There are enough details in the outfits to qualify for what I consider My Signature Style so I decided to save them for this week.  

Harper's outfit consists of two pieces using Oliver + S patterns.  The top is a free pattern for a ruffled halter top and the skirt is a favorite pattern, the  "Swingset Skirt".  I have lost track of how many times I have made it and in how many ways.  Maybe I'll make a post someday on just that skirt pattern!

Patterns:  "Swingset Skirt" by Oliver + S, size 4

Ruffled Halter Top by Oliver + S (free:  found HERE), size 5/6

Blouse Fabrics:  Leftover eyelets from previous projects and Venice lace

Skirt Fabrics:  Floral mystery fabric that has "mellowed" in the stash for years and leftover white satin batiste for the lining.

The only changes made to the skirt were to add a button on the front waistband to denote the front for a five year old and to use just one 3/4 inch wide elastic in the waist casing.  Changes to the blouse:   I cut the fabrics on the bias but just couldn't leave them raw.  I narrow rolled hems using a hem rolling foot on my machine and added lace to each ruffle and under the drawstring casing at the neck.  

The bandaids are badges of courage.  Harper had her five year old
shots for kindergarten that morning.

 Rory's sun dress is made with the same floral print with added ribbon, buttons, and Swiss edging and insertion from my stash.  This is a free pattern from The Cottage Mama.  I particularly like that the bodice front and back is lined to the underarm section making the the underarms finished without a bias binding.

 Pattern:  "Summer Picnic Dress" by the Cottage Mama 

(Free:  found HERE), size 3

The biggest change I made to this dress was to increase the width of the skirts by three inches and to increase the width of the ruffles.  Adding the trims to the little bodice and the bottom of the skirt was the "icing on the cake"!

They are really as sweet 'in real life' as they are in these photographs!

 Harper is so intelligent and has such a tender heart!  She is such a good big sister!

Rory is fun and funny as well as so loving!

Sisters & Best Friends

I enjoyed making these outfits for these cuties and the photo shoot was my "icing on the cake"!

Please check the fabulous contestant entries HERE 

and the Sew-Along entries HERE at Project Run & Play.

  So inspiring!  

Project Run & Play Sew-Along Challenge: Streak, Stroke, Stripe Part 3

Chloe's Raindrops & Stripes

I had so much fun photographing sweet and sassy Chloe!

Left:  Chloe at her fourth birthday party in a vintage pillowcase sun dress over her bathing suit that I made for the event.  Right:  Chloe at almost eight years old.   

 
Chloe is my dear friend Kaye's youngest daughter and I have been sewing little gifts for her since before she was born. The first things I made were a few little hand embroidered and ruffled diaper sets for Kaye's baby shower.   I also had the pleasure of having her in my kindergarten class a few years ago.  She is sweet and spicy and so much fun!

Sewing for Chloe's style (and Mama's taste) has pushed me into this decade more than anything else!  They have helped my sewing style evolve from very traditional and heirloom into more 'trendy' and 'boutique'.  Sewing for Chloe these days requires more input from Chloe on patterns and fabrics.  For this dress, she was given the choice of four fabrics in three options of placement.

 The dress is a combination of two patterns:

Bodice Pattern:  Tadah!  Tea Party Dress with the racer back.

Skirt Pattern:  Violette Fields Threads "June"

Fabrics:  All selections from Hawthorne Threads "Parapluie" line.

Blue Shell Buttons & Striped Piping:  my stash.

I had to be on my toes when sewing this dress!  The bodice pattern is in centimeters and the skirt pattern used inches.  I made a change to the bodice lining by sewing the lining down by hand. I added piping to the pocket and pocket side panels in the skirt.

The biggest change I made to the skirt pattern was to cut it in one piece (rather than two) and create a bias bound continuous placket.  I usually prefer this to having a seam up the back, especially when using a border print. 

The bias bound placket provides a nearly invisible opening in the top of the back skirt.

 Right after Chloe changed into the dress where we held the photo shoot, I spied the mirror and asked her to stand in front of it so that I could get both sides of the dress at once.  That was all I needed to say!  She went into full model mode and I got so many adorable photos!  Unfortunately, the ones where she was cracking herself up were to blurry too use!

Chloe's verdict on the dress:  She loved the pockets and the front of the dress.  She wasn't as fond of the racer back as was her mother.  Both she and her mother would like me to deconstruct the dress when it gets too small/tight (which will be shortly as she grew since I took her measurements at the beginning of May!).  They would like me to turn the bottom of the dress into a skirt with a flat waistband in the front and elastic in the back.  I can and will do this.

Love the buttons!  They were the perfect color.

I loved the racer back and little shoulder caps.

Chloe made this so much fun!

I hope you liked this little bespoke dress! 

 Check all the wonderful "striped and streaked" creations at Project Run & Play HERE and HERE!

Project Run & Play Sew-Along: Streak, Stroke, Stripe, Part 2

Flowers & Stripes for Chloe

This was a sweet little summer wardrobe addition for my dear friend Kaye's little girl, Chloe, two summers ago!  I found it in my "Chloe" file when I was uploading photos from our photo shoot today and realized two things:  I had never blogged about it before and it has stripes in both pieces!  Perfect for this week's challenge for Project Run & Play!

Blouse pattern:  Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress & Top

Shorts Pattern:  an old Simplicity pattern (I can't remember!), adapted.

Fabrics:  Left over eyelet and plisse' from JoAnn Crafts 

(both in stash forever!)

Cluny lace

Notice the flower stripes in the eyelet fabric! They echo the vertical stripes in the plisse'.

I made the little ties just by drawing an elongated oval with petal points and cutting two per tie, sewing around the perimeter,  trimming, turning, and slip stitching the opening.  Next, I made a buttonhole for each tie on the sides of the shorts.  Finally, I knotted the ties in a square knot through the buttonhole and around the hem of the shorts.

I am linking this to the Project Run & Play Stripes Sew-Along challenge HERE.  I hope you will check out the other striped goodies on 

Project Run & Play HERE, too!  

Now to edit all the photos taken of Chloe today and get it blogged and linked in time for tomorrow's deadline.  

It sure is a good thing that I am on the long summer break from school!

Project Run & Play Sew-Along: Streak, Stroke, Stripe Part 1

Rory's 1930's Playset

 Among my vast collection of children's patterns are some treasured original vintage ones from the '30's, 40's, and 50's.  (Let's not talk about the patterns from the 1960's-80's.  They can't be vintage because that would make ME vintage, too!)  I don't have very many of these because they are hard to find and very expensive when one does find them.

But I have discovered a marvelous source of legally copied and reproduced vintage patterns on Etsy.com.  

Frank at A PATTERN PEDDLER has an entire shop filled with gorgeous reproduced vintage patterns with envelopes just like the originals.  The copies are printed on sturdy paper and are very clear.   In addition,  all the big pieces are cut and taped together for the vintage sewing enthusiast.  I have purchased about 15 of these patterns so far and this is the first one I have made up.  (BTW:  I am not affiliated with this shop in any way, except as a very satisfied customer!)

I was anxious to make this pattern up because of those cute shoulder/arm ties!

Rory reminded me so much of Shirley Temple in this outfit and those sweet curls!

Original copyright:  1934.  From A Pattern Peddler on Etsy.com.

Pattern:  Vintage McCall 7813, size 2.

Although the pattern has sweet little shorts included, I opted to make a pair from one of my go-to shorts patterns in Australian Smocking & Embroidery # 78 in a size 2.  (Rory is a slender three year old and these fit perfectly.)

Fabric:  Poly-cotton plisse from JoAnn Crafts purchased ages ago.

I did make one change to the pattern.  I added a placket and a ribbon tie to the back to facilitate dressing for a busy three year old.

Those curls!

Love this sweet pose!

  I have another dress I am working on to enter for this striped   

Sew-Along challenge for an almost 8 year old young lady.  It just needs buttonholes and buttons. 

 I hope to fit in a photo shoot and get that one blogged before Saturday's deadline!  

Be sure to check out the Project Run & Play Stripes challenge and Sew-Along challenge HERE and HERE.

Project Run & Play Sew-Along: Sew Your Stash Part 3

Sugar & Spice For Tatum!

What a smile this sweet little one has!

One of the things that I love to do is rescue old linens.  The beautiful hand embroidery, crochet work, hemstitching, and lace work speak to me.  I can do some of this work myself and I know the hours of careful work that is takes to do these things by hand.  It amazes me when I discover these old linens (in estate sales, antique stores, yard sales, and resale shops) that they are not appreciated by the descendants of those that made them with such hope and love.  It amazes me even more (and saddens me, too) when I come across pieces that are in perfect condition.  It means that they were not used by the needle artist or the recipient if they were gifts.  I believe in using things.  I use my Lenox china every day.  I use my linens, both new and antique, whether stained or not.  When I come across these old treasures they are washed and put in my linen closet for our use or in my ever expanding stash to be re-purposed into something else.  Vintage pillowcases make sweet dresses and tops for little girls.  You can see some of my previous vintage pillowcase creations HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

 This little pillowcase was one of a pair found in an antique store.  Although they had been used they were in perfect condition.  This time I decided to make a tunic top that could be worn with a skirt, shorts, or with jeans.  I decided to match the blues first and found some fabric that my dear heart sister Jana gave me a while ago.  It is super soft and has a lovely drape for a little swing skirt.  The shorts fabric is relatively new.  (In the stash only a little over a year or so.)  It is a floral and has both the blue and pink from the embroidered flowers of the pillowcase.

I love that this little skirt is lined!

 Patterns used:  Oliver + S Swingset Skirt, Simplicity #8347, and Kari Mecca's More Sewing With Whimsey for the shorts. All patterns have been in my stash for a long time.  I've used the shorts and skirt patterns many times but it was the first time using the Simplicity #8347.  As usual,  it ran a bit large but I really love the ruffles!

Skirt size 5.  Blouse size 4 with adaptation to accommodate the vintage pillowcase.

The shoulders are completely covered, so Tatum can wear this outfit to school!

 This little set will be great for P.E. in the hot Florida sun when we go back to school in August (with tennis shoes, of course)!

Check out all the other entries for both Stash contests at Project Run & Play HERE and HERE.