Uptown Downtown Dress

I've been in the sewing mood lately, and I decided I needed wanted a new dress! I've had this navy blue and white polka dot French Terry from my favorite fabric company for a long time intending to make a dress and I'm glad I finally made it happen!

I usually never skip pockets in dresses, and this dress was going to have pockets. However, when it was finished, the pockets weren't laying flat so I removed them. I think a thinner, more flowy fabric would be better suited for pockets. 

This is the Uptown Downtown Dress by Stay + Stitch Patterns. The company recently updated the women's pattern, which I only realized after I had cut and sewn my dress. The sizes and variations were updated. The version I have comes with knee length or maxi length options. I wanted a dress past my knees so I added length where the pattern indicated at the waist. However, next time I would probably add length at the hem. 

The only change I had to make to the pattern was having to cut the back in two pieces instead of on the fold. I didn't have quite enough fabric to cut the back on the fold, but it still worked out!

This is my first time making a dress for myself in French Terry fabric. It is so comfortable and cozy to wear! Perfect for these not quite yet spring weather days. It may look like spring in these photos, but the wind was so cold!

I'm also wearing my own HANDMADE shoes! I used a kit from A Happy Stitch to make my own Espadrilles. I made them almost a year ago and they are the perfect shoes for spring and summer. They are comfortable too and it is so fun to say that I made my shoes!  

The pattern has instructions for a knit binding around the neckline, but I prefer a neckband. It was an easy change to make! I just measure the neckline and multiplied by 0.8 to get my neckband length and it worked out great. 

Knit dresses are one of my favorite things to wear because you can look so put together with minimal effort! It's like secret pajamas! 

 ~Elizabeth

Project Run and Play Week 3 // An Ode to Reese's

Visit Project Run and Play to VOTE for your favorite candy inspired outfit!

I am so excited to be back for week three of Project Run and Play!! The theme this week is "Candy Coated Challenge" and we were supposed to sew something inspired by a favorite Halloween Candy. This was by far the hardest week for me because I couldn't make up my mind on a candy! I changed my mind several times before I started sewing, but I finally decided I would have to sew something inspired by my most favorite candy ever - Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!

The best part of this challenge was visiting "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store." It has the most candy I have ever seen and it is a super fun place for a photoshoot! Thankfully, I do not live too close to it or I would be visiting all the time! 

My inspiration for this Reese's PB Cup outfit started with this orange stretch denim from Michael Levine. I have never made a denim jacket, but once I had the idea, my wheels started spinning! I started with the Friday dress from Petit a Petit Patterns. I used the bodice pieces in one size bigger than my sister usually wears. Then I lengthened the bodice pieces several inches so it would be long enough for a jacket. I added two welt pockets using this tutorial as a reference. The Friday dress comes with long sleeves but no cuffs. I shortened the sleeves a few inches and added the length back in using cuffs. Then I added a sleeve placket using this method. I also added a band instead of hemming.

I topstitched my seams using grey topstitching thread. It was leftover from another project and I love how the thicker thread stands out on the orange denim!

I used a contrasting orange and white gingham to line the pockets and the back yoke. You can see it peaking out here.

The yellow snaps might be my favorite part of the jacket! I got them from Snap Source and they add just the right amount of contrast! They were so fun to put in too! I love using a hammer in my sewing projects.

I am really proud of how this jacket turned out! It gave me the confidence that I can take any pattern and change it into what I want! You would never guess that this jacket started from a dress pattern.

The shirt was also really fun to make! I started with the Oliver + S School Bus T-Shirt. It is becoming one of my favorite patterns, because it works for most of my siblings! I wanted to make something that would represent the peanut butter and chocolate of the Reese's PB cup. I used this tan knit fabric from my stash to make the shirt and added strips of ruffles to represent the ruffling around the PB cup! I kind of made it up as I went along and really like the end result! 

I also added a ruffle to each sleeve.

I left the back plain and I love how the sleeve ruffles peak out from this view. 

The skirt is made using chocolate brown knit from Purple Seamstress. This represents the chocolate part of the PB cup. I used two rectangles based on my sister's waist and length measurements to make the skirt. Then I gathered the top edge and sewed on a double folded yoga waistband. The result is a cute and comfortable skirt that she will be able to wear with many different outfits! 

Love this silly girl!

The outside of the candy store is a bright yellow, which made the perfect backdrop for our Reese's Peanut Butter Cup inspired outfit! I love how the the ruffles look peaking out from the open jacket!

I know you want to see pictures inside the candy store too! It is a HUGE place full of unique (and common) types of candy! If you can think of it they probably have it somewhere!

This is just the beginning, when you walk into the store!

Of course, she needed a picture with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup!

We even found a 2 lb chocolate peanut butter cup! Yes, TWO POUNDS! No, I did not buy it - that would be way too dangerous!

We had a fun time taking pictures in the red telephone booth!

Thank you so much for reading about my candy inspired outfit! I hope you enjoyed seeing a peak inside my favorite candy store too! Don't forget to head over to the Project Run and Play blog and vote for your favorite outfit!

~Elizabeth

Upcycled Skirts

Hello! Today I have an upcycled project to share with you! Back in May 2014, I found these two dresses at a garage sale for $10 total. I thought it was a great price and I had an idea of turning them into skirts for myself. It was funny because the person I bought these dresses from told me "I know these dresses are just your style!"

Not quite, but I knew I could make them my style. Fast forward to August 2015 when I was trying to organize my fabric stash and I came across these dresses that I've had for over a year. I decided it was finally time to do something with them!

Pineapple Lady Skater

Hello! I have a new Lady Skater dress to show you made in pineapple knit fabric! I have been eyeing this pineapple fabric from Girl Charlee for a long time. My mom surprised me with it after I finished all my finals a few weeks ago and I decided to make a new dress for myself.

Parisian Top

The Just Add Jeans collection from Pattern Anthology may just be my favorite collection of women's top patterns. This is the Parisian Top and the second one I've sewn from the collection. I liked it so much that I had to make two! The Parisian was designed by Andrea, of Go To Patterns, featuring a peter pan collar and 3/4 length sleeves. For my first top, I decided to use a cotton interlock fabric from my grandma and contrasting black hembands.

Coco // What Does the Fox Say?

 

Recently, I have found some fun new blogs to follow. One I have been reading is Tilly and the Buttons and I happened to find it just as Tilly was releasing her new pattern, Coco. It can be made as a dress or a top and there is also a variation for a sixties style funnel neck (my favorite!) and rolled cuffs. I made the three quarter length sleeves but there's also an option for long sleeves.

The Rose T-Shirt

I've been following Project Sewn and there sure are some amazing designers this season! I decided to sew along for this week's theme, Make It Pink.

I thought the Rose T-Shirt from Blank Slate Patterns would be perfect. There are so many options when it comes to sewing this T-shirt. You can choose from four different sleeve lengths and two different shirt lengths.

 

Melissa designed this T-shirt to be made with woven and knit fabric. She says it's great for showing off pricy designer fabric on the neckline because it only takes 1/4 yard of woven fabric. However, I did not have any plain knit fabric on hand and I really liked this pink and black polka dot fabric. It is very soft and nice to wear.

I decided to go an opposite route of other versions I've seen and use a printed knit for the main part of the shirt, along with a subtle printed fabric for the neckline. If you look closely, you will see there are music notes on the black neckline fabric.

 

My favorite part of this shirt is the simple gathers in the front and the sleeves. The sleeves were made extra long so you could hem them to your desired length - I love this because long sleeve shirts are always too short! These sleeves are perfect.

 

This is definitely a new favorite shirt of mine and I will be making more! The best part? It cost $0 because the woven fabric was from my stash and the knit was from my mom's stash.

 

Have you been doing any sewing? Are you following Project Sewn?

 

~Elizabeth

The Infinity Sweater

 

This is the Infinity Sweater, from One Girl Circus and it is a great pattern! I made it a few weeks ago before school started, and it has been getting so much wear! It's been perfect to wear on these subzero temperature days we've been having recently. I get cold easily and it adds just the right amount of warmth!

 

There are so many options when it comes to styling this sweater. One of my favorite ways to wear it is knotting it in the front. So easy, but cute!

 

The wrap around is another one of my favorite ways to wear it, and I'm actually wearing this style right now. You just wrap the front panels all the way around and either tie it in back or tuck it in. It's nice and cozy!

 

You can drape the front pieces across your shoulders.

 

 

It looks like this from the back. I haven't really styled the sweater this way yet.

 

Dress it up a little by adding a belt around the waist. I really like this style too!

 

Just have fun with it!!

 

For this project, I used a navy blue knit from the thrift store. Between my mom and I, we got so much use out of it! The infinity sweater calls for 2 yards of knit fabric and after I made it, there was plenty of fabric left. It's a thin knit, which works well for this project. It does roll a bit, which is mostly noticeable on the sleeves since there is no hem, but I don't mind. The pattern doesn't call for hemming or finishing the edges, but if you really wanted to, you could.

 

The pattern includes 3 pieces - sleeve, front panel, and back. It sews together very quickly and cutting took the longest. I think it only took me about 15 minutes after everything was cut. That's my kind of project!

 

How would you style this sweater?

 

~Elizabeth