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

Project Run and Play Week 2 // Little Lumberjack

Don't forget to head over to Project Run and Play and vote for your favorite plaid outfit!

I am so excited to be back for week two of Project Run and Play! This week the theme is "Buffalo Guys or Gals." This little guy has been asking me to make him something for awhile, so I thought I'd make a boy outfit this week! I love this picture of him - it really captures his personality.

I love plaid! It is a very popular fashion choice this time of year in Minnesota. I knew I wanted to use red and black plaid because it is so classic!

My little brother's outfit started with the jacket. I was looking through my stash and found this beautiful piece of red and black plaid wool! It was gifted to me a few years ago by a sewing friend and I never found the right use for it until now. It was only about a yard, so I had to be very careful cutting it out!

I started with the Reversible Zippy Hoodie from Kitschy Coo. Instead of making it reversible, I fully lined it in fleece, made a half zipper and added a kangaroo pocket. The pocket is also lined in fleece so it feels soft on my brother's hands.

As you can see, there are "X's" through each plaid square. Since my sewing journey started with quilting, I thought it would be fun to quilt the jacket. To do this, I first cut out all my pattern pieces from the wool and the fleece. I then stacked each wool piece with the matching fleece piece, pinned in a few places and quilted "X's" using my walking foot. After all the pieces were quilted, I was able to sew the jacket together.

I am really happy with this jacket and how well the plaid matched up! I used to be afraid of sewing with plaid, but now it's one of my favorite prints!

In this picture, you can see the inside of the jacket and the quilting detail. I also finished the seams by binding them with bias tape. The layers were quite bulky to sew through, but I didn't break a needle!

After sewing the jacket, I thought my brother needed something to complete the outfit! First, I made him some pants. I drafted a pattern using an existing pair of my brother's jeans. I wanted to make a casual pair of pants and found the perfect piece of black corduroy in my stash!

I wanted to have the pants match the jacket, but still work as a stand alone piece too. I decided to add a rectangular piece of the wool plaid to the knees. The patches are backed with fleece and quilted, so it will feel soft during wear. My brothers are tough on their pants, so the knee patches will also help keep these durable.

My favorite part of the pants are the back pockets! I traced the pockets on his jeans to come up with an accurate shape. Then I handstitched a "D" on each pocket with red thread for the first letter of his name. He loves it, and it adds a nice personal touch!

I made little belt loops using scrap strips of the corduroy. There are front pockets, which I drew onto the pattern piece and cut out. Next time I would make them a little deeper, but they work! I also did a faux fly and topstitched with red thread to make it stand out. I used this tutorial as a reference for drawing the faux fly onto my pattern piece. The red button is decorative, but I liked how it complements the red in the plaid!

The waistband has elastic in the back and is flat in the front making for a comfortable pair of pants for a 9 year old boy!

As you can see, it is the perfect outfit for a little boy on the move!

Last, but not least, I wanted to make a shirt to complete the outfit. I found some scrap pieces of knit plaid in my stash (from Girl Charlee) and I had just enough to do some color blocking. I used the School Bus T-Shirt from Oliver + S because it fits my brother well. I chopped the front piece right under the armscye to add the color blocking. I also cut the neckband on the bias to add some interest.

My little brothers love to juggle! We had so much fun taking these pictures at our local apple orchard!

Thank you so much for reading and don't forget to head over to Project Run and Play and VOTE for your favorite look!

~Elizabeth

Project Run and Play Week One // All Buttoned Up

Week one is finally here and I am beyond excited to be participating as a designer for Project Run and Play!

The theme this week was All Buttoned Up! We were told to use buttons to highlight the look! Now, I love buttons but lately the buttonhole maker and I have not been getting along well. It usually involves seam ripping and sometimes tears. However, I decided not to let that stop me with this week's design!

I started brainstorming by drawing up some designs. I thought it would be fun to make some sort of button belt look. My sister is five years old, and I decided a belt wouldn't be the best option for her and she is always on the move. I finally decided on a dress with a waistband. I arranged the buttons in a zigzag shape because I wanted it to look like the letter "V" for my sister's name, Veronica. She loves it!

Since the front dress is so detailed, I went with four simple buttons to close up the back. Also, the buttonhole maker was nice to me and there were no tears shed while making this dress! There is also a button on the yoke and a button on each sleeve cuff. In total, the dress has 54 buttons!

I used the Ila Dress from Coffee and Thread Patterns to start. I ended up using the bodice, but I cut most of the length off in order to add a waistband. I made the waistband myself by cutting rectangle shapes the length and width I needed. The skirt is a half circle skirt drafted using my sister's waist measurement. I referenced the circle skirt tutorial from Dana Made It, but only cut a half circle instead of a full circle.

I used two different types of corduroy fabric from my stash for the dress. The bodice and skirt are a fine wale lavender corduroy. The waistband, yoke, and sleeve cuffs are a heavier, textured corduroy. I love how they look together. The white is the perfect backdrop for the various buttons.

The bodice is completely lined in rayon challis and I added pockets to the skirt, because what girl doesn't love pockets? My sister approves of the pockets and informed me that "they are soft."

I made my own bias binding and used it to hem the circle skirt.

It passes the test for my sister. She can be especially picky, but has already asked to wear this dress multiple times!

It makes the perfect dress for twirling! 

It's also perfect to wear while reading your favorite book! 

Thank you so much for reading and don't forget to head over to Project Run and Play and VOTE for your favorite look!

~Elizabeth

Exciting Announcement!

The day is finally here and no longer a secret! I will be competing in Season 14 of Project Run and Play! I will be competing with five other amazing and talented ladies. You can see all of the other designers on the PR&P blog here.

I've been following along with PR&P for the past five or six years when I was starting college (and this blog)! Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be asked to participate in PR&P as a designer!

The Season 14 themes and more details of the competition will be shared soon! Meanwhile, I will be sewing up a storm in my sewing room. If you are not familiar with Project Run and Play, it involves voting! There are four weeks with a different theme each week. If I don't have enough votes, I could be out of the competition as someone gets "sent home" each week. I will be asking for your votes (as long as I'm still in the competition)!

I can't wait to share what I have been working on with you! I had a long list of fall sewing projects planned for myself, but now it looks like I will be sewing for my siblings!

~Elizabeth

The Fringe Blouse

Recently, I made a deal with myself to not buy any new patterns or fabric. Then the Fringe Blouse and Dress pattern from Chalk and Notch came along and I forgot all about that little deal. I was seeing the Fringe dress everywhere and knew I had to have it, pattern fasting deal or not! I didn't wait long to buy it because it is exactly my style with a button front and elbow sleeves with button tabs.

The Fringe comes with two views - the button front view or a notched front neckline view. Either view can be made as a blouse or a dress. Both views have a gathered skirt with a curved hem and two different sleeve options. The dress version even has optional pockets! It's a pull on style, but there are front and back bodice darts to help with shaping and you can add optional waist ties.

The Fringe is best suited for fabrics that drape well including rayon challis, cotton voile, and cotton lawn. I really wanted to make the dress version, but did not have enough fabric in my stash, so for now I settled with the blouse version in a drapey rayon challis.

My measurements put me in a size 6 bust and a size 10 waist. After looking at the finished measurements and asking for help in the Chalk and Notch Facebook group, I decided to go with the size 8. I needed the ease so it would fit over my shoulders, but I didn't want it to be too tight or too loose. I did make a quick muslin (not my favorite thing to do, but necessary!) and I found the size 8 to be perfect!

The Fringe was my first Chalk and Notch pattern and I was really impressed. The pattern instructions are very professional and easy to follow. I love the layers function for printing out PDF patterns. I will say that if the pattern says to pin well to keep the facing in place while topstitching then you should do as the pattern says. I try to avoid pinning whenever possible, but in this case I had to unpick some stitching around the curve of the neckline. If I had pinned in the first place (and followed the instructions!) I could have saved myself from spending time with the seam ripper.

I also wanted to be lazy and not sew the buttonholes, since others have said it's possible to get the dress on and off without buttonholes. I was a good sewist however, and made the buttonholes. My machine was nice to me this time and made three perfect buttonholes on the front bodice! We usually get into arguments when it comes to buttonholes.

I decided to sew my entire Fringe Blouse with French seams. I love doing French seams because it makes the inside look so nice and professional. It takes a little more time, but it's so worth it in the end.

I really love how my Fringe Blouse turned out and I can't wait to make a dress version! I'm thinking a solid dress would be really nice. It is getting to be the end of summer, but it's still summer weather here! I think the dress would also work well with layers once the weather does start to get cooler.

What have you been sewing recently? What fabric should I make my Fringe dress version with?

~Elizabeth