Girl on Fire

The theme this week at Project Run & Play is Let's Go to the Movies, one of the themes used back in the season I competed on. Last time I chose one of Drew's favorite movies, Willy Wonka. This time I chose to make a look based off of my favorite movie of 2013, Catching Fire. I walked out of the theater wishing that I could go back in and watch it again. It was great.




There was also really great fashion in the movie. It would be fun to make a look based off of trends in the Capitol, especially the colorful Effie. But I chose to make a look based off of Katniss. Besides the beautiful gowns she wore and the skin tight arena uniform, Katniss wore clothes that were mostly functional and neutral. As she travels through the victory tour, her clothes become more fashionable, but still remains true to her aesthetic. In the picture below on the right you can see where I drew my inspiration for my tunic with the leather sleeves and hip pieces.







Last week I mentioned that I am not spending any money on fabric, notions, etc, at this time. I have so much money invested in fabric that just sits in my closets and drawers. Since we are planning a big move in the summer I have to decide what to do with my hoard and the last thing I want to do is add to it! So to make this look with what I had on hand I went through my tub of clothes meant to be refashioned. Meaning, I don't wear it (maybe have never worn it) but someday I could possibly turn it into something else.



I shared some of my thoughts on refashioning back in this post, but basically despite some design challenges it presents, refashioning or upcycling is very rewarding for me. First up I turned this Old Navy clearance dress I've had for probably four years (and wore zero times) into a little tunic. The upper waist gathering in the dress fell perfectly at her hips, then I gathered in the neckline, cut off the sleeves, brought in the side seams a bunch, and cut it short. To make the sleeves and hip pieces I used some brown vinyl I had in my stash then just stitched lines across the pieces to give them a quilted look.







Next up are her black look-like-leather leggings. I bought these for me for $5 online thinking that I could wear them because they are called Super Stretch Treggings and the fabric is only treated to look like leather. If you follow me on instagram (you can if you like, I am @chelisepatterson), then you might know that I am pregnant. Largely pregnant, in fact. Only about six weeks left to go! After my third pregnancy you'd think I'd learn that I can't fit into my old size pants/shorts for at least 6-9 months after having baby. So of course I tried pulling up these "stretchy" pants and they didn't make it past my butt. Ah well, they were only $5. And after about 20 minutes they looked so dang cute on Drew!



I used my regular leggings pattern but cut more width around the leg because the fabric was not as super stretchy as it claimed to be (my butt will attest to that). I cut the pieces from the bottom of the pant leg to keep the hem, quickly sewed up the seams, cut off the stretchy waistband, downsized it, then attached it back on to the new pants. They fit her like a glove. I'm sure this won't be the last time I'll be jealous of how cute everything looks on her!







Some more views of my Girl on Fire...















Next week the actual challenge is refashioning. I sort of combined the two challenges in one this week, but I do have something else in mind for next week with another dress I found in my old clothes tub. And this time it will be for the new soon-to-arrive girl in our family!



I would have loved to have another boy to steal my heart the way my son has, but having another girl to sew for is a real dream come true for me!

Winter's Night dress

I'm sewing along with another season of Project Run & Play that starts today and the first challenge is a Winter Wonderland theme. I remember the very first time I experienced a real winter with snow when my husband started medical school in Iowa City many years ago. Growing up in Phoenix it's not like I had never seen snow in my life, but I had never experienced looking out the front window of my home at a peaceful, fluffy, evening snowfall. It seemed magical to me. The days after of brown slush and ice... not so magical. But I get it. I get "Winter Wonderland".


Now that we have been living back in the Valley of the Sun, winter is full of beautiful sun and fresh outdoors air. It's the time of year we are able to actually be outside and not melt. We do own jackets and long sleeves and I think a pair of thin mittens at the bottom of our dress up box, but most of the time those are unnecessary. My look for this theme needed to be something that Drew could wear here in our kind of winter, but I wanted to evoke the feeling of a peaceful "real" winter's night.


And maybe most importantly with this challenge (and with each challenge I actually finish in this season of PR&P) I am refusing to spend even a penny on any of my looks. Not so much as a button, zipper, or spool of thread. We are preparing for a cross-country move this summer (to Iowa City again of all places) and I either need to toss out my hoards of fabric or put them to use. So with my goal to evoke a winter's night feel and only using what I had on hand, I came up with this raglan chiffon number.






I was so tempted to run to Joann's to buy a spool of gray thread for all the topstitching on the dress since my spool of gray was just about gone, but NO. Not a penny. I had to use a turquoise thread that definitely doesn't match the royal blue chiffon, but guess what... you can't even tell. And we all know one spool of gray thread turns into a bag of freshly cut fabric, several cards of buttons, a couple bottles of craft paint, and who-knows-what from a place like Joanns. I have a problem.


This dress is very loved and has been worn much in its short existence. Next winter we will actually be in a Winter Wonderland, but for now I am enjoying every sunny minute Phoenix has to give.

Merry Christmas!

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

The Norah Dress Pattern Tour

I am so excited to get to participate in Hayley's of Mouse House Creation's pattern tour for her Norah Dress and Tunic pattern!

When I first started sewing children's clothing about six years ago, I went to Hobby Lobby and picked out a bunch of commercial patterns. I knew nothing about sewing clothing and with each of those patterns I got about as far as cutting out the pattern (that, at least, I could do!) and soon thereafter would get stuck, frustrated, and either sew up something sloppy or give up. The directions and terminology did not make sense no matter how many times I read it.

But even the few ugly things I made got me hooked on sewing and I was determined to learn how to make my own patterns. With the help of books (specifically this one) and practice, I created my own patterns and basically made up my own directions and way of putting things together that made sense to me. And since then I have rarely bought a pattern and just opt to draw things out on my own.

But.

The children's sewing community has come so far in the past six years. Sewing blogs, free tutorials, and some really awesome independent pattern designers have revolutionized sewing for children. Is it too dramatic to say that? I feel it's true.

For example, if I could have had Hayley's Norah Dress pattern six years ago with its step-by-step directions including pictures and easy to understand wording, I know I would have been successful even as a newbie. Not to mention her design is adorable and allows for so much creativity and options. It was such a pleasure to sew up her pattern that I plan on buying her newest pattern, an adorable women's cardigan. No one can have too many cardigans.




Back to my Norah Dress. There are so many options with this dress... collar, no collar, no sleeves, short sleeves, long sleeves, dress length, tunic length. And bonus there is a cute little slit in the back which means you don't have to sew in a zipper or anything! I knew I had to make a dress using the perfectly sized peter pan collar but wanted to embellish the collar in some way. Which lead to me sewing a total of 68 buttonholes in this dress! And only one button. I should have called this "The 68 Buttonhole Dress" because I can almost guarantee that it won't be happening again.



Using some fuzzy soft red velveteen, some fusible interfacing, and an iron I made long velveteen ribbon tapes that I weaved in and out of those 68 buttonholes around the collar, sleeves, and across the back. I've never sewn with velveteen before and was a bit nervous how it would wash, iron, etc., but the care for it was super easy. It washed and dried up nicely and I even ironed right on top of it because I just don't have time for press cloths. It looks good as new. I used more red velveteen to color block the pieces on the bottom.

The only thing I did differently with the pattern was cut the sleeves mid-length, right about in the middle of the short sleeve and long sleeve length. It's just not very practical to have many long sleeves in Phoenix, even in the winter, because come afternoon you will still probably be turning the A/C on in your car. But I thought the mid-length sleeves would still give it a fall/winter look.



Here is a close up of those buttonholes. Luckily my machine makes automatic buttonholes with a fancy foot that does all the work for me. I just place it, push down on the pedal, and watch the magic happen. A perfect hole every time.



I loved this pattern and the fit was perfect! Thanks for including me Hayley!



Stay tuned with the pattern tour and see what all these other talented ladies did with the pattern...

A Lalaloopsy Halloween

Happy Halloween from Jewel Sparkle and Peter Pan!

I am inclined to put a theme to my kid's costumes and have them go together. Like when they were Snow White and Dopey or last year they were Princess Peach and Mario. This year when Drew wanted to be a Lalaloopsy doll, I just couldn't give Nash a lame costume just so that he coordinated. So no theme this year, which is cute in it's own way to have two random characters.



There was no wavering in her mind about which Lalaloopsy doll she wanted to be. It had to be Jewel Sparkle because she is the prettiest and wears a crown. The dress was so much fun to make. I would never sew anything so frilly, ruffly, and pink for normal wear, but maybe I should because she was thrilled with all those things.

I made the wig too. I am not a wig maker. Nor do I ever want to be again. I tried several things to get it to work but what I ended up doing is attaching all the yarn pieces to an old wig after I cut all the hair off of it. It stays on her head pretty well but she doesn't like wearing it because it is too heavy. (It's not that heavy.) She complained about not wanting to wear it for our church's Trunk or Treat party last Saturday to which I told her, "If you don't wear the wig then you don't get to wear the dress." I'm mean that way. But number one, I put too many hours into that darn wig. And two, the wig is what makes the costume in my opinion. So she wore it and was the talk and envy of all the little girls at the party!



And my little Peter Pan. It's his favorite movie and Peter Pan is pretty much his hero so this costume was a no brainer. I sort of used this tutorial for his hat and shoes (both made out of felt) and the tee and leggings are just quick sews out of green knit.

They will be thrilled to dress up again tonight! Happy Halloween!

10th Annual Patterson Pumpkin Carving Contest

That's right. This is the tenth year we have held our annual Patterson Pumpkin Carving Contest (PPCC). We look forward to it every year and each year we stay up into the wee hours of the morning, carving our hopes and dreams into the fleshy orange gourds. It always turns out to be one of the best nights of the year!

To see a review of the pumpkins we've created in the past, go here.

To see last year's pumpkins, go here. 

 



This year we have two fine contestants for your vote.

 

 

Introducing...

 

Hailing from the rolling patches of West Virginia, Peter Peter is proud to participate in this historic 10th annual contest. Although Mr. Eater does enjoy his occasional squash and gourd (who doesn't?), he is using his new found stardom to set straight all the bad publicity that he has received since the early 1800's wildly popular nursery rhyme. He wants to ensure the public and his fans that he has not had any trouble keeping his wife and that she has never been put inside a pumpkin shell. She lives comfortably in a 4 bedroom on Maple Ave in West Virginia. His attorneys claim that it was Miss Goose who started that ridiculous rumor after unsuccessfully trying to seduce Mr. Eater with her voluptuous and silky feathers. When asked to comment, Mr. Eater was recorded as saying, "They were a bit saggy and disappointing. She is just an angry vindictive hen." As for why he goes by Peter twice, nobody really knows but it is rumored that Peter was the name of his first two pumpkin victims.

And his worthy opponent...

Cavity Sam, aka "that operation guy",  is simply lucky, or unlucky, to be alive. Ronald Mitchel, his birth name, was sold by his parents at the tender age of 8 to Dr. Milton Bradley for $2.50 during the great depression. Dr. Bradley soon discovered that Ronald had a gift of being able to remove his organs and replace them without dying. On Christmas eve during one of his experiments, Baxter the dog ate Ronald's nose and devoured it while it was lying on the operation table requiring Dr. Bradley to replace it with a red christmas bulb. Ronald learned of Dr. Bradley's plan to create a children's game using him. Demoralized and depressed at the thought of having thousands of children laughing as they removed his body parts, Ronald attempted suicide by electric shock. Unfortunately this only added to his lure by causing him to light up and buzz any time his skin was touched with the forceps. Ronald just hopes that winning this contest can bring him some peace.

 

Please take this short survey and VOTE for your favorite!

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Skirted Pea Coat Sweater

This look I sewed for Project Run & Play's Signature Style challenge. I talked a lot about my signature style in this post and how I like to make mini fashion. I think the only thing that has changed since then is that I now put an even greater emphasis on comfort. My six-year-old is so quirky about her clothing and how it must feel. I have made too many things that go unworn because something or the other doesn't feel exactly right.

In my book, style is still number one, but comfort is the very close runner up. Practically tied. Sometimes style even takes a back seat if it is going to threaten the comfort.



So this Skirted Pea Coat Sweater mixes style and comfort perfectly! I wanted the look of the structured pea coat, but something soft and could be comfortably worn during a Phoenix winter (which is absolutely beautiful, by the way). It is made using the softest organic cotton sweatshirt fleece, got it here. It is heavy enough that it still holds structure, but it sure is stretchy, soft, and breathable like your favorite old sweatshirt is.



One way I gave this sweatshirt fleece a structured look is through all the lines and the double stitching. Because of all the different pieces to this coat I had to switch from my double needle to single needle over and over again to get just the look I wanted. Painful but oh so worth it.



The metal zippers in the pockets and on the sleeves also add more structure and interest. Not to mention they are gold and amazing. This was my first time sewing zippered pockets and it was so easy! This tutorial was great. To make the zipped up sleeves I basically did the exact same thing as the tutorial shows for the pockets, but just modified it a bit. Don't ask me how. It was one of my last steps to finish on this beast of a coat and I was basically just trying. to. finish.



Look at all that double stitching, oh yeah.



Looks cute worn buttoned up or open.



I also made the feather pants which didn't end up quite as I envisioned, but I still really like. I got the fabric from here but didn't read the specs very closely. There is only a 30% stretch to this knit (feels like even less to me), which means the knit is definitely not suitable for the leggings I wanted to make with it. But for someone like me who believes in miracles, I felt the un-stretchiness of the fabric, cut out my usual leggings pattern, sewed them up, and prayed that by some power she would come home from school and they would slide on her like a glove. Of course her foot only made it about halfway through the leg hole until it got stuck in place.



But my unanswered prayer meant that I got to make these trouser-like pants with cuffs at the bottom. Drew said they looked like pajama pants, but hey, she was going to wear the feathers one way or another and it sure wasn't going to be in leggings! The pants are not my pattern, they are these from Figgy's patterns. I don't usually buy patterns because I'm cheap, but oh man was it nice to have all the work done for me.



And my Nash doesn't make it on the blog much because I don't usually (or ever) sew for him, but he is very, very loved around here and is the light of my life.







How did I get so darn lucky?