A O+S Croquet Flip for KCW

A seriously short blog post about a flip I really enjoyed....when I finally did it!

It's made from a heavy knit (most likely a double knit) and some hideous metallic knit that Julia was given by a shopkeeper in the Los Angeles garment district. I added a zipper, a zipper pull, and cuff details which include buttons given to me by my dad.  I actually hand stitched all the metallic fabric accents as it refused to go under my presser foot!

Not my best photo work - I may edit this tomorrow when I'm not crazy-busy.  Julia just got back from 3 hours of gymnastics (as evidenced by the red face and the chalky shorts).  We're headed off to one of my favorite things - the Long Beach Municipal Band Concert in the Park.

Yay, summer!

A Classic Chickadee

Here's my post from the "Flip This Pattern" over at Frances Suzanne - the voting is open now!!!

 We live in Southern California, and the weather turned COLD a few weeks ago - I think it dipped down to 50....ok, so that's not cold by most people's standard, but for the thin-blooded Californians, it was freezing....it made me realize that my daughter actually didn't have a jacket!  So there was my inspiration for my flip.

I've always loved the classic look of the little girls woolen coat with a velvet collar.  So, since the beautiful Chickadee pattern has an amazing collar feature, I figured I would make it into a jacket.

I made this with red wool from Moda from my shop.  I have never attempted sewing with wool, and after this experience, I have no idea why!  It sewed up beautifully.  I fully lined the jacket with satin - my first experience with sewing satin as well.  Suffice to say, I will NOT be starting a business making bridesmaids gowns after this - although the result was really nice, it was not that easy to sew.

I added wrist bands to make it more jacket-like, added pleats on both sides of the lower front to make it even more swing-y.  I hand-sewed a snap to close the neckline, and made a trip to the garment district in Los Angeles to get a frog closure.  I knew that would be the look I wanted to complete the "classic" look I was going for.

For the skirt, I had a perfect plaid in my stash.  I knew that my kid likes skirts that "twirl", so I decided that I would make a wrap/pleated skirt.  I lopped off the pattern pieces, and added a pleated lower skirt. 

To complete the look, I made a white t-shirt with the Made By Rae Flashback Skinny Tee pattern, and as a nod to the Clever Charlotte pattern designers, came up with the perfect creation:

I appliqued the Clever Charlotte logo onto the shirt - I was very pleased the way it came out!

Thanks SO much to the Clever Charlotte pattern designers for making such a great pattern - if you haven't sewn with them before, you should definitely try them out - the patterns are so cool, and the instructions are GREAT!  And, thank you, thank you, thank you, to Ashley and Emily from Frances Suzanne for asking me to participate!

Stuff I've Been Working On...

Even though we're only 11 days into the New Year, I've already got 3 projects to share.

The first project was for Go To Sew.  They have a series of folks testing out the patterns that they sell - and they sell a huge variety - and showing what they've done.  Since my daughter generally hates to wear jackets, I chose the Aztec Hooded Vest by See Kate Sew.  Part of my New Year's resolutions are to challenge myself more in the sewing arena, and one of those challenges is to master the zipper.

For the project, I chose a deep purple corduroy from my stash, and lined it with some Yuwa fabric that I absolutely love - Can-Can by Anyan.  Here's a close up of the lining, as I didn't really get good pictures:

Here's a few of shots of the completed vest:

It's a nice pattern, but I definitely had some difficulty.  The pattern pieces didn't go together at all, but because I was on a deadline, I jimmied it together.  I did contact the designer - she's super nice btw - and she's going to check it out and see if the issue was the pattern or operator-error.  Either way, I'll use the pattern again, and hopefully do a better job on the zipper next time.  The pattern called for a longer zipper than the front of the jacket, and then you cut the zipper to size, and fold it over at the neck edge.  Next time, I'll order a zipper that's the actual length of the front, and won't do any cutting or folding over; I think that will make me happy.  On a very positive note, I found a great source for zippers - Zipperstop on Etsy.  I highly recommend them, and will definitely be going back.  Amazing prices and selection.

Next on my sewing list is my "flip" of the Clever Charlotte Chickadee pattern over at Frances Suzanne.  You can read about it over there, but here's some pictures in case you didn't see them already:

Voting will start after the next couple of flips are revealed - I'm not going to hold my breath, but I'd especially like to win some more patterns from Clever Charlotte - I was SO impressed with this one -  my first attempt of their patterns.  I will 100% for sure be buying some more from them!

The last thing on my agenda was a birthday gift for a one-year old.  Even though I've known for a month that the party was today, I've been crazy-busy and didn't have time to work on a gift.  But, I knew exactly what I wanted to make - I just NEEDED to make an Oliver + S Jump Rope dress.  I felt the need to make a pattern that is tried and true; that I can sew pretty much in my sleep, that gives the most amazing, professional result.

I used some fabric I've used previously - Kokka Paris Walk.  Since the mom of the baby loves polka dots, I used some red and white polka dots for the contrast.  I cut this out Thursday night, did the placket Friday night, and finished the rest Saturday morning.  The party was at 12:00, and we ended up being about 45 minutes late - I sewed on the buttons and clipped threads in the car!

I don't know what my next project is going to be, but I did buy 1/4" foot for my machine with the idea that I might actually make a quilt - another New Year's resolution!  We'll see!!

Flip This Pattern!!

My Flip is up!

Go to Frances Suzanne to see all the details and why the heck I made my kid this outfit!

Should I Cheer, Or Should I Play?

First, as bit of a prelude, watch the above video...

This flipped creation was designed by my three-and-a-half year old.  I told her I was going to be in a contest to "flip" a pattern - specifically, the Roller Skate Dress and Tunic by Oliver + S.  Since I already had two Roller Skate dresses in her closet (one well worn, and the other barely worn) I showed her the dresses, and asked her opinion as to what I could make it into.

She requested a cheerleader outfit.

Which brings us to the debate.  Julia says she wants to be a cheerleader.  Whenever she says that, to anyone in our house, we groan.  No offense meant to any past or future cheerleaders, but why would you want to cheer for someone doing a sport - wouldn't you rather do the sport yourself?  Yes, I have this philosophical debate quite often with my three-and-a-half year old....

So, I made her both - an outfit to CHEER, and an outfit to PLAY!

 

Here's the pieces:

For the "Flip" part, I embellished the top with some heavy duty applique work.  For anyone who doesn't happen to be a basketball fan, this is the logo of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team. I removed the cap sleeve, added my daughter's favorite sleeve - the flutter sleeve.

 I changed the elastic casing to elasticize only the sides, and added ties.  For the shorts, I used the Oliver + S Sleepover Pajama bottom pattern piece.  I eliminated the waistband, and it turned out to hit my daughter exactly where she likes to wear her shorts; not too high on the waist.  For the skirt, I used the Oliver + S 2+2 pattern, and embellished the bottom with grosgrain ribbon.  The fabric for the top is Robert Kaufman Kona cotton - the skirt and shorts are a cotton twill.

Basketball button on the back, tattoo on the arm.....ready to Play....or Cheer!!

Thanks so much to Emily and Ashley of the famed duo of Frances Suzanne for inviting me to play along!  I seriously appreciate it - and, I had a ton of fun!!