A Four Corners Butterfly....

You know how sometimes a particular fabric screams at you, demands to be made into a certain pattern RIGHT NOW?  Or is that only me?

Have you seen the new fabric line Four Corners by Simple Simon?  It's their first fabric line for Riley Blake, and we sell it in our shop.  Well, I was cutting some of this fabric for an order....a seriously bold print (right up my alley), black and white (also right up my alley) with gold metallic accents (right up Julia's alley)....so Julia saw me cutting this and asked me what I could make her from this fabric.

Lying on my table waiting to be used was the Butterfly Blouse and Skirt pattern from Oliver + S.  Yes, that would work!

So, while I still should be sewing school uniforms as my child really only has two complete outfits, I decided to join in with the Oliver + S Monochrome Challenge...even though the gold probably really doesn't count....

The skirt is a size 5.  I wanted a short cropped top and was looking at the Oliver + S Lunchbox pattern....but I knew I'd never make culottes.  So, I remembered the old standy - the Sailboat Top.  I made it in black ponte de Roma double knit from my shop.  I shortened it into a crop top and used snaps for the shoulder closures.   I used a size 6 to get the boxy look I was going for.

To get more use out of this adorable top, I decided to use some old gymnastics leotard fabric leftover from my leotard sewing days.....I used the Playtime leggings pattern from Oliver + S also.  I only have this pattern up to a size 4 and realistically should invest in the size 5.  This is a pattern I've gotten a TON of use out of if only for the leggings.  So these leggings are a size 4 with about 4 inches added to the length.

These have a kind of Peg Bundy vibe especially with the zebra print clogs.....I've stopped using elastic at the waist of this legging pattern and lower the waist by about 2 inches at the front and add ribbing.  Works perfectly.

Thanks for reading!!

February Free-For-All - Popover Sundress Inspiration

Welcome to visitors from the Frances Suzanne blog - what a great idea they had to showcase free patterns!!

Where do you get inspiration for your sewing?

I *used* to rely heavily on the now near-dead Flickr website.  When I started sewing for my youngest, I got tons of inspiration there - I "favorited" items to document where I'd like to go with my sewing.  When I started a new creation, I'd go there to see what other people had done with similar patterns.  I joined groups, made friends.

Then, Flickr pretty much died.

Now, I get lots of inspiration searching Instagram.  But, unless people hashtag correctly or in a predictable manner, it's tough to really keep track of what you like.   I've never been much of a Pinterest person.  So, when I signed on to showcase a free pattern, I - of course - chose an Oliver + S pattern, then went back to my old friend, the Flickr group.  A group of folks who do seem to still hang with Flickr are the O+S people - which is a good thing.

I chose the Oliver + S Popover Sundress.  Even though this is a free pattern, it includes all the high quality finishes you expect from an Oliver + S pattern, including a bonus doll pattern.  Little things like a beautifully finished yoke, and a reminder to iron down your stitches to set them really set Oliver + S patterns apart.  In my opinion!

I had made this previously for a charity event making dresses to send to Haiti, but never for my child.  When I'm searching Flickr for inspiration, I search first the pattern name within the group, then refine by "interesting".  Who knows exactly how Flickr determines interesting, but it definitely gives you good results.

When I searched the Flickr pool for the Popover Sundress, I found some interesting trends.  It seems like some of the most popular sundresses were:

1.   made from large scale prints
2.   made from plain fabric, with lace inserted in the yoke
3.   made from a border print or applique

So, in the spirit of trying to be interesting, I made 3.

Here's my large scale print...

For this version, I used some very interesting Kokka double gauze from my shop.  I shortened it into a tunic.  Since this was a woven, I decided to try a size 5.  Probably a bad decision.  I used foldover elastic for the straps - a good decision.  However, this particular FOE was a bit too narrow.  Still, in spite of the pitiful look on my child (stomachache) she does really like this top.  A lot.

Here's a phone picture later in the day to prove it!

I was struggling for inspiration for a border/applique version.  Then, sadly, I got inspiration from my old dog Luther.  Luther went to doggie heaven this past weekend.  A very, very tough weekend in our house.  I decided to do a black lab version of the Popover Sundress - more for my benefit than anyone else's.  (If you'd like to see photos of Luther in his heyday, you can check my photo website here:  http://www.harrisdigitalpix.com/galleries/animals/7/ - Luther is the black lab mix.)

For this version, I used some more fabric from my shop (yes, more shameless promotion!!) - a ponte de roma double knit.  Seriously great fabric, seriously great to work with.  Since the Kokka top turned out big, I sized down to a size 4 with 6 length.  This one worked perfectly.  Until......the kid put it on and FREAKED OUT about the ties at the shoulders.  No, those are NOT going to work for her.  After the photos, I cut off the ends of the ties.  She seems to be ok with it.

Last, but certainly not least, I made a basic black dress from more ponte de roma double knit with some very nice organic lace from Organic Cotton Plus at the bodice.  Really, this dress can go anywhere. For this version, I used a wider foldover elastic - much better.

Julia wore this black dress out to dinner tonight - at the restaurant, she told me that she wants more dresses like this - oh yeah, success!

Thanks to Ashley and Emily for asking me to participate - such great inspiration from a bunch of very talented bloggers!