Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Time to Vote! Signature Style Week

It's week 4 and that means signature style week!!! Congrats to our final three but now it's time to vote for who comes in what place...scroll down to the bottom of the post to vote and don't forget to visit their blogs and let them know how well they've done!

PA Country Crafts--The Last Easter Dress


My mother-in-law sewed coordinating Easter dresses for her girls and I thought that was a neat tradition. When my first daughter was a year old I decided to try it, too. I NEVER thought that I would have FIVE daughters to sew dresses for each Easter! It has certainly given me a lot of practice and my sewing skills have come a long way! My daughters often give their input or draw pictures to design their own dresses and I do my best to make them happy. I don’t sew a lot of clothes for them, but they can count on one new dress each spring. So, clearly, Easter dresses are my "signature style.”


Instead of frantically sewing all five dresses in one week as I usually do, I decided to sew a dress for just my oldest daughter. She just turned 13 and I think that this will be the last dress that I make for her. I wanted to make it really special. I let her choose the fabric and she also requested a high-low hem. She LOVES ombre and aqua/teal and everything fabulous, so this dress suits her personality really well! The dress is made from ombre chiffon with a soft rayon lining. I used a lot of french seams and hand stitching because chiffon is a pain to work with! It has a crossover halter bodice which has a pleated chiffon overlay, so I pleated the skirt portion as well. I made a matching hair clip with some scraps that has a great ombre effect, too. Finally, I took scraps from each Easter dress I have made her and made a charm bracelet! I surprised her with it during the photo shoot so it is a really special keepsake. You can see more details and pictures of the first dress that I made on my blog.
  


Duchess & Hare--Into the Blue

fcover

I can't believe I'm here for the final week of Project Run and Play! Thank you, everyone for your support! Signature week has always been my favorite week and I am happy to share with you my signature look. My signature color is definitely blue and I love adding an unexpected pop of color to an otherwise monochromatic scheme. I love to embroider as well so I incorporated embroidery with my pop color on the bodice of my dress.

  week4collage1

The bodice of my self drafted dress features hand embroidered dark rain clouds and rainbow colored rain drops and flowers. I chose a hand dyed indigo cotton as the base of my dress. I love the minor imperfections in the cloth. I feel like it gives the dress more character. I love to use fabric with imperfections and often it doesn't photograph well, but the pieces have so much character in person.

  week4collage

 My daughter loves the petticoat I drafted and sewed up to wear under this fairly sheer dress. I used batiste and didn't starch it so it stays subtle. The dress has a deep V back and side zip which reminds me so much of the 50s fashion that I love.   Head over to my blog to see more photos of my entry.



 I Married Superman - Peaches & Cream

Shucks guys. Never in a million years would I have believed that I'd be in the final round. I'm so flattered/nervous that I'm simultaneously wanting to hug you all and hide in a box. :) But alas, no time. So let's talk signature style! Truly my signature style is usually to sew wherever the wind takes me, although I tend to like to keep things simple and classic. I find inspiration all over the place, but primarily in the personalities of my kids. And tucked right in the middle of said kids, are my two precious middle girls, Madelyn and Sophia. We like to call them our middies, our little peaches and cream. I can't imagine that being squeezed in the middle of 6 little duckies could be easy, but these girls hold their own in the personality department. So this look is my little tribute to my Peaches and Cream. I love to sew for them. They appreciate all things girly. In the end, I combined my simple style with their fancy feminine tastes and came up with some classic, pretty dresses perfectly suited to my middle girls.

 


 

If you know me at all, you know that I avoid enclosures like the plague. If I can figure out a way not to use zippers, buttons, and what not, I will. That's why neither of these dresses have them. Instead, I sewed Madelyn's dress with a criss-cross back detail that attaches to the gathered bodice. The opening let's her head in easily. I made the dress a maxi dress (per Madelyn's request) and because I didn't want to detract from that pretty peachy/blush flower detail at the bottom, I kept the short sleeves simple and hemmed them and the neckline with homemade bias-tape. Sophia's dress has a wide enough opening at the neckline and flared ties in the back, thus rendering buttons and zippers useless. Hip hip hooray for that. I made big ruffly sleeves and attached it to a gathered scalloped skirt. It's so soft and feminine--perfect for my little sweet cream Sophia. Come over to my blog to see all the pictures, fabric, and pattern modification deets! Thanks for having me friends!

Related Posts

12 comments :

  1. I haven't been able to vote this season because they've all been so good I couldn't choose! Amazing work ladies!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love love peaches and Cream! I'd order the pink one right now! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I LOVE the idea of avoiding zippers and buttons - and still looking classic and feminine. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can think of a few darling grand daughters of mine that would want to wear Peaches & Cream every day, all day!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Grrat job ladies!
    I absolutely L❤VE "The Last Easter Dress"!!! So many details, the pleating is spot on...the chiffon is so beautiful! Kudos to her for working with such a difficult fabric! The fit looks perfect as well.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Grrat job ladies!
    I absolutely L❤VE "The Last Easter Dress"!!! So many details, the pleating is spot on...the chiffon is so beautiful! Kudos to her for working with such a difficult fabric! The fit looks perfect as well.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Grrat job ladies!
    I absolutely L❤VE "The Last Easter Dress"!!! So many details, the pleating is spot on...the chiffon is so beautiful! Kudos to her for working with such a difficult fabric! The fit looks perfect as well.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love the last Easter dress. What a memory for her to have and possibly pass on to her own children. Traditions are a wonderful thing. Such a beautiful dress, bracelet and story.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It was so hard to vote any of you ladies out. All three of you did a fantastic job creating your signature looks and even the seemingly "simple" sews took a lot of effort. I loved watching you all this season. Good luck to each of you!!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.