Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Season 19 Week 2: Surf and Sand

This week we get to travel to the place where the water meets the shore.  A child's playground!  If you are experiencing Snowmageddon or in the polar vortex, make yourself a cup of something hot, sit back and enjoy the sunshine the designers are gifting you this week!


Bubby and Me Creations- Bayside Bathing Boxes




Australia has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world so this week's challenge of Surf and Sand is a perfect fit.  Melbourne is located in a Port Phillip Bay so no surf beaches here but we do have some pretty amazing bathing boxes on our beaches located close to the city and further down the Peninsula.




For this week's challenge, I've gone with a cool, seaside look.  This fedora hat has become a firm favourite with my boy, so I chose a collared shirt and board shorts for his look to compliment the hat.  The shirt is made from a cotton poplin and is the Archie Shirt from Ainslie Fox Boutique.  I've added a pocket to the front and faux cuffs on the sleeves.  For his shorts, I've used peach skin (board short fabric) and added piping in the same fabric as the shirt.  The seams are all top stitched in a contrasting green thread that compliments the green in the shirt.  The pattern is the Riptide Boardshorts and what I love most about this pattern, is the curve that runs from the front right round the back and finishes at the opposite front.




For my girl look, I've made a ruffled bikini with varying shades of blue for the ruffles.  The bikini is the Swimmers pattern from Boo! Designs and I've used the skirted briefs hack, but added a ruffle instead.  To finish the look, there is a board skirt, a little beach skirt made from peach skin (board short fabric.)  It features a flat front, elastic in the back and a pocket on the right side, which is perfect for holding shells that must be collected every visit to the beach. All seams have been top stitched just like the board shorts. To read and see more of my looks for this week, you can visit my blog.





Tadah Patterns - Grommie Style

These little grommies are frothin over their new threads!  And I am absolutely loving an excuse to throw around some surf slang!  If you don’t know – a grommie is a name for a kid who surfs, and ‘frothin’ means that you are really excited or absolutely love something.

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I have to say, when we were first asked to join Project Run & Play (and received the themes) this is the one that jumped out at me.  Our little family lives on the Northern Beaches of Sydney where the surf culture is strong and engrained in almost every aspect of our lives.  When thinking about ‘Surf & Sand’ two activities pop to mind straight away – surfing (of course!) and swim club (a weekly swimming event at our local rock pool.)  I decided straight away that I would design two swimming costumes, one for each activity.  I went in search of the *perfect* fabric and came across these incredible watercolour designs by The Little Ivie Cloth Co on Spoonflower.  As soon as I saw them I knew they would be perfect – the blue of the ocean and the pink of the sky at sunset.
Finding the right fabric was the easy part.  Next I needed to design!

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When I asked my oldest (Isla) for her input she only had one request – no zippers, clasps, ties or fasteners on the front that would dig in to her chest when she lays on her board.  I wanted to design a surfsuit with long sleeves and a high neck for practical reasons, and anyone who knows me or my patterns will know that I am a sucker for a feature back!  So I set about designing my first ever pattern for spandex and I am not shy in saying that it was so incredibly fun!  I added a subtle ‘v’ to the front of the suit for interest and to show off both of these stunning fabrics.  I love a clean finish so the inside of the surfsuit features enclosed seams on the side seams, shoulders and crotch.  The neckline is finished with bias and a little metal clasp at the back.
Asali is a competitive little thing so she wanted some swimmers to help her fly through the pool!  She really likes wearing two piece swimmers (the less fabric the better in her mind!) but I wanted to make sure the design was age appropriate and not just a tiny version of an adult bikini.  It is really important that the swimmers are practical because this kid does not stop moving – if she isn’t racing, she would be running along the beach with friends, climbing the rocks or doing “tricks” on her board.  I had to be sure the top of her two piece would stay in place no matter what crazy moves she was doing!  In the end we decided to go for a longline crop design with a thick elastic band at the bottom to keep it in place.  The inside has all enclosed seams and the neck is finished with bias and a gorgeous rose gold clasp.

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Everyone know that a sunrise surf has to be followed by smoothies at the local café!  I made each of the girls an item that they could throw on over their swimmers to take them from beach to café in style.  Isla has a pair of flat front shorts with pockets, cuffed hems and sea shell buttons on the waistband.  And Asali wears a playful little high waisted Tulip Skirt which also has a flat waistband and a little sea shell closure.

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If you would like to see more photos of these designs please jump over to the Tadah blog.


Puzzle Patterns - Beach Babies

Puzzle Patterns

The beach to me is about all the different textures.  The coarse but soft feel of the sand beneath your bare feet, the salt from the sea sticking to your face and hair, the smoothness of the shells lying around and the wildness of the wind in your hair.  I tried to bring that to life in my look this week by combining the uber-textured cheesecloth fabric as the base for the garments and pair it with the beauty of lace and trim with a soft printed quilting cotton lining the sun hats.

puzze patterns

The outfits I designed with Melbourne beach weather in mind.  When the heat waves roll around we are always on our way to a body of water to cool off and beat those 40+ celsius (100+ Fahrenheit) days.  So we slip on the bare minimal and head out before the heat induced mania takes over and all is lost!  My eldest daughter looks for outfits these days that allow her the freedom to climb the monkey bars, do cartwheels (and whatever other activities a 7 year old who can't stay still loves to do!) without baring her knickers.  Plus pockets - ALWAYS pockets!  These ones were filled to the brim with shells before the photo shoot was even over.  So short dungarees in a soft and super lightweight cheesecloth were the perfect combo!  Plus a matching sun hat because as every good Aussie kid knows - no hat, no play!

puzzle Patterns

For my tiniest girl a bubble romper was the way to go for a wild child who is always moving and shaking.  Plus she is three and her bloomer days are almost behind her so I like to sew up a pair every chance I get!  This outfit is perfect for a toddler/preschooler because they can easily slip it on and off making outings to the coast that much simpler.
I had such a fun time creating these looks - plus it was a great excuse for us to head to the Mornington Peninsula, take some fun photos in front of colourful beach boxes and introduce our newest baby to his first dip in the ocean at two weeks old!
I'll be sharing more beach photos on my Instagram and Blog all week.

puzzle patterns


Ellie's Handmade - Hello Summer


Surf, Sand... and lets just add in Sun too - all the things that make summer in Australia so great!  This was such a fun week to create for, our family are beach lovers so the kids absolutely jumped at the chance to take the boards down and have an evening of fun while I took some pics (trust me, getting them to stand still and smile was difficult when all they wanted to was jump in and swim!)  Once the photos were all said and done the kids dived right in, and we kicked back with a bottle of vino and chicken rolls with our friends... the perfect summer night!  This week I designed two versions of a ruffled swimsuit, a bikini and a one piece for Ellie and her friend Soph, and for Jack, a rashie (rash gaurd) and some boardies!  For some extra fun I sewed up the Santa Cruz Beach Ball pattern, instead of using a woven fabric I used Lycra and got a really big balloon to inflate it to max size - quick to make and hours of fun!


When thinking of the design for the swimsuits, I wanted to do something that was really pretty, but still cool enough for a 7 year old to wear.  I ruled out butt ruffles, but somehow had to get some sweet ruffle goodness into the style.  I liked the concept of using the London Leotard by Little Lizard King as a base, splicing the leo and adding a ruffle through both the front and back, creating a nice girly ruffle over the shoulder.  I had to redraft the arms and neck shape, however I was really pleased to see that it worked for both a bikini style and one piece.  The bikini bottoms are based off the Little Lizard King Laguna swimsuit, I loved the bottoms and that they are a vintage fit, and with the addition of a little leg frill these turned out to be fun bikini set, not too skimpy and really cute!  The one piece I took the ruffle right down to the hip, up over the shoulder and down the back.  I think the one piece turned out to be my favourite of all!  It has a deeper scoop which added a nice feature to the style and made it a little different to the bikini!  Both the girls suits are lined with a white swimsuit lining - the beautiful water colour greenery swim Lycra was from Sems Fabrics.


For my little guy, I designed a rashie using the pattern I created for the fitted t-shirt in last week, but increased the ease to give a looser fit and lengthened the sleeve.  Instead of binding the neckline I added a wider band, and it came up great!  I even busted out my twin needle for finishing the hem and sleeves.  I will have to make a few more of these this summer, so practical for both swimming lessons and fun at the beach, and great sun protection.  The solid green Lycra was from The Remnant Warehouse.  For Jacks boardies, I designed a basic shorts pattern and used an elastic drawstring cord - I've never used this stuff before and its simple to use, and really awesome to be able to adjust the waist once the kids are wet.  I sewed two buttonholes in the front of the waistband, pulled the ties through and enclosed the elastic.  I added three rows of top stitching through the elastic to give it a nice finish.  If you would like to see more pics of my entry this week, click HERE to go to my blog!




Idle Sunshine - Salty Hair and Sandy Toes







Welcome to Week 2 of Project Run & Play - Surf & Sand!  My babies love the beach!  We spend most of summer there.  We pack our caravan and set up beachside for 3 weeks over Christmas.  Swimming, fishing, exploring, riding skateboards and bikes all day long.  We hang out with friends from home and friends that we have met over the years there.  The days are long, lazy & hot!






My girls are all about comfort on holidays, so shorts are a must!  I drafted this pair starting with the Little Lizard King Newport Shorts.  I changed the waistband height, added length and hemmed them without adding the cuffs.  These are exactly the kind of shorts my girls love (I was actually inspired by some RTW pairs they have) and so I will be making plenty more!  They are beautifully comfortable to wear, made from a soft, drapey rayon.  To make the top, I used my dress pattern from last week as a starting point.  I created a narrow centre placket, curved the bodice to a sweetheart shape, made longer skinny straps and added a wider, cropped, drape layer to the front for some visual interest.  I made it from a lovely soft chambray.  This is just like the outfits my girls drool over on the online surf stores.






I couldn't take you to the beach without some swimwear, could I?  I started with Boo Designs swimmer bottoms and gave them a retro feel with a little extra height, a slightly lower leg cut and some fabric splicing.  The halter top I drafted myself using the width of the Boo Designs swimmers as a starting point.  Once I was happy with the shape and pattern I spliced a V into the front and added a ruffle by cutting a V shaped ruffle!  I am thrilled with how these turned out.  Next she requested a beach cover up, "just like yours Mum."  I used my favourite ladies tshirt pattern, the Little Kiwis Closet Cuffed Dolman as my starting point!  I cut a much narrower neckline, changed the shoulder angle and lengthened the sleeves.  Then I cut down the centre front and cut from the front neckline down to the centre front to create the smooth cardigan shape.  I added some fringing I'd taken off a store bought ladies tank (loved the tank, did not love the fringing on it!)  It was the perfect finishing touch for this!  Now the girls are arguing over both outfits, so I have to make them another set each!  There is a lot to see and read here, so for more pictures and details, head to my blog!






Now it's your turn!  Use the voting widget below to support these amazing Surf and Sand creations.  




This week, the designers scores will be calculated as follows:
1/3 of the score is based on YOUR vote
 1/3 of the score by this week's celebrity guest judge Megan of Megan Nielsen
1/3 of the score comes from the panel of judges

And if you're inspired by the Surf and Sand theme, please link up your creation in the sew along HERE!

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7 comments :

  1. Tash, your creations are spot on as usual! Love these summer suits.

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  2. This was the hardest choice! Every single collection is great!

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  3. Well done! So this is where youve been. Ive been stalking ur site trying to buy. Good luck. Ull do great, very innovative! All the best.

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  4. Amazing all!! Well done!! Perfect for our sunny, salty, sandy days in Oz!! :-)

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  5. These are awesome - well done to all

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  6. Tash I absolutely adore your work! Congratulations. X

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