Time to Vote!!! Boho

It's Tuesday morning and another week to vote for who will make it to the final three!!! I am kind of in love with the boho trend this spring and seeing all of these outfits makes me want to just make more and more boho looks. Make sure you look at all 4 and then cast your vote! Good luck contestants!

Duchess & Hare--Bohemian Minikin

I was born in the 70s and was influenced by 70s fashion (and hand me downs) during my impressionable youth. When I think of boho, I always think of maxi dresses, patchwork, high collars and Gunnesax. So, when I saw the prompt for this week, I had to do some serious research to learn what modern boho meant. 

My mini dress is self drafted and influenced by the boho chic fashion. It has a curved bodice and the hem is lower in the front and back than on the sides. It's made of a white swiss dot fabric with floral borders. All edges are hemmed using a 1/8" rolled hem. I made some tassles and sewed them to bodice to bring in more of the modern boho influence. 

The vest was also self drafted and definitely 70's influenced. It's open front and patchwork denim added a fun twist to the more modern look of the dress. I think the most fun thing about the boho look is accessorizing! I found a great pair of sunglasses, a big hat, and fringe boots to complete the look. Take a look at my blog post here to see more.

I Married Superman - Country Boho

I feel like "boho" falls into that "difficult" word category where I find myself in the predicament of knowing exactly what I mean without being able to describe at all what I mean to my husband. "What's boho?" he asks. "Um," my mind goes blank. "Like free and flowy?" "What?" "You know. Like sort of modern hippy-ish?" And that's when he knows to just nod his head and say, "I'm sure I'll understand when I see it." Because he just gets me like that. :) But you all know what I mean, right? Sort of wild and free, coachella-esque? Here I go with my excellent descriptive skills again.) Regardless of my inability to explain it, I went with what was in my head on this one. I grew up down a dirt lane out in the country in a little orange brick house built in the early 1900's. Right next to it is an original pioneer log cabin. I love that old country home--it was my main inspiration as I sewed for this round. I actually used said log cabin as the backdrop for my photos.

 
 

For Lila's dress, I designed a maxi-dress in a bold floral print with a loose and flowy, ruffled skirt. I added ruffled bell sleeves for a fun touch. I also added a front keyhole detail to the neck of the dress that I'm kind loving so much. And of course I had to make a flower crown because that's boho. Right? Right??? ;) For Ezra's look, I opted for a cozy fleece/wool sweater with a side placket detailing on one side. I've been saving these little wooden buttons for a few years and I loved the challenge of figuring out how to add them in a fun way. Ezra's pants are jogger style pants with a tie in the front. And pockets always. They're perfect and just loose and stretchy enough for him to hop fences on. Pop over to my blog to see more pics and fabric/pattern modification details!

PA Country Crafts--Sweet Caroline

My great-grandmother, Caroline, was Bohemian; so “boho” means a little something different to me. She was inspiring! Always resourceful, she made baby quilts from flour sacks and stuffed pigs from polyester scraps. She rose to challenges and made the best out of any situation. That is a bit of what I tried to do this week. We had 2 feet of snow and 3 snow days, so I had to "make do" with what I had on hand. 

I still tried to incorporate the modern "boho" style in my designs. First, I made a tunic from an old shirt and a pair of leggings from some knit that I had on hand. I drafted my own patterns and created a high-low hem and loose, flutter sleeves. I added embroidery along the neckline to coordinate the two outfits. For the second, my daughter wanted a maxi dress and I found a sheet stuffed under my sewing table that I had picked up on clearance a few years ago. I drafted the pattern to have a drop waist and long, gathered tiers. It also has braided straps that cross in the back, with elastic added to ensure a better fit. The best detail, though, is the hand embroidered placket on the front with buttons my husband and I made from a dowel rod! You can see more pictures and read about my great-grandmother's legacy and a funny ending to our photo shoot on my blog HERE. 

Pear Berry Lane--Gone Boho

Well, another week is here and this week we've gone boho. I really struggled with settling on a plan this week because my oldest (and my husband) spent the week with the flu. I wasn't quite sure if I used her as my model if she would be back in the world of the living or if they clothes I stitched up would fit her by then, bless her heart. Well, she came around and we ended up with a sassy fashionable boho set for the two of my ladies this week. For my oldest I started with the fishtail kimono from Chalk and Notch. The back of this kimono usually has two pieces, including a gathered lower bodice. I blended the two pieces into one and removed the gathered section. I thought it was an appropriate style move for the look I wanted. This fine, drapey fabric gave me a slight fear of serging, so I went ahead used french seams during construction. It was totally worth it. The inside looks as nice as the outside. Next, I used the Lily Shorts from Violette Field Threads. I modified only slightly to get a better fit for my model because she is between sizes. The fun trim was something I grabbed from JoAnn's and I almost didn't use it, but I'm so glad I did. I think it totally sells the boho look with this outfit. The green dolman top was made by tracing an old t-shirt. A dolman shirt paired well with the dolman sleeve of the kimono. I cut the neckband on the bias to give it a little pizzazz. I love doing this with horizontal lines in print. 

 For my second look I wanted to bring in the handkerchief hemline. I utilized the Boheme Sky pattern from Striped Swallow designs to make this sassy mini dress for my dress loving lady. The bodice features a higher front neckline and a modest scoop back. For this make, rather than focusing on adding trims I wanted to allow the fabric to be the feature, as it is its own artwork. I spent a lot of time fussy cutting the bodice and sleeves to be sure to feature the bold colors in the design. Even without trims it appears to have extra goodies. I'm loving these two combos together. They pair well together with the hints of navy and gold, but aren't too matchy-matchy at the same time. I've have a lot more photos for you to check out of these makes! Be sure to swing by Pear Berry Lane for the entire scoop of this weeks theme.