Project Run and Play: Mini Season 3: Round 1

It's kick-off time for Mini Season 3! Our Round 1 designers did an awesome job with the "Copy that Look" challenge so you will have a tough choice to make! The voting poll is at the end of the post.

(Don't forget about our sewalong! Get the details HERE.)

A Casual Color Block - Sincerely, Shantelle

Hi! I’m so excited to be back here for Mini Season 3, and to be sharing my look with y’all today. For the theme of “Copy That Look” I scoured my Pinterest board. After deciding on a top 3, I asked my little one which was his fav, which was a fabulous color blocked ensemble we chose to recreate. Color blocking seems to be a trend that hasn’t gone out of style. I see it utilized in clothing, graphic design, painted on buildings, even in decor. It’s always fun to see what colors you can put together, knowing that each combo can evoke a different mood…vibe, if you will. My son actually liked the color combo from the inspo, but being on a no-new-fabric freeze, I had to sift through my hundreds of yards of fabric to find my solids and had him choose a combo from my stash. He was happy to oblige, though he did ask when I can buy fabric again if I could pretty please buy those colors lol!

Based on the inspo, this outfit looked like it would make the perfect sweatsuit, so I decided on finally sewing up some of my sweatshirt fleece I’ve had sitting around for a year or two. We found a really gorgeous split complementary harmony and I set out to figuring out how to lay it out. After ugly, quick swatching on my iPad, the resulting look is what I decided on for placement, and after many days of pattern hacking, [seamripping], and sewing, eventually this fantastic outfit!

For the top, I started with the George Hoodie. I created the color block on the bodice and sleeves, added the extra length that the cuffs and waistband would have added (to account for the elastic hems). I drafted the large pocket in the front & added in the half zip, which took me longer than I care to admit to figure out how to neatly conceal the top of the zipper, since I didn’t want to line it, as the fleece was plenty thick and warm. I ended up switching out the zipper from my fabric photo because it was way too long, but I'm really pleased with my second choice.

For the bottoms, I started with the Jingle Joggers, using the side stripe option. I had to draft a new waistband due to the limited stretch in the fabric, and I drafted the patch pockets on the sides like the ones from the inspo. I added an extra inch of length to the hemmed option to add an elastic casing to them and voila! Check out his realization that the side pockets on the joggers were functional. He thought they were decoration!

I really love how the look came together from the color palette all the way through to the end result. This outfit is super on trend with what’s in stores right now. I even managed to grab these shoes from Target to pair with it and they have an almost identical color palette!

So how did I do? Do you think I nailed the look?

You can see more pictures HERE.

Team Spirit - Sew a Little Seam

One of my favorite things about sewing is being able to recreate an outfit that you love in the color, size, or price that better fits you. Now that my daughter is getting older, she has a lot more of an opinion in what I make her. She loves sports and has no problem being tough, but she also likes style and pink and pretty things. This "team spirit" look combines the best of both worlds.

To start off we really liked the look of the varsity jacket that never seems to go out of style. I modified the Ollie Bomber Jacket to have a snap front and added a chenille letter for her name. The jacket is fully reversible and I found a pink sweatshirt fleece from Raspberry Creek Fabric to match the pink and silver sparkle cuffs I already had in my stash. The other side is a blue stretch fleece that is really cozy. Then, since she loves to wear skirts to figure skating practice, we opted for a white French terry high waisted circle skirt. They off course have an attached pair of shorts underneath so she can do all the spinning and jumping she wants.

I also sewed her up a pair of joggers that have her hockey number on them in the same sweatshirt fleece as the jacket. I cut the number out of heat transfer vinyl. They are a much better price than the Gap pair she had been eyeing, and she could never find any that had her number. For the dolman sweatshirt I used the same French terry as the skirt and added stripes to the sleeves using infusible ink. I've never used this before, but I wanted something that wasn't as stiff as vinyl and I liked the way it turned out. It feels like it's a part of the fabric. I also decided to make a pleated skirt in a matching pink as another option to mix and match the look. Then, of course she needed a duffle bag to carry all of her equipment. I've seen these letter bags everywhere lately and she loves them. I used the tutorial from Sewing Times for the bag and found these really cute striped straps on Etsy. The rainbow zipper tape, star pull, and pink interior all worked so nicely together, and she had to bring it with her to skating camp as soon as it was done. The exterior and interior are made with PUL from Nature's Fabrics.