Soliel Skirt to Twirly Dress Tutorial {Summer Hack-stravaganza}

Today Jenny from Made of Starlite is back with a step by step tutorial on turning the Soleil Skirt into a DRESS!  Take it away Jenny...

Want to hack the Soleil Skirt into this super twirly dress?? It is actually SO simple!! Let's break it down.

To decide on a size, I used matched her chest measurement to the waist measurement on the size chart. Because the back is elastic, You have a little wiggle room.

Next I decided on skirt length. For this, I measured from where I thought the waistband would hit her armpit, to where I wanted the skirt to end. It ended up being about 22 inches. I wanted a tiered skirt for more volume, so I divided that in two, and added 1/2" seam allowance. I used the width of the Soleil skirt pattern pieces, and cut two for the top tier (per the instructions,) and 4 for the bottom tier.

For the straps, I had her hold the waistband piece under her armpits where I thought it would sit, and measured over her shoulder. I should have given it an extra inch, because it ended up a little high. Wearable, but it would have been better to attach the strap to the back of the waistband at the very end so we could check length. Lesson learned! I also wanted a ruffle, so I pulled an angel sleeve pattern piece from another pattern in my stash. You could also just cut a straight ruffle for the strap, or leave it plain! So after cutting the waistband, these are the pieces for the dress.

First step was to prepare the wasitband and straps. I prepared the waistband per the pattern instructions. For the straps, I gathered the angel sleeve piece, sandwiched it between my strap pieces, and then sewed the straps together.

Next I prepared the skirt. The top tier was exactly the same as the instructions! For the bottom tier, I sewed all 4 panels together by their short sides, then gathered and attached them to the bottom of the first tier. I prefer to hem (and add cute trim!) at the very end, so I can check length.

I then attached the straps to the front waistband. Remember to wait until the end to attach the straps to the back! Mine are on the outside of the waistband, but yours will be tucked inside. It may not be as clean of a finish inside, but it will save you from having too short straps.

Now add the skirt per the instructions. And you did it! Super simple skirt turned dress. 😁😁 Check out Made of Starlite for the rest of the pattern hacks. And don't forget to enter the giveaway on Instagram to win two free patterns from the PRP shop, so you can create your own Soleil dress!!!

Thank you so much to the AMAZING Jenny!  I think I'm going to use that tutorial to make a dress for ME!!!

We'll see you next week for a whole bunch more Summer Hack-stravaganza fun...

Summer Hack-stravagana with Made of Starlite

Today you're in for a treat!  Jenny from Made of Starlite is hack-strordinary at taking a pattern and making it her own!  She hack-sells at this type of challenge!  Okay, okay, we'll stop and let you get to all Jenny's Summer Hack-stravaganza goodness.

I have been SO excited to share this collection with you! In case it's not painfully obvious, collection sewing is my JAM. 😍😍😍 Also, pattern hacking. I'm one of those who can't just leave well enough alone. 😜 So when Audrey issued the challenge to take patterns from the Project Run and Play shop and hack them to mimic ready to wear outfits, you can bet my name was first on that sign up sheet!

I was suuuuuper inspired my the summer collection from Louise Misha, the absolutely beautiful French children's designer. Their pieces are everything little girl dreams are made of! Loose, floaty dresses and tops, breezey shorts and lace overalls!? You're killin' me!

Today it's photo overload, make sure to check out my blog for even more late summer goodness. And tune in tomorrow to see which patterns I used, (some are obvious, some are shockers!) and how you can hack them too!

Okay, can we all give a collective SIGH for these dreamy outfits?  And the photography?  Totally in awe of everything Jenny does as usual!!!  

Before you head over to discover which patterns she used and check out even more dreamy photos, be sure to:

Enter to win 2 patterns of your choice from the Project Run & Play shop in and of these 3 ways:

Follow Project Run & Play on Instagram and comment on the post with these outfits.

Follow Jenny on Instagram and comment on her post with these outfits.

Leave a comment on this post!  

Elizabeth's Sewing Spaces

Hello there, it's Elizabeth from Simple Simon and Company!  I am excited to be over here showing you my sewing spaces and how I go about organizing everything. Although don't let these pictures fool you...there are normally fabric scraps and pattern pieces all over. But, every once in awhile it is clean and sparkly--which makes me so happy!

I have sewn in many different spaces in many different homes--kitchen tables, a desk in the family room, a small corner of our master bedroom and I firmly believe that there are many spaces that can work! But luckily enough, I now have two spaces to call my very own for sewing and quilting.

First of all, we'll go into my sewing room.  This room isn't huge but it is perfect for what I need it for and I feel so lucky to have a dedicated room. The door walking into the room is to the right of this picture. So one side is for me for sewing and the opposite side is a little creative nook for the kids.  The room is divided in the middle by this cutting table that I love.

In my sewing space I have a pegboard where I hang all my quilting rulers.  Keeping them organized like this makes it easy to see which one to grab at a glance.

This isn't exactly an organization tip, but the gold polka dot decals on my wall are so inspiring!  My good friend helped me put them up on the wall. We used a level and a ruler and lots of laughing later they were up!

Here is a close up of those scrap bins on the corner of my sewing table above.  (These bins are similar.)

A favorite spot in my sewing room is a little space I created for my kids to come and get creative while I'm creating.  The table is an old kitchen table that I re-covered with some Four Corners Fabric and some plastic vinyl so I don’t have to worry about markers or glue…it just wipes clean.  I love the creative supplies that are out all the time. It’s a good thing to have a space for all of us to still be together.  Read all the details about my sewing room here.

And now come with me, this way.... into my Quilting room!

The room itself is a basement room that is long and narrow…..here is the view from the doorway.

These shelves are my absolute favorite because they hold so much and yet you can see everything. The bottom bins are all filled with vintage patterns and trims and the rest hold fabric and supplies.

The very top rows hold a lot of my vintage sewing books and simple little treasures that I love to look at. Like this Vogue Sewing Book, and the Vogue sewing Book of Fitting, Adjustments and Alterations.

And here is the quilting machine side…..with the frame and long-arm quilter. Since the room was originally a basement bedroom space, there is a big closet just to the right of this picture which is nice for storage as well.
And that is it! Thank you for coming on this little tour. Be sure to link up your sewing space here, and you can still enter the Sew Sweetness Giveaway!
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*Although affiliate links might not be one of your favorite things, a blog that pays for itself is one of ours!  So we’ve included a few in this post.  If you click on one of them, and purchase something, you will be supporting one of everyone's favorite things, Project Run & Play!*

Audrey's Sewing Space

Welcome to my sewing space!  This is Audrey from Skirt Fixation, and one of the Virtual Assistants for Project Run & Play, and I’m so excited to welcome you into my sewing space today.

 

Although I have set up my sewing space in many different places, currently I feel VERY lucky to have an entire outbuilding dedicated to my creative endeavors.  Here’s the back story.  This little building right outside our back door was the smokehouse/summer kitchen to the original house on our property, built sometime in the mid 1800s!  Our current home, which was built in 1916, has 3 bedrooms (and we are expecting child #8!) so needless to say, every spare inch of space is used inside the house!

 

Several summers ago, we decided to remodel the old smokehouse/summer kitchen into a guest house so any company could have somewhere quiet to escape our boisterous brood.  Mr. Skirt Fixation further added plumbing and electrical to commercial kitchen standards because we were contemplating a chocolate truffle making business in the little building at some point in the future.  The kids promptly christened it the “Chocolate House.”  This past fall, I made it my sewing space, with the caveat that it is still 1st and foremost a guest house.

 

Because I need to move out at a moment’s notice, organization is the key.  My large, raised cutting table is collapsible, and can be moved out and a bed set up in less than 5 minutes.  It stands 37” high, which I really appreciate due to my 6’ tall height!  I keep my extra large cutting mat on it and usually stage whatever project I’m currently sewing on top.

 

Underneath the cutting table are my knit fabric storage boxes.  I have found that rolling my knit fabric and storing it vertically is the boxes is the best way to keep it organized.

 

My next organizing savior is this tall industrial wire metal shelf.  I have it filled from floor to ceiling with all my sewing supplies and fabric.  Everything is stored in clear plastic boxes of all sizes.  Because many of my children also like to sew/craft, we've found this organization method to be the most successful.

Separate small shoeboxes hold zippers, seam binding, cutting tools, elastic, hardware, and extra sewing machine parts.

Medium sized boxes are the perfect size for ribbons, embroidery, fabric art supplies, felt, and projects in process.

Large boxes on the bottom shelves hold woven fabrics sorted by color.  Since a large fabric purge last year, I have it down to 4 of these boxes.  Bulging, but only 4!

 

All my pdf patterns are stored in binders next to my sewing books.  The wire metal shelf usually has at least one garment hanging on it waiting for me to take photos.

 

I keep my buttons in small glass jars sorted by color.  Personally, I am saving spice jars as I use them up, but if you don’t want to wait that long, here is a set that would work perfectly!

 My mission style computer desk (which sometimes doubles as my ironing station when I’m working) is pretty clean and clear thanks to a 3 drawer organizer and a pretty storage box to hold all the miscellany that blogging requires!

 

Probably the happiest place in the room is my sewing table.  I have a 6 foot long collapsible table.  Often I tease Mr. Skirt Fixation that there is plenty of room on it for more machines!  But since it’s sadly bereft of more machines, I usually manage to fill it with whatever project I’m working on and staging my next project.

 

The wide windowsill holds sewing supplies, including this small 3 drawer organizer where I keep my scissors, needles, extra sewing machine feet, and seam rippers.  The button lampshade was a hand painted gift from a sewing aunt, and the floral artwork is the sole piece of art in the room!  It was painted by my sister-in-law for Mr. Skirt Fixation’s birthday, but because it matches the roman shades I made for the room perfectly, I stole it!  

Because of this post, I’m noticing how bare the walls are…I have several mini quilts that I need to hang up, but I need hanging tips because duct tape probably isn’t classy enough! My favorite thing about sewing in the “Chocolate House” is all the light from every side!  Many of my flat lay photos are taken from the cutting table, and I don’t even need to add any extra lighting. 

 Thanks for visiting my sewing space today, I’m sorry there was no chocolate!  Please link up your sewing space in our link up so I can come visit you.

*Although affiliate links might not be one of your favorite things, a blog that pays for itself is one of ours!  So we’ve included a few in this post.  If you click on one of them, and purchase something, you will be supporting one of everyone's favorite things, Project Run & Play!*

A Few of my Favorite Things: Audrey

Hi there, it's Audrey from Skirt Fixation and one of the Virtual Assistants here on Project Run and Play.  I'm so excited to be sharing my favorite sewing things with you today.  I'm sort of particular about having juuuuust the right things!

To start with, I've got to have a comfortable place to sit.  So I use the Luxfit exercise ball.  Maybe it's because I think I'm exercising when I'm really just sitting?  But it's my favorite seat.   In fact I love it so much I'm on my 3rd one.  (The first one succumbed to my scissors wielding 5 year old as he said, "Hey Mom, what would happen if I..." and the 2nd one bit the dust when my toddler was having a temper and threw the pin cushion at me and it stuck into the ball...So obviously I love it enough to keep ordering them!)

For Mother's Day I received a pair of Gingher 8" Dressmaker's Shears.  I absolutely love these!  The sound of them cutting through fabric is one of my favorite things, as well as their precision and sharpness.  

One of my favorite fabrics to cut with my Gingher shears is french terry fabric.  And of course, my favorite french terry fabric is from Raspberry Creek Fabrics!  (Have you entered our $50 giveaway from Raspberry Creek Fabrics yet?)

To sew french terry fabric, you will need another of my absolute favorite things, Schmetz ballpoint needles.  Using ballpoint needles has seriously changed sewing with knit fabrics for me.  (It looks more professional with less frustration!)

My least favorite thing about sewing used to be marking.  I just wanted to get to the sewing already!  And the old tracing paper was messy plus the wheel was always wobbly.  (Or was it just me?)  But since I discovered Mark B Gone pens, I no longer dread (or skip! {gasp}) the step of marking.

Lately, the patterns I've been using my disappearing ink marking pens on the most are the new junior patterns from Hey June Handmade.  My kids have an annoying habit of outgrowing their handmade clothing.  So I love these Hey June patterns in larger sizes.  (Oh, and remember if you link up your favorite thing you sewed in 2016 to our favorite things link up, you could win a $25 gift certificate to Hey June!)

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And now for the favorite thing I sewed in 2016 for a child.  It has to be this Downton Duffle Jacket I made for the Signature Style Project Run & Play prompt this spring.  

One reason it's my favorite is that it fits him a 2nd winter!  Making a jacket is no small task, so having it last more than one year is awesome.  My son loves this jacket so much!  It is lined with an extra layer of quilt batting so I love knowing how warm he keeps while outside.  

(And because I know you're wondering, my favorite skirt I sewed this year was this one.)

Feel free to visit me over at Skirt Fixation, and follow along on Instagram for lots of behind the scenes sneak peeks of what I'm sewing; for some strange reason my current project is always my favorite thing!

*Although affiliate links might not be one of your favorite things, a blog that pays for itself is one of our favorite things!  So we’ve included a few in this post.  If you click on one of them you will be supporting one of everyone's favorite things, Project Run & Play!*

Celina of Petit a Petit and Family's Favorite Theme

Ajaire from Call Ajaire shared her favorite theme on Friday and she tagged Celina of Petit a Petit and Family to share the look from her favorite theme.  Take it away, Celina!

Hi! Celina here from Petit a Petit and Family. I cannot believe I took part in Project Run and Play over two years ago, it feels like a lifetime ago. I think I made some of my all time favourite outfits during the competition. I’ve since then created some patterns for the top I created in my Signature look (http://www.petitapetitandfamily.com/blog/titapetitandfamily.com/2014/04/project-run-and-play-heart-breaker.html?rq=project%20run%20and%20play) and the swimsuit in my California Dreaming (http://www.petitapetitandfamily.com/blog/titapetitandfamily.com/2014/04/project-run-play-california-dreaming.html?rq=project%20run%20and%20play) look. You can find these pattern in my shop ( http://www.petitapetitandfamily.com/shop/) if you like. 

Having to choose my favourite look was really hard! I ended up choosing the fabric challenge since it was your favourite too. I had so much fun with this challenge, creating and modifying fabric is just something I love to play with and experiment. What I love the most about sewing for my kids, is that I can create whatever I want, however I envision and imagine it. I love to create special items that can't be found in stores, things that are unique but still wearable and comfortable. In creating your own fabric or patterns you can achieve that even more and make some truly one of kind pieces. So the first thing I did for the dress was to blow up a photo and had it printed on some cotton over at Spoonflower- a first for me. This photo holds a special place in my heart, first it's a picture of my kids taken 4 years ago on a summer vacation in one of our favorite spots. Also, it's has been my blog banner for 5 years now. It brings back so many happy memories and I cannot believe how fast these kids grow.  The top part of the dress was dip dyed to mimic the sky. I am feeling a little emotional, I can’t believe my daughter outgrew the dress, we were both really sad about it. I am still thinking of having it framed. Next I made a few accessories. I created a star stamp with a cookie cutter and a potato, I have a tutorial for this here: http://www.petitapetitandfamily.com/blog/titapetitandfamily.com/2013/08/tumble-tee-blog-tour.html?rq=potato%20stamp. I added 2 large neon orange pompom to match with the dress and also dip dyed some tights with some aqua and blue dye to complete the outfit.  

Finally, I created a denim jacket. I self drafted this pattern from scratch. I wanted something a little urban, a little different, something a bit utilitarian yet fun. I had an idea of the collar also being a hood. Once I created the pattern, I cut out my fabric and had that soak in some bleach and water mix for most of the day. I folded and rolled the pieces so the bleaching would come out uneven and textured without looking like bad acid wash. You can see the original color of the denim in the belt and facing- it was super thick and super dark. I really need to do this again. I think that in the twenty five years I have been sewing, this jacket is probably the item I am most prude of and liked the most, even if it broke my sewing machine! 

I learnt so much about myself during this competition, I love to work under pressure and push myself but I have to say that being on the bottom is emotionally hard! I am really proud of all I accomplished. It’s been really nice looking back at all that I made and I am so grateful for all the new friends I made. Wishing everyone a great summer and happy sewing! See you all around the web! 

And now I would love to tag Melissa of Melly Sews! 

Thanks Celina!  If you're playing along with us this month, be sure to link up your creations to the sew along.  (You can find it using the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Ajaire from Call Ajaire's Favorite Theme

Yesterday, Shannon from Little Kids Grow shared her favorite theme from Project Run & Play.  She tagged Ajaire from Call Ajaire to play next.  Here's Ajaire:

This week I took all those teeny scraps that come from serging and squaring up quilt blocks and turned them into fabric!  Pretty cool, huh?  I had been saving piles of the smallest scraps for a different project, but when this idea hit I set to sorting those cast offs by color and crossed my fingers that this would work.  I used a simple white muslin fabric for the backing and then sandwiched the scraps and thread and even some cording with wash away stabilizer on top.  Then it was a matter of stitching over the stabilizer until I thought the scraps would stay put.  I decided a grid would contain everything best so I stitched rows 3/8" apart both vertically and horizontally across the fabric.  For the skirt I placed the scraps in a blended rainbow order and for the bodice tops I used all of my shades of pink.  Once everything had been stitched I soaked the fabric in water so the stabilizer would dissolve.  The resulting fabric is soft and the weight isn't much different than the weight of the original fabrics would have been.  It is as easy to sew as a heavy denim might be in some of the thicker areas, but totally malleable and even WASHABLE which is great for a child's garment.

I used a white stretch sateen fabric for the middle bodice (and the bodice lining as well).  I love the stretch of the sateen and it's really soft against Bean's skin, but it is also a bottom weight so it has enough heft to hold up the skirt without pulling.  The white has a subtle sheen to it so I thought it would help brighten the dress even more.  I drafted a fully lined drop-waisted dress with faux cap sleeves and a 3/4 circle skirt.  Bean is growing up more than out right now so the drop-waist should allow for wearing this dress through the summer and maybe beyond.  The back has an invisible zipper than extends below the skirt so there should be plenty of room to get it on and off as she grows.  And finally the circle skirt is bound with a piece of double fold bias binding that I made from one of my bleach-dyed cast offs from last week.  The color was too berry for the Nantucket red look,  but works perfectly with the colors of this No Scrap Too Small Dress.  Please come by and see ALL the details including more of the fabric process pics at Call Ajaire.

You can look out for an updated article in the One Thimble Issue 12 magazine due to release later this summer.   Now I want to tag Celina from Petit a Petit and Family.

Are you playing along too?  Be sure to link up your makes in the link up.  Find it in the tab at the top right of the menu bar.

Shannon from Little Kids Grow's Favorite Theme

Yesterday Louise from I'm Feeling Crafty shared her favorite theme from her season of Project Run & Play.  She tagged Shannon from Little Kids Grow to play next, so today we get to hear from Shannon!

The Project Run and Play competition is still on my list as one of my favorite life experiences. Seriously! You never know what you are capable of until the pressure is on, and it was definitely "on" during the competition. 

Boy's Week was my favorite because I got to really stretch my creativity and think outside the box. I have boys and girls at home and sew for both, but I've always found that girl patterns offered more variety. So, my biggest personal challenge (and I love challenges) was trying to create a look with "personality" that was nontraditional, yet stylish. I decided to focus on the smaller details to see if I could push the envelope a little bit. I made a hat out of a knit fabric (which to this day is my #1 toughest sewing project ever!). I also played around with pattern, by cutting up a men's sweater and reassembling it to add color blocking, and finally, I wanted to see if I could create a tailored pair of corduroy pants without all of the bulkiness, and it worked. Woot!

I absolutely LOVE design and detail and this theme pushed me in that direction like no other. Although I didn't win Boy's Week, it taught me a valuable lesson in vision and execution. I still use the lessons learned today, not just in sewing and design, but in whatever challenge I face. I remind myself that fear is just an emotion and if we can move beyond it, the sky's the limit.  Here's the original post link on my site: http://littlekidsgrow.com/big-boy-style

I'm tagging my girl, Ajaire, next!

Want to play too?  Join the link up!  (Find it at the top right of the menu bar.)

Louise from I'm Feeling Crafty's Favorite Challenge

Yesterday Karly from Paisley Roots tagged Louise from I'm Feeling Crafty to share her favorite challenge from her season of Project Run & Play.  She's here with a super duper cute favorite.

It's so fun to be back and playing tag with the other Project Run and Play contestants! I love seeing everyone's favorites! I decided to choose the wolf outfit I did for my season of Project Run and Play mostly becuase it was my only real week in the competition! Even though I did only last one week, it drove me to be more creative and really strive to make a well made outfit!

The jeans and the t-shirt were worn for as long as they fit. The coat got handed down to a little neighbor friend and I loved seeing it be adored by another kiddo again! As for me, I'm still sewing ALL the time. But I've moved into quilting more than sewing for the kiddo and I just realized I missed sewing for him! He's requested a few things so I hope to get them in the sewing machine real soon. As for blogging, well, I've been slacking some... Hoping to get more regular again on that soon! Hope to see you there! 

I tag Shannon Clark from Little Kids Grow! She's an awesome lady! 

Are you sewing along with this fun game of tag?  Be sure to link up your creations in the link up.  (Click the tab at the top right of the menu bar.)

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