My Evolving Signature Style

Project Sewn has once again forced me ask myself some tough questions. I wonder if they knew from the start that they were leading their followers on a journey of self discovery. This week I had to ask myself what my signature style was.

How do the clothes I choose to wear define who I am? What message do I tell the people around me without ever saying a word?

A signature style is what you are known for. It says something about you. Classic, sporty, earthy… It could be anything.

Most days I just throw on one of my six pairs of black yoga pants and whatever stretched out t-shirt happens to be at the top of the drawer. So what does my style say about me? The only word that comes to mind is "indifferent". Not exactly the message I want to portray, and it doesn't reflect who I feel I am either.

This article is getting some attention from the sewing and fashion communities. It is about how people dress now compared to the past, and what it says about them.

Personally, I won’t be wearing gloves and a hat on my next trip to the grocery store, but I will think twice before wearing something that could pass for pajamas.

Despite all of the thinking and reading I've done, I still have no clue what my signature style is.

Because this is a sewing completion, I am bound mostly by my sewing ability.

I started with a simple refashion for the pants. They're a mix of the skinny jeans that are popular now and a retro high-water style pant. I think I  hit the mark with them. I love the style and the fit, and they work great with my lifestyle.

Coming up with a top was much more frustrating. It took three attempts to find a pattern that I could actually sew and that fit me well with the few adjustment I know how to make.

I ended up using a free Colette pattern, which was amazing. It was more professional than most of the paid patterns I have used, and reading it felt like being taught how to sew by a friend. Since I also own her  book, I used that as a reference for adjustments.

Despite loving the pattern, I don’t think I would call this shirt my signature.  I’m sure that my style will evolve as my sewing skills improve. But for now I will call this look my signature style in progress.

Lots of Layers Garden Party Dress

It's Thursday evening and I finally finished my entry for the Project Run and Play Spring formal week. Talk about cutting it close!

This was the most labor intensive children's dress I have ever made. Each of those layers have a narrow hem, individually pressed and sewn without a narrow hem foot. One of these days I am going to invest in some attachments for my machine.

Each ruffle is calculated to be exactly 30% smaller than the original strip of fabric (which by the way are either 4 or 5 in width depending on where they are placed) to create a more fluttery than ruffly look. 

I also fitted this dress on a very squirmy 6 year old a total of 3 times before I got it just right.

At least I managed to get the photos taken before it started to rain. 

I plan to share a step by step tutorial sometime this week, with lots of pictures, but for now I am going to take a nap!

Update: The tutorial is finished. You can see it here!

Southwestern Pottery Inspired Dress

Update: Since I have received so many comments about this fabric I thought I would let you know that I purchased it from Fabric.com . They still have 74 yards left as of today and I am planning to purchase some more myself.

I finally did it! I made my self cut into one of my favorite pieces of fabric. Do you ever do that? Love a fabric so much that your afraid to use it. Luckily an event so big came along that I was able to face my fears and go ahead and cut. This week is the first week of the Project Run and Play sew along linky.

I searched through a bazillion (btw, bazillion is not actually a real number) photo's of famous paintings and loved so many of them, but I got zero (zero is a number in math but in philosophy it is the opposite of infinity and not a number) idea's for a wearable item.

So then I played with the idea of statues. A few things started to take shape in my mind, but I needed some color. Finally I looked at pottery, and there it was my inspiration. The pottery of the Southwest.

Here are a few of my favorite inspiration pieces. 

The fabric is a lightweight cotton sateen with just a tiny bit of stretch to it. I used my ugly vintage pattern as a starting point for the bodice and then lengthened it a few inches and made the neckline just a tiny bit lower. The skirt is self drafted. I left an inch of seam allowance on the top of the skirt and the bottom of the bodice.

To create the elastic casing I began by sewing the skirt and bodice with wrong sides together like you would with a french seam and then I flipped the fabric so that right sides were together and sewed about 3/4 of an inch away from the first seam. Before inserting the elastic I sewed the casing down so it laid flat against the inside of the dress.

My Bella was the lucky recipient of the dress. She can't wait for the snow to go away and the sun to come out so she can wear it some more. I really love the way this dress came out. I am thinking about making another one with pockets. They will make great summer dresses. So are you sewing along this season?

A Scoop Back With A Button Up Bow

This blog has been so great for getting me involved. First I got to participate in the Envelope Clutch Sew Along over at See Kate Sew, and now a sewing challenge. I made this dress for the Pattern Remix Challenge that is going on at Project Run and Play.

The original pattern is for the Spring Fever Dress from Melly Sews. It was such a great pattern to begin with so I only made a few changes. I wanted a scoop back with a bow to make the dress extra special for my niece but I needed some way to open and close it. That's how it became a buttoned bow. The biggest challenge on this dress was the fabric. I have heard plenty of stories about embroidered Chinese brocade, but until now I have never attempted to sew with it. It practically falls apart when you cut it, and then it changes shape as you sew. This fabric was a nightmare, but I am determined to master it, so look for more projects with this type of fabric in the future.

I made this dress in size 5 for my niece so that she would have something special to wear when she went to visit her mother, who she misses terribly, in the hospital. It is modeled on my daughter, who actually wears a size 6, because I didn't want to bother my sister while she is sick, to ask if it was okay to post pictures of her daughter.

Please Excuse the less than stellar photo quality. I am still learning

How to make the scoop back buttoned bow version of the Spring Fever Dress

First visit this post on Melly Sews and print the pattern. Follow her tutorial (available on the same page) for sewing the skirt. Set the skirt aside and then follow the next few steps to make the buttoned bow.

These directions are for a making a bow that fits into the scoop on the size 5 Spring Fever Dress by Melly Sews. It would probably work on a size 4 as well if you just hid a little more of the ends in the seam allowance. 

Fist cut 2 strips of Fabric 5 in. x 3.5in. and 2 strips 10 in x 3.5 in

Fold each of your smaller pieces in half long ways with right sides together and sew along the edge. Then turn your tube of fabric right sides together and press so that the seam is in the center back. Do this for both of the smaller pieces.

Now fold each tube in half with right sides together, the other way and sew the ends together. Again, turn the  it right side out and press with the seam in the center of the back.

Choose which piece you want to show when the dress is being worn and make a button hole on that side. This is not the type of garment that you would usually use a bound button hole on. I just did it because I wanted to practice the technique. Turns out it doesn't work so well through multiple layers of nightmare fabric. Feel free to use your machines button hole feature. On the other piece, sew your button. You may want to mark your fabric first so that your centers match better than mine. Can you tell that is the step I always forget?

Now take your larger strips of fabric and fold them in half with right sides together and sew the ends as shown in the picture below. Do this for both large strips of fabric.

Turn the fabric right side out and press so the seam goes down the center of the back on both pieces.

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Fold and position the raw edges of the bow the way that you want them and then slip them into the edge of the fabric with button. Top stitch in place. Do the same for the other bow side in the fabric with the button hole.

Now you have a finished button up bow. If you are planning to add it to a scoop back dress sew the back of the dress main fabric to lining with right sides together leaving an opening on each side of the scoop for the bow edges. Press your seam allowance under. Then slide the unfinished edges of the bow into the opening and top stitch around the entire scoop back. If you are planning to use this bow for a different project, you may need to press under the seam allowance and slip stitch the raw edges of the bow closed.

You could also change up the size a bit and make this into a belt or use it to close a handbag. The possibilities are endless. Have fun and don't forget to check out all of the other creations at Project Run and Play.