Menu
You are here: Home / Archives for Project Run and Play

Project Run and Play: Final Round!

by

It’s the final round! I can’t believe I’ve made it this far with all the amazing designs that have been submitted. This week’s theme was “wild card”….basically we were supposed to create a signature piece. I struggled more with this challenge than any of the others…part of me wanted to make some elaborate piece that would just WOW everyone but that just wouldn’t be true to my style. So I asked myself this question: if I could make anything I wanted this week, what would I make? The answer was: something comfortable (anything I make for my daughter must be soft, forgiving, tagless and easy to maintain) and something unexpected.

So here it is….

Li’l Mod Rockwell

For this look I created a dress, leggings and hair piece. I wanted to combine knit (a requirement for comfort), a vintage cut and several kinds of fabric/prints. I wanted Boo to look like she was straight out of a “modern” Norman Rockwell painting with a dash of Alice in Wonderland.

The top of the dress has cap sleeves and was made with comfortable floral 2×1 knit. The bottom of the dress features a full, billowy “bubble” style skirt made from two layers of a beautiful cotton voile. I made the black and cream lace print capri leggings from a soft, buttery modal knit. The large bow on the dress is made from a Japanese fabric featuring a cute folklore print.


The elaborate hair piece was made by layering lace, sun-printed fabric, and Chinese silk jacquard:


The large bow is removable so the dress can be converted from “dress up” to playground wear. Put a sweater over the dress and the result is a “skirt” look….very versatile!


It’s been so much fun creating these looks every week and thank you so much to everyone who has visited and voted! Katy and Kelly and the other women in Project Run and Play are such amazing talents and I’ve just been so honored to be included among them!



And what could be more signature than Boo’s graffiti shoes…..always a perfect addition to her style:

"Miniaturizing" a Men’s Shirt (A Tutorial)

by

I made this “Annie Hall” inspired outfit for Week 4 Project Run and Play using the material from a men’s shirt and a pinstriped skirt of mine:


It’s fairly easy to re-tailor a men’s shirt to fit a boy or girl:


Updated: I woke up early this morning to find a photo of a shirt that Lisa over at Stuff Mummy Makes had already made using this tutorial and wanted to share since it shows a boy version! So cute!


Here’s how to make your own:

First I took one of my husband’s old dress shirts:


I marked where the new smaller arm holes would be….


….and cut my new shirt. The width of the shirt will be reduced by where you cut the new arm holes. I checked my shoulder measurements by trying it on a toddler sized dress form:

Note: you can see here that it was slightly too big and I had to cut them down about an inch. I cut the hem based on the dress for as well….so the bottom of the shirt was a few inches below the waist.

To cut the sleeves, I took one sleeve and used one of Boo’s shirts to figure out the length:


I used a disappearing ink pen to trace the arm curve…you will want to add a little “swoop” at the the bottom of the sleeve opening to account for the curve under the armpit:


Here is the first sleeve I cut….you can see that I just cut straight through the cuff:

Note: Make sure to leave the cuff wide enough for the hand to fit through….you’ll be sewing it closed as a “faux” cuff.


I used the first sleeve to cut an identical second sleeve:


I pinned the center of the sleeve first to the main shirt piece:


….and then pinned each side before sewing the sleeve on:


I sewed the sleeves and sides of the shirt closed and finished the seams. I left my shirttails long to they would tuck in easily but if the tails are to be left out you can hem them. Here is the finished shirt with the “high-waisted” pants I made:


Think twice before throwing out those old shirts now! You can make them into something cute for your little one!


Project Run and Play: Week 5

by

It’s week 5 of Project Run and Play! The theme for this week was Valentine’s Day. I have to be honest I was already a little burnt out on the holiday since just finishing the LBB V-Day Collection so I decided to do something really fun and funky. So here it is:

The V-Graffiti Dress


For this outfit, I reclaimed fabric from a vintage-inspired floral sheet and used some leftover drapery lining for the underskirt:


I used several colors of fabric spray-paint, silk screening and marker graffiti to add color and design:

The dress is 2 layers on the bottom and a soft knit tank-style on top….


…..comfort is ALWAYS my first priority when dressing my daughter! She has to be able to run and play and not feel restricted.


I love how playful the outfit turned out…..it reminds me of something Betsey Johnson would wear:


Running and playing…..getting a photo with Boo actually in the frame can be hard!


I barely got this entry in on time…..I waited until the very last minute to make it and my sewing machine broke. I ended up having to borrow Lisa’s!





I edited all these photos using a set of actions (Moxie & Blessings) I am testing for Paint the Moon! They will be available soon to purchase from her shop so keep on the lookout!



Check out my past designs in the competition too if you get a chance! This has been so much fun!

Subscribe