Flip This Pattern: Free for All

Ashley and Emily always seem to have something new up their sleeve with each "season" of Flip This Pattern. Their February season does not disappoint! 

This month's challenge is to create something using a free pattern or tutorial. What better way to collect inspiration and resources for all the free stuff out there?!? Who doesn't like free?!?

I chose to sew up the Modkid Sunny Days Tank. I hope you weren't thinking the Sunny Days Tank was only for WARM, sunny days! The tank works perfectly layered for cool, sunny days.

I only made a couple of simple "flips" to the free pattern. I lengthened the tank to more of a dress length. Then, I added the pockets from the Modkid Bridget pattern. 

I can't rave enough over the new Patty Young Vivid knits for Riley Blake. They will be available soon, so be on the lookout! The Marigold Leilani is such a great yellow I would venture to say anyone could wear it. And that's somewhat hard for a yellow! Hopefully you can tell from the nice lettuce hem, that the stretch and recovery in this knit is superb.

Be sure to check out all of the FREE patterns on the tour! Because, as we already stated, who doesn't love free?!?

Oliver + S Croquet Dress for Flip This Pattern

Did you know the Flip This Pattern series with Frances Suzanne is still going strong for a short summer 2014 line up? It’s is full swing! They’ve kept what we’ve all loved about the series then added some new things. One of which is a intro post from a previous viewer’s choice winner. So, here I am to kick things off for the month of July. 

This month’s pattern to flip is the Croquet Dress by Oliver + S. The pattern already features great details such as a square neckline and dropped waist. View A provides a great collar detail, while view B has a gathered front yoke.

(source)

My favorite approach to pattern flipping is scouring the internet, usually Pinterest, for inspiration from other designers. I collected a few ideas for you as well. As you can see, these dresses all included the square neckline which is one of my favorite features of the Croquet Dress. But don’t let this limit you by any means!! You can find the sources for each dress below the collage.

1. Navy A-line Dress
2. Eyelet Dress
3. Lace with Dropped Waist

I certainly couldn’t leave you without a sewn example, so here you have my flipped version of the Croquet Dress inspired by the navy Oscar de la Renta dress featured above.



The changes to the dress pattern were actually very minimal. I omitted the bottom skirt and extended the a-line of the top to the length I needed. I added pockets to the front that are trimmed in bias tape. Then, I added bias tape accents at the sleeve and bottom hems.



For the neckline, I used white fabric on the shoulder pattern pieces. Then, I used the front facing piece on the interior and exterior of the dress to mimic the white neckline of the Oscar dress.



I continued the nautical look with a vintage anchor button at the back. This was the first time I used a thread chain for a button loop. It certainly isn’t my favorite feature of this pattern, but I think I probably should have just used a thicker/stronger thread.



Be sure to head over to Frances Suzanne and get in on the fun with the Oliver + S Croquet dress this month!

Winners!

I’m happy to announce that Stephanie Woodson is the winner of the tshirt of her choice from Wee Rascals! If you didn’t win this time, remember to sign up for the newsletter at Wee Rascals for a free shipping code on your first order. I know they have a summer line plus their first female hero shirt in the works, so follow the Wee Rascals Facebook page for updates.

Also, thank you all for your support for my Flip This Pattern look. This sewing adventure is always stretching me and taking me places I never would have imagined.

Dressed for Deuce

It’s finally time for the vote!! Please head over to Frances Suzanne and pick your favorite look for Flip this Pattern!
When I first picked out this swimsuit fabric and sweatshirt knit from Girl Charlee, I thought I would flip the Heidi and Finn Colorblock dress pattern into a swimsuit and cover-up. My daughter starting tennis lessons this semester, got me thinking about a fun tennis outfit for her. The result of my flip includes two top versions and one tennis skirt. Each piece features comfort and plenty of room for movement.


The sketch below shows the beginnings of my pattern modifications to create the long sleeve sweatshirt version of the top. I used the size 6 pattern to make sure the fit would be loose and comfy. My goal was to maintain the colorblock in the original pattern design and extend it down the length of the sleeve.


The stripes meet at the top of the sleeves to form a fun point.


For the tennis skirt, gathering the bottom most pattern piece made for the perfect skirt length. The skirt also features hidden shorts underneath for modesty while on the courts.



Finally we come to the short sleeve top. I sized down to a 4 for a more fitted top since the knit had plenty of stretch. Instead of colorblocking the top, I slipped in a strip of the swimsuit fabric for a faux piping detail.



Warm or cool, this girl’s ready to serve up some points!



As for the name, deuce is a score of 40–40 in a game. A player must win two consecutive points from a deuce to win the game. With two looks in the bag, she’s poised for a win!!



What a fun series this has been! Remember, please vote here!

Flip this Pattern

The time has finally arrived to reveal my pattern flip for the Heidi and Finn Colorblock dress over at Frances Suzanne. Find out about the flip details and why I call this our Dressed for Deuce look here. 

Spring Break Challenge–Project Run and Play

This week’s challenge for Project Run and Play is to design an outfit around a favorite place to travel. Well for me, New York City is one of those favorite places. I look forward to the day I can take my daughters on a girls trip to NYC just like my mom did with my sister and I. (You can read all about that trip here.) As a former structural engineer, I’m drawn to the iconic building designs found throughout the city. One such building is the Chrysler Building.

(source)

The piecing I did on this dress is directly inspired by those shiny arcs. The solid blue fabric by Kona Cotton is appropriately named “Fog”.  Both the fabric name and the color perfectly define what I see in my mind’s eye as I recall the tops of the unforgettable sky scrapers in New York City disappearing gradually into the fog. 

I started with the Heidi and Finn Colorblock dress. (I happen to be competing in the Flip This Pattern Challenge this month involving this dress pattern, but this is not that flip. Stay tuned for a totally different look from the same pattern!) For the NYC dress, I inserted a curved pieced color block at the bodice.

Those are the sewing details, now on to the travel plans! There would be tons of window shopping of course.

Gazing into the sky at buildings like the Chrysler Building, the Empire State building, and Grand Central Station.

We’d have to catch some theatre, people watch, and just be fabulous!

Wish I could pack my bags right this minute!

Color Block Top

The title of this post should really be “The Evolution of a Color Block Top.” Most of the time when I sew, I have pretty good direction with a clear end result in mind. For this outfit, that was not the case at all!

Let’s start at the beginning. Next month, my “Flip This Pattern” post is due. (You can click below if you have no idea what I’m talking about.) I figured I’d sew up the Heidi and Finn Colorblock Dress as is before I tried out my flip. I thought it would be fun to bleach some lightweight denim to have different shades for my colorblock. About 30 minutes into the bleach bath, I couldn’t see any change in color and my impatience won over. I abandoned ship and pulled out three other fabrics I thought would do the trick. After cutting out the top and middle sections of the dress, I decided I didn’t like the third fabric in the combo to make the dress. And this, my friends, is why you you see a colorblock top before you. Do you see how scattered I can be!?!

 

I actually love how the top ended up working out! It’s a supper easy change too. Like I said, I just used the top and middle sections of the pattern. I used the bottom pattern piece to shape a nice curve for the bottom of the middle section and trimmed the lining piece down to match.

A nice vintage button finishes off the back.



The shorts have a story of their own. The pattern is the bubble pocket shorts pattern from a Japanese sewing book that I made here without the pockets. I used an old pair of capri pants for the fabric. My two year old managed to get a hold of some scissors and clip into the top of the shorts before I had sewn on the elastic casing. The pocket flap from my old capris makes a nice coverup!

Thanks for going on this random journey with me. Hopefully I’ll get a bit of focus back soon!

Note, this is not my pattern flip, so stayed tuned in April for the real fun!

Flip This Pattern Announced

At the beginning of the week, I posted a knock-off, and today I’m announcing a pattern flip. Two of my favorite things! Can you tell how excited I am to be a part of them!!!

This is all of the work of two super sewing sisters over at francessuzanne. They have been working to pair up different bloggers with patterns to flip (re-mix, embellish, make it your own.) It gets better! It’s part competition, part sew-along, and guaranteed to be filled with inspiration. So, head over to francessuznne for all the details and schedules, because I have a feeling you’ll want to follow along even if you don’t sew along. Oh, and check out the talent listed in this group. Awesome!!

Mommy's Apron Strings | Winter Wonderings | doguincho | SoCalSewingMom | nest full of eggs

cathgrace | Welcome to the Mouse House | S is for Sewing | Sewing Like Mad | Elegance & Elephants | Call ajaireLittle Kids Grow | Daisy Chain Creations | Once Upon a Notion | Handmade Martini | iCandy handmade | you & mieIf only they would Nap |  Foster Ramblings | Designs by Sessa | Shaffer Sisters {Jo} | greendoodle | Shaffer Sisters {Al}Siestas & Sewing | mama says sew | Sewing Mama RaeAnna | sewVery | Nap Time Crafters | {lbg studio}Shaffer Sisters {Scary} | Sweeter Than Cupcakes | Once Upon a Sewing Machine | Crafty Cupboard | The Powell Family

And, here are the patterns. See, twelve months of awesome!! I won’t be hitting the scene until April which gives me plenty of time to get inspired (or wavier with indecision, get nervous, reconsider options, etc.)

| Pattern Anthology Figgy's | Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop | Shwin Designs | Clever Charlotte Violette Field Threads | Blank Slate Patterns | Heidi & Finn | The Cottage Mama