Project Run & Play 2013: Season 7, Week 4

Challenge: Signature Look

I know exactly what I like to portray in my designs: effortlessness and simplicity with right amount of details. I like when the clothes draw your attention to the child, not the garment.
When you've breathed in all the beauty of the child, then you start noticing little details of the clothes, and the more you look the more elements you find.

Picture Day Dress

N has her first picture day at the preschool, so I've decided this is the dress she'll wear. 

These gorgeous lavender-pink and blue-gray cotton fabrics are from man's shirts. (I find softest and highest quality cottons in the men's departments, not my local fabric shops).  These fabrics have just the right weight to form a beautiful A-line silhouette. 

I've had this design in my head for couple of months. I had sketched it many times, but wasn't sure how I'd achieve what I wanted until I finally started cutting and attaching. I wanted pintucks on the bodice sides and I wanted those pintucks to transform into pleats on the skirt. The problem was that in my vision pintuck panels were in contrasting color and the bodice center and the skirt were a single piece (no seam at the waist).
I'm so happy I finally figured it out and was able to create this dress.
(I created this pattern based on the tunic pattern I drafted from scratch a few months ago).

In this close-up, you can see how pintucks turn into pleats. The seam lines are hidden underneath the tabs, which are finished off with beautiful metal buttons. I think the white lace highlights the contrast between two fabrics at the bodice.

More details include skinny peter pan collar, applique butterflies with embroidery and a fabric belt that ties into slim bow at the back.

These knee high socks (I've added little coordinating bows to store-bought socks) finishes up the look for a simple yet sophisticated and still playful dress for the big picture day.

For these chilly fall mornings, N needed a cardigan or a blazer... or a combination of both!

Cardilazer

I used a soft yet quite sturdy knit cotton in charcoal gray to create this "cardilazer" (we'll use this word for the lack of knowledge of more technical term for this garment). I drafted this pattern based on the similar blazer N has outgrown.

If you look close, you'll notice seam lines practically everywhere. I drafted 10 different pattern pieces to create this cardi. It has princess seams on the front as well as back. It has separate panels along the zipper. Each sleeve has three pieces plus attached cuffs. And the stand-up collar of course. 

 Each exposed seam has two rows of double-needle stitching. I used an embroidery black thread for those stitches, but I wish I've tried more contrasting color to highlight these seams a bit more. 

Since the knit doesn't fray, I was able to expose these beautiful lines and not worry about fraying. 

To make this cardi a bit more playful, I added light pink zipper and pink embroidered flowers. 

This will keep N warm and comfortable. 

However, with this changing weather, you never know what to expect in October. 

So.... in case of a really really cold day, I introduce you the fleece coat and leg warmers.

Coat & Legwarmers

Ok, ok, I'm sure N won't really need these next couple of weeks, but I needed to create the whole ensemble, this is PR&P after all! 

This is the coziest little coat ever! The fleece is so warm, yet light weight. It also doesn't fray. So I decided to use similar technique as in the cardi, and similar lines as in the dress (at least the front top part). 

I started with the Burda Magazine coat pattern, but totally changed it up, only keeping the general shape. 

 I cut up the sleeves into three parts, made the middle extra wide and gathered to achieve a fuller effect at the middle. And made the cuffs double layer for sturdiness. I also added lace+fleece trim to the cuffs.)

I also self-drafted the hood, added lace+ fleece trim to the edge and attached a simple flower, which is made of all the fabrics of the whole outfit. 

I love the design of the front. The military style lines at the bodice transform into wide pockets and are finished off with lace and metal buttons. I'm especially proud of the pockets, I thought this was a very smart design idea. 

But, let's not forget the back!

The original pattern had a back yoke and an inverted pleat in the center. I kept this design, but added this awesome bow. I've seen many designs and tutorials on dresses and shirts that have contrasting bows like this, and I love it. This is my twist on that idea. I think it was clever to change the direction of the pleat, it looks like it's part of the bow almost... (I was going to write that the pleat is now "out-verted", but then I googled it and, turns out, it's called a box pleat, who knew...).

I Love these legwarmers. I used this awesome tutorial and fleece leftovers from the coat. They'll keep her feet warm and cozy!

So, that's it.

N thinks this body form is the cutest thing ever and often plays with it. 

However, she didn't really want to share her new clothes with it, 

so that tells me she's happy with her new outfit.