Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Project Run & Play, week one. - 34 Pattern Pieces Dress!

Today I am presenting my first contribution to the fabulous competition Project Run & Play.
The site was kind of my entry to discovering all these amazing sewing blogs I now so proudly consider myself a part of, so this is quite a special day to me. 
Just to be invited to participate is really a big honor for me.


 If you have followed the competition the last seasons you would know that there is a lot to live up to. People have made some absolutely unbelievable amazing things and I have certainly felt the pressure the last couple of weeks - I am not going to lie. And it kind of feels nice (and nerve racking) to finally be able to present what I have been working so very very hard on.


The theme this first week is a remix of the free popover sundress pattern from Oliver + s.

May I present to you my 34 pattern pieces remixed dress and not-that-many-pattern-pieces back buttoned shirt.

I sort of kept the top half of the Oliver + s popover sundress but made it fairly tight fitting. I made a deep cut out in the back to give room for a beautiful buttoned back on the shirt I also made. I sort of kept the original feature with the tie bands but made it a bit more sophisticated by adding a lining to the top half and closing my armhole seam with the outer fabric and the lining and putting the tie bands in between the outer layer and lining. I also cut the dress of at midriff and made the skirt very full. I both extended the skirt so it would be sewed on with gatherings but I also cut up and spread out the pattern so the hem is even wider than the waist (also before gathering - makes sense?)


And THEN I cut the pattern to pieces...literally!


The short version of the pattern is taking two colors (in this case my favorite combination navy and baby pink - yeah, I know...I had some fun with editing and the colors are a bit funky in the above photos...but I liked it so I kept it.)
 Start with a wide stripe of navy and narrow stripe of baby pink. And then you make the navy a bit more narrow and the baby pink a bit more wide and this continues until they have totally swapped width at the hem of the dress.
And to make it more fun I made a biased cut down front and back and started with the opposite colors on the other side. 
BUT I also shifted the left and right side slightly to make the contrast even bigger. Left narrow stripe meets wide right stripe. 
Got it! (Okay, I think the illustration above makes it hard not to, ha!)
By the way the numbers are centimeter.


And just in case you wondered what it looked like when I cut out my pattern here are some horrible but descriptive photos. They are almost all there. 


And more photos to show of the details this dress have. I am actually completely in love with the details.

You know I am not a ruffle person but this mini ruffle that I added to the front neck line and back cut out of the dress is so....mini, that I just love it. And a stripy ruffle...hello!

It is made from smaller pieces of the two cotton voiles sewn together interchangeably to a long strip, folded and then gathered. Yup, pretty simple but big effect.



I also made stripy tie bands by sewing the same length of strips I used for the ruffles together. Long in the front and shorter in the back because I knew I would tie them in the back....The back one is still too long but you know...I tried, ha.

And the tie band for the navy side of the dress starts with navy and the pink side with pink. 


The dress has no side seams - they were kind of not necessary - except left top side where I had lots of fun getting 5 seams (you can see the 4 of them on the photo above) to match on the invisible zipper I inserted. Phew! I am not sure if it is a good or a bad thing to be extremely stubborn in a situation like this?! Man, that took a lot of tries to get right.


I also made a shirt with a buttoned back because that low cut back is of course not child appropriate.
I started out with a pattern for a loose shirt with front buttons and raglan sleeves for woven fabrics from a Japanese sewing book. Which was kind of crazy because it needed more adjustment than drafting one from scratch but you know, ahem! After quite a bit of pattern adjustment I got my narrow shirt with raglan sleeves and back placket with buttons in the end. It obviously had to be narrow so it did not add any bulk under the also fairly tight fitting dress.
I wanted raglan sleeves so the shoulders was 'clean' looking for the tie bands. No sleeve seam where the sleeve is normally sewed on to the bodice/armhole.


The neck is finished with a wide homemade bias tape. The sleeve has a small pleat to give it shape - it makes it bend down a bit and follow the round shoulder - and it is finished with a bias tape inside.

And did you notice the buttons? They have stripes on the outside edge too! Ohhh!
Thank you Lots of Buttons!



I know...this is a monster post....but it somehow matches the monster (fun) work this outfit has been for me so please forgive me!


My 5 year old was not in the mood for this photo shoot and she did not really care for Mommy's babblings about deadlines but we did get some happy shots when little sister joined the party. Funny enough she is wearing the muslin I made so I could check the basic fit before starting chopping up the pattern - you don't wan't to do corrections on 34 pattern pieces, right! 
When I am done with my muslins I give them to my kids' dress up collection and she LOVES this dress....and it is sooo cute on her even though it have a hole in the side where the zipper was going in and all seams are raw, ha...only 3 year olds can pull that look off! 
It is obviously too big for her but that is kind of what makes it cute. It is loose and have lots of twirl ability and I have to make her a non-graphic version for sure.

Okay, ooookay I am pretty sure I now have told you everything, and much more, than you needed to know about this outfit.
Now head back to Project Run & Play, check out the other, no doubt, amazing contributions and vote for your favorite.

Thank you!

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47 comments:

  1. This dress is insane (in a good way)!!! Your piecing and fabric combo is beautiful - you're so incredibly talented. Way to set the bar high!

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    1. Oh thank you Renee. You never know when you get kicked out when you are in this talented company so I thought I would start with a bang and give it my all ;-)

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  2. WOW! I am in complete awe! This dress and shirt are amazing!

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  3. Wow!! This is amazing! I love the color combination. This is just beautiful!

    Alexia

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    1. Thank you SO much Alexia. Looking at all the entries...no doubt we all worked hard. Yours is amazing!

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  4. WOW, Mie! This is just absolutely incredible! Sunning! LOVE how you manipulated the fabric!

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    1. Olga Olga....thank you so much! I hope it was worth the wait ;-)

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  5. Oh my gosh...so much work!! well done:)))

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    1. Thank you Suz! I LOVE your dress....the colors are stunning!

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  6. You know when people say something looks effortless? This looks effortless, which is amazing because HOLY CRAP!!!! I can't believe how perfect this dress is. And that shirt look so great with it. I want this. I'm totally blown away, Mie!!

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    1. Awww thank you so so much Sabra....well go make one (I know you can) because I am taking a break with that dress, haha.

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  7. I am trying to wrap my mind around how you cut up that pattern into 34 pieces and came out with something so beautiful! I did not realize until I came onto your blog that each one of those stripes is a separate piece! The low back and the mini ruffle paired with the button back shirt and styled with those socks... it's all perfect to me! You deserve the win this week!

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    1. Awww, you are the sweetest Chelise! Thank you SO much!

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  8. Oh my Lord Mie. I can't believe you made that! It's like a work of art.That must have taken sooooo long. Your seams are perfect and there are so many to match.This would cost so MUCH MONEY to mass produce. Your work is impeccable and the design is so unique. This is a tough one to beat for sure.

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    1. Thank you SO much Justine.....it did take reeeeaaaally long...also because I wanted it to look perfect. But it was fun actually. I like doing stuff like that.

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  9. Amazing look!! I love the fabrics, and I adore that tiny striped ruffle detail! You have set the bar high with this impressive work!!

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  10. Wow, this is incredible! I can't believe how much work you put into this; and it paid off! Incredible!

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    1. Thank you Sumo. So much work....not quite sure it paid off voting wise. But holy smokes some nice comments I have gotten here!!
      Yours is so cute too!

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  11. its already been said, but i just go with my instinct anyhow- this is amazing, and you have set the bar extremely high for yourself and others. I love your style and your execution looks impeccable. I work in fashion as a technical designer so i love to see well made garments. Love this look!!! i am so impressed.
    Good luck!

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    1. Personally I don't mind repeating comments when they contain nice words like this ;-) Thank you so much! I did my very best ;-)

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  12. It is amazing to see how those pieces came together! Love the mini ruffles, your attentions to the details is just incredible!

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  13. I love this dress so much! Such meticulous detail and work! And the shirt is a perfect compliment! Well done!

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    1. Thank you thank you. All your comments makes me SO happy!

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  14. Seriously just incredible! The teeny tiny ruffle is one of my favorite features :)

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  15. This is just so cool! I love it! Totally impressed with the 34 pattern pieces...wow. A friend of mine who lives in your neighborhood was just telling me about your blog. When I saw the PR&P post I put it all together. I mostly sew quilts but have always loved following this fun competition. Best of luck to you!!! :)

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    1. Yes, she told me about you and Facebook and she want s a sewing playdate - haha, fun! Thank you so much Laurel!

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  16. this is truly amazing! the patience you must have to piece all this together. :)

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    1. Thank you so so much! It is funny because I am really the most impatient person ever....but I am also stubborn....so somehow I am patient with my sewing because I want the result to be good. Make sense? ;-)

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  17. This dress is amazing! Is full of design and is so well fitted that the first time I see the back I thought the shirt was part of the dress and was lace...Brilliant job Mie.

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    1. Wow, thank you so SO much. I cannot believe the sweet comments I am getting on this dress. They mean everything to me!!

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  18. I LOVE this! What a huge amount of work you did too.

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    1. Thank you so SO much Katie! Yeah, it was a lot of work but really really fun actually!

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  19. Oh my goodness Mie, this is gorgeous! I love the fabric and the details you added . . . perfection. 34 pieces? Amazing!

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  20. Love the offset bodice, MIe!!! Great job!!!

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  21. 34 pieces!?! You are crazy, but I'm so glad to made it because it is amazing!

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  22. Wilma probably has no idea how lucky she is to have this work of art to wear to school! I would happily go back to kindergarten if it meant I got to wear this outfit : )

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  23. I love this entire look ... it is absolutely stunning! Forget about the kids, I want a version for me :) I knew that you loved color blocking, but this dress takes it to a whole new level!

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  24. I love your creation so much! You've got my vote for this week. I can't imagine myself doing all 34 pieces together!
    You are crazy brilliance lady.

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  25. This is amazing. I'm in love with the idea and the colours you used are gorgeous. Well done :)

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  26. This is an AMAZING dress! Your hard work paid off with such a great piece!

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Thank you!