Wow, the emotional roller coaster also called Project Run & Play has come to week three and I am still on board. Phew. A big thank you to those who voted and to the judges who gave me some scores for the last challenge that made me blush and VERY proud. Thanks!
This week the theme is PLAID and I proudly present my Little Queen of Plaid.
When I think of plaid, I think wool, autumn, cosiness and warmth but also country life, horses, fields aaaaand a gold crown - naturally! So what is it with that gold crown? Well, I once saw a documentary about the British Queen's (extra) castle in Scotland and the whole thing just had plaid all over it - not the actual castle but like the vibe. And that documentary just popped up from a far, far place in my brain when I was thinking about what to make for this week.
Working on her queen face.....or something like that.
So what have I made?
Yup, Queen Evelyn is exciting about it in case you wondered.
I found this great dusty lilac wool plaid at Hancock Fabrics and worked from there.
The fabric screams pants with lots of great details to me BUT since this little Queen does not wear pants (unless it is leggings and under a skirt or dress) I knew that would be a waste of time and quite possibly a painful photo shoot.
SO what is pants (shorts) but looks and feels like a skirt....yeeeees, culottes.
I have a post about drafting culottes HERE.
And of course they needed pockets. I have been obsessed with these ruffled welt pockets ever since I saw them the first time on The Sturdy Hall Jacket From Go To Patterns. And I think they fit wool culottes perfectly. And if you are interested in making these side seam welt pockets I have a tutorial for the non ruffled version HERE.
They also have a comfortable and toddler friendly elastic waist and belt loops.
I fully lined them plus I made the inside of the waistband with a cotton so there is no scratching on the sensitive skin that all kids have. For the same reason I made cotton facings to hem the pants so there is absolutely no wool on the inside. The lining is slightly longer and closed up with the hem facings the same way you would close up a winter coat. That way the lining will have some 'streching' abilities and not pull the outer layer out of shape.
To compliment the culottes I made a shirt and a vest.
Let's talk about the shirt first, shall we.
This shirt is made from a self drafted pattern and it is one of my favorite shirt patterns.
This is one of the patterns I had in my women's collection, you know, way back when I did such thing back in Denmark. And I have since made it into a kids pattern (shirt and dress).
I absolutely love love love the shirring around the neck.
It is kind of a simple detail but with such a big effect.
There is also a single row of shirring in the end of the sleeve to add volume to the sleeve.
The shirt have darts in the back and a front buttoned placket.
Here is a closer look at the neck shirring.
When you are wearing it, your shoulder will of course stretch out the shirring and the weird v-shape the shoulder seam have now will disappear, promise!
And then we got the vest with ruffles in this very queen worthy pre quilted gold fabric.
Even though I have drafted this pattern myself I am not going to pretend that I have invented this model at all. I have seen this vest on other blogs. Plus adding ruffles instead of a small sleeve is used a lot in Japanese sewing books. BUT I still totally love it.
And I really really love that my vision, about having the piping follow the arm hole and then continue on the outer edge of the ruffle, succeeded.
To do it this way I had to first sew my ruffles on the fabric and the cotton lining. Then the piping and then the outer and lining together.
Touch down in the geeky sewing department, yay!
Here is a look inside the ruffle lined with this really lovely woven striped cotton fabric I have had for years (in other words I have no idea where I got it from, ahem). It is the same fabric that is used for inside the waistband and the hem facings for the culottes plus inside the crown hat.
A look inside the vest. Again, like the culottes, the lining is a bit longer to avoid it pulling the outer fabric when wearing it. And gold facings all the way around for sturdy edges and a nice look. The neck facing is nice and big with room for a label if this was going to be produced. Not that I have any plans of that....but you know, ha. Old habit I guess.
And then the crown hat.
It is made from the Oliver + s' Bucket hat pattern.
I narrowed the brim to make it more 'real' hat and less soft sun hat looking and then I extended the sides to make the crown shape and made a pattern part for the short inside part of the triangles where the oval top got sewed onto.
I added the black piping to make it more sturdy and of course to accentuate the crown shape and simply make it more visible.
And there you have it....The Little Queen of Plaid.
Again thank you to Celina for giving me advice before taking these photos, helping me edit them afterwards and basically gather my thoughts on theme and inspiration - in other words being my mentor. And to Olga for moral support, hilarious commentary and general cheering. And to ALL OF YOU for voting and leaving comments I will cherish FOREVER. Seriously THANK YOU!!!!
And speaking of voting...what are you waiting for...the voting is over at Project Run and Play.
Vote for me, please!
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