Signature Look – Project Run & Play

It’s the final week of Season 8 for Project Run & Play.  I’ve managed to sew for all four weeks this season and better yet, the sewing has been completed by Monday of the week instead of my usual last minute Thursday night scramble.  That is a huge deal my friends.  I might just be getting myself organized over here, hehe.

This week’s theme is our Signature Look.  Last season my look was very similar to my look today and at the time I described it as “a mixture of classic lines, comfort, and modern style.”  I like that my style hasn’t changed much in the last few months.  Maybe that means I’m honing in on something.  Hopefully that doesn’t mean I’m becoming a bore.

Of course I made another pair of Hosh Pants.  I find that they make the perfect skinny shape while still allowing plenty of room in the tush for movement.  The adjustable elastic waist is also great for making sure they don’t droop down in the back.

I used a stretch denim I’ve had in my stash for ages.  I really like how these turned out.  Her legs look so long when she’s running around in them.  They make a great basic skinny jean.  I made the 3T size and they fit really well.  There’s a little extra room in the waist, but that’s where the adjustable elastic comes in handy.

For the top I wanted to make a bodice that was knit so it would be extra comfy.  The Maria Turquoise dress I drafted was the exact shape I was looking for.  So I used the pieces I had previously drafted, adjusting a bit to work with knit instead of woven and shortening the bodice.  I also reshaped the Peter Pan collar to a more traditional shape instead of the triangle points in front.  I left the back as a rounded square since I really like how that looks.

Ages ago, Kat from Sew Chibi showed some pictures from a Japanese sewing book she has.  One of the looks has stuck with me and I really can’t get it out of my head.  I hope she makes that dress soon since it would be super cute changed up a bit to fit her style.  In the meantime I had to draft a version for Bean.

Again with the mixing of knit and woven fabrics, I made a paperbag style skirt to fit Bean’s chest and attached it to the cropped knit bodice.  The skirt is made out of this lovely double gauze sold by Imagine Gnats.  I can see us wearing nothing but double gauze all summer.  It is the softest fabric with so much airiness to it.  Somehow it still works well for cold weather.  I think because of the double layer there are pockets created in the fabric that work as insulation to keep you either cool or warm.  However it works, I know I love it, hehe.  If you haven’t worked with double gauze before I highly recommend it. (ps I’m not an affiliate of Imagine Gnats I just LOVE this fabric)  

The skirt is made out of two rectangles.  I made a few tiny pleats in the center of the front instead of the larger full pleats in the Japanese dress.  That was mainly because I wanted to change it up a bit from the original, but also I didn’t want to cut a bigger piece of that fabric.  I still have enough to make something for myself and I wasn’t feeling like sharing any more of it, hehe.

In the back I made some tiny pleats on either side of center.  I thought it would be nice to mimic the blank space I left between the edges of the collar so I left the blank space at the center of the skirt.

I hemmed the skirt to a tunic length.  I love the look of a billowy tunic paired with a skinny pant or leggings.  Instead of adding a tiny ribbon like the inspiration dress, I simply used my double needle to add some stitching lines around the chest.

Of course, Bean decided she wanted to wear her pink stretchy bow belt so I gave in and let her wear it while I took her pictures.  I kind of like the way it looks with the tunic.  She may know what she’s doing, hehe.

With it being the last week of Project Run & Play it’s down to the wire for the designers.  I’m as excited as ever to see what they come up with.  The remaining three designers each have such different styles so this will surely be a difficult decision.  Don’t forget to vote for one of their looks by the end of the week.  And as always, visit the sew-alongers to see some more amazing styles.