
At first I was slightly bummed about the announcement to do a chevron themed PR&P week because I felt that I have already done my best work with chevron print I used to make Ty's Easter Dress (Pleated Shindig Chevron Dress) last season.
I was tempted to just sit a week out of the sew along, because I knew I couldn't beat it. But then I remembered one of my favorite quotes. "You miss 100% of the shots you never take." So I sent Samson and the kids around JoAnn's to put any and all chevron prints in the cart. We we met up again once he had found the fabric and I had some patterns. I searched for something mellow, but still complimentary to go with the chevron fabric. This is what I picked.
I had quite a few options, but my favorite was the black and white chevron paired with the gray, black, white, and yellow bird print. Once I knew what fabric I was using, it was easy to pick the style of dress. I chose to use Simplicity 1704 HH by Suede says as my pattern.
It was a pretty easy choice to use this pattern to make a Go-Go, color block dress with a removable peter pan collar for Ty once I knew what fabric I was using. I wanted something that looked nice, but was an outfit that could be played and worn any old day. Not only are peter pan collars and chevron print big right now, so are exposed zippers. I think they are most fitting with casual wear. I got a yellow zipper to help bring out the bit of yellow in the top of the dress. I've never done an exposed zipper before, but it was super simple and I think helped bring the outfit to the next level. I will definitely do one again, especially while I wait for a zipper foot.
Scary thought that maybe the peter pan collar should be reversible so that if the chevron print collar was too crazy, I could always use the yellow side. The only issue was that I hadn't bought this fabric when we were at the fabric store, I didn't have a car, and had already spent my sewing budget for the month. So I dug into my scraps that I have for quilting and found some yellow fabric. Since it was scraps I had to piece it together to make my collar. It was pretty noticeable that it was pieced so I came up with a plan that would draw your eyes away from the seams.
First I took a picture of my peter pan collar so that I could get the right shape and curvature. If I had my scanner here in Chicago instead of Idaho, I would have used it instead. Then I took the picture into Silhouette and used the curvy line to follow the basic outline of the collar. After I did that I had to fine tune it so it was a more exact fit. Then I looked at all the bird and branch images on my computer and on the Silhouette website.
The image I chose reminds me of the fabric. The biggest problems were that it was a fairly linear image and that I needed it to have balance, but I preferred it to not be symmetrical. It took hours to get it just to the point where I was satisfied and I thought it looked realistic. At this point it was ready to cut onto freezer paper and apply to my collar piece before sewing it together (and yes, I really do love the freezer paper stencil trick).
I used craft paint to leave the image of the birds and heat set it when the paint had dried and the paper was removed. It's a happy accident that I had a yellow peter pan collar that I had to piece and apply an image to. I love it, but I just can't decide which side of the collar I love more.
Here are more of our chevron projects:
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Waves of Summer Reversible Tunic |
Pleated Shindig Chevron Dress |
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Blue Skies Smiling at Me Summer Jumper |
One last thing before I sign off, this month our theme for our link ups are about parenting and kids. This week is about teaching old dogs to play new tricks (Jokes, Pranks, April Fools Day Traditions and Fun). I just wanted to share a few of my tricks of getting good pictures of my kids after I have finished a project.
1. The best pictures are the candid ones, so don't expect them to smile perfectly all the time (that's when you get the fake cheesy smiles and one angle images).
2. It doesn't take very long before they get sick of taking pictures so I try to make it fun by singing songs with like "If you're happy and you know it." We also like to play pretend that Swiper the Fox is coming to get us. What you do will depend on your child's personality and stage.
3. Regardless if you get bad pictures, just keep snapping the camera so that you can go back and delete them after the shoot if they are blurry or washed out. Somewhere amongst those will be good pictures.
4. Figure out your camera settings and lighting before you expect them to really perform because you have about a 15 minute patience window before they are totally done.
5. Make sure you and your child are having fun!!!
We'd love to see any link ups you might have. We are hoping to create a resource that all parents can turn to as they make discoveries or have struggles with raising their children!
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I love how you've combined the colors and the print!!! Too cute!!!
ReplyDelete-Ash P
http://distractedashley.blogspot.com
Darling dress and fabric combo!!
ReplyDeletePainting the image on the yellow collar was so smart. The whole dress looks great!
ReplyDeleteThis dress is so cute!! Love the reversible Peter Pan collar!
ReplyDeleteReally great job! Its so cute! And you found that fabric at JoAnns? SCORE!! :) - Lauren
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing. I love the black and white chevron print. And that collar is perfect. I love the design you put on it AND that it's reversible. I loved your easter dress last year, but this is a definite win!
ReplyDeleteSuch an amazing dress! And your collar is so clever...well done!
ReplyDeleteIt's stunning! I'm seriously wanting to make them for my daughters! :D
ReplyDeleteThe pattern I used was Simplicity 1704. It has options for the same dress with long sleeves, a sleeveless tunic, and pants. The only thing I noticed was that it was wide so I ended up taking off a few inches under the armpits. This seems like a really nice pattern, and I would just keep my eye out for a pattern sale. I got it for $2.
Deletetoo adorable! the removable peter pan is such a great idea! plus, your model is too too cute
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the colors and patterns! I always see talented ladies put together something like that and I think, "hey! I can do that!" ...It never quite turns out that cute though. I love the removable collar feature. Cute pictures too!... You have your kids' attention for 15 minutes?! That's awesome! I can't even bribe my girls for that long anymore. :(
ReplyDelete...And really, I've looked through the past year on my blog and don't have anything "linky" worthy! Haha...
A-DORABLE!! Love the black and white chevron - I just ordered some for another project. your dress turned out so cute and I love options!
ReplyDeleteSo cute! I love the colors you chose. The removable peterpan collar is amazing. Adding Simplicity 1704 to my to-buy list :)
ReplyDeleteBrilliant use of the chevrons and the painted collar is simply ingenious!
ReplyDeleteThose colours were perfectly combined. I love the collar on both sides too, but slightly better on the chevron side. Congratulations, it is fact perfect!
ReplyDeleteADORABLE!!! After your instagram teasers, this DID NOT disappoint! I love the color scheme....and the removable collar is fantastic (I, too, love both sides!!).
ReplyDeleteVery pretty and chic with a twist! And so flawlessly made.
ReplyDeleteCute collar and nice color combo!
ReplyDeleteI love the combination of prints! So cute! Good job.
ReplyDeleteThank you!!! I had a lot of fun making it.
DeleteThis is one of the cutest dresses I've ever seen. I really need to practice my sewing skills so I can make something like this one day if I ever have a girl!
ReplyDeleteLoving the collar! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletegetyourcraptogether.blogspot.com
What a great dress! I love everything in it!
ReplyDeleteI love this dress, I think I've come back to look at it a few times :)
ReplyDeleteEverything about it is fantastic, the colours, the prints, the balance and that collar is to die for!
I love your solution for the collar...very clever! The dress is almost as darling as your daughter. She is just radiant and the dress is so cute. I love your tips on photographing little ones. Very nice!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for linking up at Real Family Fun.
KC
Super adorable. I love the colors and patterns!
ReplyDeleteI love it and I am so glad you didn't sit out the week!
ReplyDeleteThat is so cute, and I'm really impressed with the collar. Lovely job!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up this post to The Best Blog Recipe’s Weekend re-Treat #11!
ReplyDeleteWanted to stop by and pin your image to My Link Parties Craft/DIY & Recipe Boards while I was here.
Hope you have a great weekend!
Shauna
http://thebestblogrecipes.blogspot.com/
http://ready2loseweight.blogspot.com/
I was wondering if you would make something after the dress you made last season. I'm glad you did, this is so sweet!
ReplyDeleteI'm sharing this on my blog for this week's very small roundup. http://dudeyourockmysocks.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-few-favorites-from-week-2.html
DeleteAbsolutely love it! I pinned both this and your blue chevron dress!<3 I found you via the party over at Sparkle and A Stove:)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you didn't sit this one out! I love this dress!
ReplyDelete-liZ
I'm your newest follower and I have an award for you: plz come to visit me :)
ReplyDeleteMammaNene
SergerPepper.blogspot.it
I absolutely love it!
ReplyDeleteI love every single thing about this dress! The zipper, collar, your fabric choices...you put SO much work into that collar too! Btw, I like the yellow side out. It's too cute not to show off !
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the win! I often try to predict the sew along winner (and am often wrong) but this week it was obvious!
ReplyDeleteAdorable! Would love for you to share with us at The Give Me The Goods Link Party{1party, 5 blogs}!! I'm excited to check out more of your blog!
ReplyDeletewww.dimplesandpigtales.blogspot.com
Congratulations! The dress is adorable! (and so is your little model!)
ReplyDeleteYay!!! Congrats on winning! I love this dress!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! The dress is so lovely and your daughter is so adorable! Love your fabric selections!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your win!!
ReplyDeleteSo great! I'm so proud of you!!! Really digging the way you made the collar more mellow. Fantastic job <3
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on you win!! Just love this dress!!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutly adorable dress (and model) - Thanks for sharing at The Weekly Creative.
ReplyDeleteShannon @ Sewing Barefoot
We gave our daughter a sewing machine for Christmas, and I just spent the day with her helping her master the basics of her machine and sewing straight lines. Her main focus right now is learning enough to sew for house. I tease her all the time about her chevron obsession, but I have o admit, I love it too.I can't wait to show her this to motivate her to keep learning so that some day she can sew for her girls too. It's adorable.
ReplyDeleteAmazing!! I love the fabrics you chose, and the tutorial is so detailed! Love this so much that it was one of my features today at the Give Me the Goods Link Party!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.commona-myhouse.blogspot.com/2013/04/give-me-goods-features-for-party-3.html
Hope you continue to link up! Love your blog and thanks again for sharing your creativity!
This is beautiful! The fabrics you chose are really beyond perfect! The stencil work on the collar, and the piping on the sleeves are such wonderful details.
ReplyDeleteCari from SewCari
This has to be the cutest little girl dress ever! I love all of the details and how well the print/color combinations come together. And the most ingenious solution of putting it all together. Very well-written post on the process of making the dress. Little Ty looks adorable in it. Amazing job!!
ReplyDeleteThat is an insanely pretty dress! I'm amazed at all the work you did to get the dress just right, and oh boy! did you ever get it just right! Its a piece of art!
ReplyDeleteI love this dress and tutorial!!!
ReplyDeleteYeah! You linked up one of my favorite dresses to our geometric sew along! I have seriously been visited by this dress in my dreams! In fact, when I was at JoAnns this week, I found this bird fabric in a flannel and splurged...stay tuned for the final product this fall!
ReplyDelete