This is a was originally posted over at I'm Feelin' Crafty as part of her Sew Ready to Play series. But is coming home today.
We are so tickled to be back at Sew Ready to Play. The parameters of this series always make it easy to say yes. Despite the fact that we love it, it always takes us forever to decide on project.
I love this series because each year it gives me a great opportunity to reflect on my kids and family together time. Life with kids is like getting to see the full spectrum of colors. Without them in my life things would be much more bland and predicable, but with them there is a flooding of emotions. Moments to treasure like a first smile, or something that becomes funny just because of your child's uncontrollable laughter that leaves everyone feeling good inside.
Lately things have been crazy busy and it has been hard to notice those glorious moments in the stress of deadlines. But I was given my glimpse of heaven this week as my husband came home from school and began playing with the kids. They didn't need a special toy for entertainment, just the presence of someone they special giving them love and attention.
To be honest this dress only came after 3 failed attempts to make my son, Heber, a sweatshirt that I could make Uno themed. It was going to be witty and funny, but it didn't work out. He has a sway back and massive head so each pattern I attempted either didn't fit over his head or they had such a narrow fit that they almost looked girly.
Right now is such a busy time with real life, a new baby, and Project Run and Play that I really didn't have time for these failures. Scary offered up the idea of a Pictureka as a final backup plan and I thought that we could put the "girly sweatshirts" on Boston who is a girl and have her model it. But I was feeling so down. The option felt plausible but was also a let down to the creative process.
So I went back to the drawing board and figured out this look. Without a doubt, of all the games our little family has, Cash Cab is definitely the most used and loved. The kids don't yet get the trivia of it, but they love rolling the dice, moving the cars around to different destinations, and playing with money. I have to keep this one at the top of the closet because it is so interesting to the kids.
I love how fun and modern this look is. I feel that if you didn't have the context of cash cab you could still really like the dress. The design of the skirt was inspired by the logo on the TV version of Cash Cab. I made it by just doing a little math and planning out the exact size I wanted of my finished squares. Then I added seam allowances and cut out my pieces. It's a little complicated, but if you take the time I'm sure you can figure it out. After piecing the skirt together, I pressed open my pieces and top stitched inside each box with a coordinating thread.
I made it using the Caroline Party Dress (affiliate link) from Mouse House Creations. I thought the lines of it could read city if it was paired with the right fabric. It was a first time sew for me and I seriously loved it. The pattern (affiliate link) gives such a nice finish and fit. It's wonderful to have the capped sleeve as just part of the bodice. For the most part, I'd rather make dresses with some kind of a sleeve so I don't have to find a sweater to pair it with later.
The skirt was lined with the same mustard yellow as the squares to give it a stronger color and stability to the piecing. All the fabric was just basic colored broadcloth that you can get at about any fabric store for pretty cheap. I loved using it because I was able to go to the store with an exact plan and be in and out in about ten minutes as opposed to walking the rows of fabric debating the right one for an hour. Works better for 3 kids don't you think? Also I didn't have to spend a lot and feel guilty about it later.
P.S. I have a funny story I want to share that came up in creating this project. When the last sweatshirt didn't work out, I realized that I wouldn't be able to have Scary around to take pictures. I would have to resort to using the camera on my phone.
When I told Ty that I was making her a dress and that I would be taking her pictures, she got this confused and slightly betrayed look on her face and said, "Not Scary?!" I told her I could take pictures, but I think in her mind Scary is her own personal photographer. You can't take a model away from their photographer. I love four-year-olds!
So instead, the kids woke up at 5:50am so that we could drive to Scary and be at her house in time for good lighting and to get this blog post done.

Here is a picture with the little darling and her photographer on their way back from the photo shoot.

I was suppose to share this a few weeks ago as part of the Jocole Blog Tour, but real life really got the best of me in every way (but more on that tomorrow). The sweet ladies from Jocole couldn't have been more genuine and understanding in giving us a deadline extension. I love working with people who are not only talented at the pattern designing but are genuinely kind and helpful.

I was so tickled when we were asked to be on the Jocole Blog Tour I was so excited. The skinny jeans I made as part of the Women's Bundle Up is my favorite pair of jeans and I always remember to do laundry when those are dirty. In all my excitement I knew that I wanted to turn my efforts outward and take this opportunity to use my skills to sew for Jo. Our dear sister, Jo, is a mother of 6 and has pretty much been changing diapers nonstop for the last 11 years. She is so busy with her day to day responsibilities and still finds time to talk to her sisters on the phone and serve those in need with love and kindness. Although life is definitely stressful for her, her countenance shines bright with the love of life and God. You'd think she'd be tired with all of her responsibilities, but without fail anytime she comes around she ends up running around outside with our kids making any game fun. As the big sister, she has always served and looked out for us. Her experiences have made it so she is a great voice of council. The experiences she shares with us help to prepare us for what we will be going through when we have children that age. She is just incredible!

I discussed one on one with her what her perfect outfit would have: she wanted a tea length dress with nursing access and 3/4 length sleeves, she also requested a Demi top to keep her modest while bending over. Her extensive wishlist was easy to attain with mixing and matching the Jocole Patterns. I was surprised to find how easy everything came together. I am used to mixing and matching options but I never have had it be so easy. I have included a few mini-tutorials about how I used the Jocole Patterns so if your interested you can make a similar adaption.

The first adaption I made was using the Easy Cap Sleeve tee for a Demi Top. I initially thought this might take me a bit of work but with the premarked Empire waist line it was crazy easy. I chose to use the front bodice piece for both the front and the back so she didn't have to worry about which way was the front or the back. Also if one side got a stain (as sometimes happens in a mom's life) she wouldn't have to throw it away, she could just keep wearing it. The advantage of a Demi top for layer over a regular cap sleeve tee in this instance is that it kept similar lines to the Crossover Dress and would be easy to move out of the way when it came time to nurse. I initially thought I might need elastic so that it would stay in place but after working on it, it seems because of the great fit of the Easy Cap Sleeve movement wasn't a problem. (PS. Can I tell you a cool fact about the Easy Cap Sleeve? It has 3 different necklines which is like getting 3 patterns in one)

I don't know what is happening with my equation line but I just don't have the brain power to fix it so I am going to let it go.

 Jo is pretty tall like me and most of her height comes from below her chest. She had told me that she wanted the dress to be a mommy friendly tea length. Giving her great back end coverage when she went to bend over to help one of her kids. I added 10 extra inches to help her get to a length she would be happy with.

For the last adaption I used the Mix and Match Empire bodice & the 3/4 length on the Classic sleeve to modify the Crossover Tunic. Once again I went in thinking this was going to be a hard modification but it was a cat walk. Everything matched up perfectly and I was able to get right on sewing. I didn't do a tutorial for this one because Jocole actually has a great tutorial for this adaption (it is where I learned I could do it) so forgive me for not wanting to recreate the wheel. (PS. I have used this combo to help me with other patterns from other designers that don't have the sleeve that I am looking for, I used example I used it here).

Sewing for ourselves can be a real struggle with fit issues and making modifications for our specific needs. I was worried it would be abundantly harder making something for someone who lives 5 1/2 hours away from me. The Jocole patterns really made this project a breeze for me, because the fit is right and the construction is a breeze. I am wanting to sew more things for the women in my life this upcoming holiday season and I know that the Jocole patterns will be leading the way in many of my handmade Christmas gifts. I know that one I can't resist purchasing right now will be the Classy Cowlneck bodice and at $5 how can I resist. 

It was so neat to finally be able to give this to Jo on her birthday weekend, it was great to give back to a woman who means so very much to me.

To make this outfit we used the following Jocole Patterns:
Easy Cap Sleeve tee
Crossover Tunic & Dress
Empire Waist Bodice
Classic sleeve 

It was disappointing when we missed the blog tour because I always enjoy being part of a group and seeing what my fellow bloggers made. This tour was fabulous and all the ladies that participated did an astounding job, you should check them out (Shannon's Skinny Pants, Audrey's Yoga Skirts, RaeAnna's Skinny Pants, Sabra's Running Leggings, Melissa's Skinny Pants & the awesome tween outfit Christie made for her daughter).

We were compensated for our time by complimentary patterns but our opinions are our own. We strive to only work with companies & products that personally believe in and agree with their quality standards, to read more about our promises to you click here.

There is a 50% coupon code THANKYOU available on the Betty Skirt this week (valid 10/3-10/9) as a gift to our supporters.

Dear friends,

We are grateful for all the support we have received from friends and family, which after this experience we know is much greater scope than ever before. We have been overwhelmed with gratitude each week by the kind words, the supportive gestures that have been made by our friends in our behalf across the web. Supporters came out of the wood work and helped boost us and keep still while we watched the voting. We are very grateful for the understanding bloggers that have been patient with us as we may have missed one or two guest post deadlines, without this flexibility we surely would have broke.

Until this experience you may say that we were bit of closet bloggers. Often many of our real life friends don't know what is going on our blog (or some didn't know that we even had one) so it was really different to make public calls of attention to our work. We were overwhelmed by the kind words and support that our friends and family gave us, taking time from their busy lives to vote and share our projects.




Thank you to our fellow competitors, you have brought your best work each week. We watched in amazement to see the ways which we differed or were alike in our approaches to the themes. We learned and have grown as designers because of you. You made it difficult for us, which we wouldn't have had it any other way.

A big thank you to Elizabeth & liZ for inviting us to participate in this contest. It fulfilled a dream for us. It is still such an honor to be Project Run & Play Alumni. Thank you for being the legs behind this contest and creating a community of support and love. We have made some very dear friends from this community you have grown. 

From this experience our sisterhood has been strengthened as we learn how to navigate the in's and out's of advising, supporting and trusting. All of our personal lives are a bit crazy right now (more on that in a future post) but this experience really taught us how to communicate and rely on each other. Each look that you saw designed these last three weeks were developed by a different sister, but in multiple ways we worked as one machine; whether it was sewing, photographing, editing pictures, promoting or writing we were together as one. 






Mom & Dad you deserve a special shoutout as you let us come crash Mom's birthday weekend. You did a great job as support crew as we were able to get through several pieces of clothing & two photo shoots. The kids were so happy to play in the backyard together as the mom's busily worked. Thank you for always encouraging us to chase our dreams and being our biggest cheerleaders while we try our best. 

We absolutely would not have been able to make it through this experience without the support of our immediate family. Our spouses have always been our emotional and mental support, but without them these last two months we would have surely cracked under the pressure of PR&P. We are grateful for the blind eye you have shown to the growing mounds of unfolded laundry/sinks of undone dishes. Patiently waiting for pictures to be edited, even when there was a vacation to go on. The help around the house or dinners you have picked up when we just couldn't do it all did not go unnoticed. Above all you have been the pick me up when we get to the point we are pulling our hair out.

To our kids, most of you are too little to read this now but maybe one day you will read this and you will know how much we love you. You have been measured/remeasured and measured once again just to make sure and you have excitedly embraced each measurement taken. You have tried on pieces over and over again as we make adjustments. You have exercised patience with us while we trying our best but were being spread much to thin. Your random displays of affection have given us the boosts that we needed to keep pushing. Beyond all that you have been our inspiration, you are the passion to our sewing fire. We desperately wanted to create something that would show who you were because merely making a trendy clothing item isn't enough when you are dressing a masterpiece.

Our hearts are full of love and gratitude today, now to get started on folding that laundry.
With Love,
Al, Jo & Scary

We would love your vote if you can give it to us, voting closes at 8PM MST on Thursday, Oct. 2.

To be honest this week gave me a real run for my money several pieces that were sewn never made it to pictures. Several photoshoots were done with only turning out. I know usually you just see the finished products that we love but I want you to know we have our share of failures too oftentimes we stumble around until we finally pinpoint our vision and we work hard to get it right. With all that said I couldn't be more pleased with the results. I wonder if the journey I went on with this project adds a bit more joy to seeing it completed. I am going to be a bit long winded about the process and the adaptations that I made but if you are just here for the pictures that doesn't hurt my feelings.

Modified Patterns Used:
For Dress: E+M Dress Pattern No. 13 with arm hole from MHC Caroline Party Dress
I wanted to approach denim from an out of the box perspective. Denim seems so stiff and masculine, but I was out to prove that it could be soft and feminine.
The color scheme and shapes of this outfit was inspired by one of my childhood landscapes; the sunset on the craters during the winter. The colors are so vibrant and the sharp edges of the craters contrast directly to the soft gentle snow that serves as it blanket.  (I forgot to upload my own before leaving on my family vacation, but here is a fabulous example by this great photographer.  He has taken lots of pictures of our home area that you should check out cause they are amazing).
The vibrancy and sharpness and represented in the dress. Slim Jim called the vibrant floral denim, old lady couch fabric. But I didn't let that get me down I love it and this fabric is really the star of the show. It really helped pull all my materials together.  Once I had it I was on the road to a solid design. The black stretch denim was leftovers that I had from this project and the gray was leftover from this project. It is one of the few fabrics used in this project that was not denim it is a twill instead (the other non denim is the coat lining). I really like how both of these fabrics match the rose fabric without detracting from the design or floral fabric.
To make the cuts for the dress I printed two of the front bodice pieces and pasted them together on the fold line. Then using a ruler and a rotary cutter I cut across the dress diagonally from top left shoulder to bottom right hem. Then I purposely made the second cut uneven division for the second and third pieces. Due to the construction of the dress the back pieces of the dress had to be symmetrical knowing this I choose to add interest by switching the colors around from right to left side. I added seam allowances to each cut by using the same seam guides I did in week 1. Go here to download them.
Each seam on the dress is a French seam, so there would be no itchy seams or need for lining. I chose to do a double pink top stitch close to the seam edge on the floral and on the gray I did one top stitch close and one wide in black. I chose these different stitches so it would look as though they had been pieced from two different pieces of jeans as a nod to the denim patch work trend. I love the visual interest this adds to the dress and how it keeps your eye in one continual round.
I modified the back neckline dropping it down by 1 1/2 inches. I also shaped the dress to fit her body since I did not use elastic to pull in the waist. I used the arm hole from MHC Caroline Party Dress.  This gave more space in the arm hole to slip it on. The neckline and arm holes were finished using single fold bias tape. I sewed the size 2 selected by her chest measurement, under most circumstances I would have done a size 3 in height (as corresponds to her height on the pattern) but I knew that she would be wearing hers with tights and it would better match my vision of a 60s mod shift dress if it was just above the knee.
One of the pieces I really struggled in getting right was the jacket. I sewed one up that I thought would work with the dress but it was a flop. After looking at pictures from the first photo shoot, I knew my sister's were right and it didn't work (I am very stubborn so I didn't listen at first).
I went back to the mental drawing board, thought of my inventory (after a few failures this look was getting to expensive for my tastes) I kept coming back to the oatmeal colored denim. Every time I would think about it I would quickly push it away because the thought of a cream jacket was boring to me. Until I thought to myself what would Alexia do? (Valid question right, I am sure I am not alone in asking myself that from time to time). I knew she would pull out some sweet colored denim that she had picked up at Michael Levine or somewhere else in the fashion district and make an awesome jacket.
I didn't have awesome colored denim but two bottles of Rit dye (Purple & Fushia), some color experimenting and 30 minutes of constant stirring transformed the denim into a soft heathered orchid. The lining was a white on white quilters cotton with miniature polka dot dyed in the same dye bath after the denim. I love how this color takes me back to my inspiration for color scheme so many times right before the sun light completely disappears from the craters that is one of the last colors you see.
The dye really highlights the softness of the fabric. Before the dye you would only be able to see by touching it, but now just by looking at it you can get a sense of texture. This reminds me of the soft texture of the snow over the craters.
As soon as I saw the finished fabric I realized which pattern I would start with. I knew it would be the cadette coat stripped of the military styling with a hood and long sleeve added. I never had sewn that coat pattern before so was unaware of fit or trueness of size. The only person I knew that had was Alexia, so I asked her about the fit didn't tell her about what I was up to or my what would Alexia is do moment but instead am choosing to embarrass her now. When she came back with the answered spot on I knew I was on the right trail.
Since I only had a limited amount of fabric and I had an early disasters I opted to make a bodice muslin, I am so glad I did.  It was crazy tight across the shoulders. I couldn't think how it could be so off. But after reprinting to go up two sizes I quickly realized what had happened. My printer settings had gotten off somehow and it had scaled the pattern pieces off by 1/8 of an inch per 1". I print so many pattern pieces that often I forget to test my scaling square.  After reprinting it right!
I went ahead and made the size 3. Her chest measurements matched up with the size 2 but since I was using thicker fabric I sized up according the pattern instructions. I added several inches to the sleeve, I determined the correct length by measuring from her sleeve cap to her first knuckle and then added an inch for seam and hem allowance.
I also modified skirt and sleeve hem instructions so there would be no poking out of the lining. This was done by just taking the lining in deeper. For the sleeve this was a 1/4" and for the skirt bottom this was 1/2".
I knew all along I wanted this look to have a hood, because my little Boston loves hats. And I adore the coziness that they bring to a design, perfect for fall when the weather can't make up it's mind. I used the size 5 hood from Willow & Co. Mullberry Tunic. I chose this size because it matched up perfectly with the neck width of the jacket.
The final adaptation we made was the use of KAM snaps over buttons. Right now Boston is in such a go go go stage that having the snaps is perfect for getting it off in a pinch.
I hope you adore this denim inspired look as much as we do. We sure would appreciate your vote, every week has been so tight and we feel so lucky to be still be in the game we couldn't have done this without your support, thank you!

I hadn't planned to make it an Easter dress, but then when were at the fabric store I gave in and let Ty pick the fabric. I had planned to go with something between a cream and a light brown color, but when she found out the fabric I had picked was for her dress she said she wanted to pick the color. In the shelves of colored broadcloth, this periwinkle was the one she chose. The white came from an IKEA drape set that I had bought this spring to make her 2013 Easter dress, but ran out of time in the midst of life.
It was hard for me to surrender because dressing my little girl in pinks and purples everyday is not my thing. Pretty much all the dresses I make or purchase for her have blue or turquoise in it because it makes her eyes seem brighter. It's been fun lately to find all the other colors look good on her too.
That being said, this periwinkle in combination with the white and the pattern design read spring to me. I don't feel like it is a very fall look so we will be saving it for spring. Plus it's about 6 months too big.
I hope you love it as much as I do and go and check out the pattern.
PS. You should check out the other bloggers in the tour & enter the great giveaway

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Edited:We had a plan for signature look but when we got word from liZ and Elizabeth that we didn't get into the final week we put a halt on our plans and decided to have a carefree weekend with our families. It was really nice for Al & I to have our family spend time without doing anything blogging related. It reminded us of the old days where we were next door neighbors and our kids were able to spend hours playing out on the playground. Coming in the near future will be what our signature look would have been, but we really want to have our heart in it to be able to make it as amazing as we want it to be.
We had adored how this project turned out so we decided to that since we were no longer competing we would love to showcase this project as our signature look. It was something that we really worked on together and captures the fun stage our little toddlers are in. 
There is something so special about 2 1/2 year old stage that is so unpredictable, fun & alive. It is almost like their whole body is overflowing with self expression, energy and drive. We knew when we were invited by Emily that we wanted to give the stage to Heber and Boston to express their silly personalities. We ended up choosing a book from our youth, Dick and Jane. Our mom and Grandmother were school teachers, growing up it was always easy to find the timeless Dick and Jane readers around the house. And what would a Dick and Jane be without a Sally.
PS. If you would like to sew along with Sew Many Books click here. It really is such a fun challenge to create a book inspired print. We triple dog dare you to.
Boston's older brother and Heber's older sister are preparing to read. With older siblings entering the kindergarten arena next year, simple readers like the Dick and Jane books are always around. Heber & Boston thirst for knowledge has not been diminished because the lessons are for their older siblings. They are anxiously sitting close by soaking up all they can, desperately trying to keep up with their older buddies.
For the "Dick" look we used the E+M No. 2 pants made with Riley Blake's Slate color Basic Shades, a modified Shwin Designs Maxwell Top made with Riley Blakes Lula Lattice Blue.
The pants were sewn up according to the pattern instructions. We love this pattern it is such a classic pants pattern with awesome stitching detail.
For the top instead of buttons we used neon colored Kam snaps. Neon green piping was used on the back yoke detail. The top tab was taken off for a more classic feel. One thing about the shirt pattern it seemed like the curve of the collar meeting the shoulder line was a bit off. It is a darling design but in the future we will probably use a pattern with a better collar fit.
For the "Jane" look we used the Ruffle Top Dress from E&E patterns (currently retired but hopefully it will get a makeover and will come back on the market) made with Riley Blake "Lula Magnolia" by The Quilted Fish. The hair band is Lula Lattice Green.  We choose a blue floral because in the Dick and books Jane, Jane was always rocking floral prints. There always was a specific chapter where Jane's mom makes Jane a blue dress and it seemed all to familiar. We modified the neckline to feature a simple narrow hem at the top instead of a bias neck band.
For "Sally" look we used our own Small Pleats Betty Skirt made with Riley Blake "My Sunshine" by Zoe Pearn Art and Design. We added contrasting navy piping.
When Heber found out he was getting a new outfit he was so excited that mom was making him pants. When Samson came home from school Heber excitedly announced, "my pants". Samson was confused and told him no, it was for his older sister. Heber was crushed by the announcement and burst into tears. The mistake was soon corrected and his excitement returned.
We love that in the Dick and Jane books every where Dick goes Jane is keeping right up with him. In real life these two will not be outdone by each other they can be the best of buddies or the most competitive rival.
The Riley Blake fabrics were given to us to try by Riley Blake but all opinions are our own.






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