One of a Kind!

Wow! It’s week 4 of Project Run & Play – The Aussie Edition. I’m so incredibly proud of the 4 competition entries I’ve created over the month, and very excited to be in the Grand Final with such talented designers. This weeks theme is ‘Signature Style’ and I knew from the beginning this would be the hardest theme yet. This is so hard for me to pin down and put in a bottle – I am such a style chameleon! I call myself a style ‘appreciator’. If I like it, I like it, but don’t ask me to explain what my style is. Every item I make is really One of a Kind…

Let’s talk about the things I can list about my style! I like clean lines, colour and contrast, angles and stripes, fancy backs, easy to wear modern, yet timeless style & I LOVE upcycling. I don’t really like ruffles, characters, pink or anything really girly. Is it any wonder my girls are the same! Their tastes and style really come through in everything I’ve made in this competition, or why would I bother to make something that wouldn’t get worn again? I guess you could add practical and wearable to that list.

So I decided to create my signature style from completely upcycled fabrics! This is something I do all the time and it is a challenge I love. There is not often an outfit I make that doesn’t have at least an element of upcycling to it! This is the ultimate One of a Kind! It’s very hard to replicate, especially when I don’t often leave a pattern alone as it is intended. I can’t help but make a tweak, because I just love to create something that nobody else will have in their wardrobe!

It took me such a long time to settle on this combination, because I keep everything as an opportunity to be upcycled! I started with a ladies dress that I purchased for myself for $10 on a sale rack, (but I’ve recently lost 16.5kg so it was headed to the thrift store/upcycle pile). I used a pillow slip for the watercolour stripes, which was gifted to me as a queen quilt cover set from a friend (who knows I love upcycling and free fabric). Then I put it together with this sunny vintage yellow sheet I purchased from a thrift store that I’ve been saving for a dress for myself! It is my absolute favourite vintage sheet in my stash & I am praying I still have enough for a dress of my own!

 I absolutely love this combination all together and the patterns I created! I started with the Simple Life Pattern Company Lucy dress when I drafted the yellow dress. I widened the shoulders and reshaped absolutely everything to get started! I took out the side seams to maximise the stripe effect, then I did some crazy colourblocking and added an exposed zip! I was pretty proud just to work out how to construct this dress for starters!

 

 

I drafted the dolman dress using the neckline and armhole measurements from the Little Lizard King Bristol tunic as a guide so that I knew they would be wide enough to wear in a woven fabric. I scooped the back out to make it interesting and added some ties to keep it in place. I ran up some cute headbands to pull the look together. That is another part of my style – a put together look.

 

You can see how windy it is on the hill by the ocean in King Edward Park. The dresses were blowing around wildly in the breeze, but it was worth it to shoot the blue and yellow alongside the red in these flowers! 

 

Thank you all for your support throughout the competition, I’m thrilled to have made it this far as a humble hobby sewist! It’s been an honour to have competed against such amazing Aussie pattern designers and friends, and it has inspired me to learn and grow in the future. Now make sure you head over to the Project Run & Play Blog to cast your votes! It’s the very last week, so it’s our last chance to make it count! Thanks so much!

Brooke xx 

Salty Hair & Sandy Toes

Welcome to Week 2 of Project Run & Play – Surf & Sand! My babies love the beach! We spend most of summer there. We pack our caravan and set up beachside for 3 weeks over Christmas. Swimming, fishing, exploring, riding skateboards and bikes all day long. We hang out with friends from home and friends that we have met over the years there. The days are long, lazy & hot!

My girls are all about comfort on holidays, so shorts are a must! I drafted this pair starting with the Little Lizard King Newport Shorts. I changed the waistband height, added length and hemmed them without adding the cuffs. These are exactly the kind of shorts my girls love (I was actually inspired by some RTW pairs they have) and so I will be making plenty more! They are beautifully comfortable to wear, made from a soft, drapey rayon.

To make this sweet cropped top, I used my dress pattern from last week as a starting point. I created a narrow centre placket, curved the bodice to a sweetheart shape, made longer skinny straps and added a wider, flounce layer to the front for some visual interest. I made it from a lovely soft chambray. I drafted this so she can pop this on and off over her head, without fiddling with buttons, which she loves. This is just like the outfits my girls drool over on the online surf stores.

I love how casual, comfortable and cool this outfit is. It’s perfect for summer and cute enough to be worn for any occasion.

I couldn’t take you to the beach without some swimwear could I? I started with the Boo Designs classic swimmer briefs and gave them a retro feel with a little extra height, a slightly lower leg cut and some fabric splicing. I lined the front of both the top and the bottoms (and I love that part when you work out which order to put them in to enclose all the seams neatly). The halter top I drafted myself using the width of the Boo Designs swimmers as a starting point. Once I was happy with the shape and pattern I spliced a V into the front and added a ruffle by cutting a V shaped ruffle! I am thrilled with how these turned out.

Next she requested a beach cover up, “just like yours Mum”. I used my favourite ladies tshirt pattern, the Little Kiwis Closet Cuffed Dolman as my starting point! I cut a much narrower neckline, changed the shoulder angle and lengthened the sleeves. Then I cut down the centre front and cut from the front neckline down to the centre front to create the smooth cardigan shape. I added some fringing I’d taken off a store bought ladies tank (loved the tank, did not love the fringing on it)! It was the perfect finishing touch for this!

They were so patient to have their pictures take, when all they wanted to do was rip off their clothes and jump in! So that’s what they did! They swam for an hour in the baths before I dragged them out to get some burgers for tea! It was a perfect balmy summer Sunday evening. ❤

Now the girls are arguing over both outfits, so I have to make them another set each! I’d love you to check out all the entries this week, so head over to the Project Run and Play blog to vote for your favourite!