Stripes are my favorite color.... yep, I said it!! I can't tell you how many stripes I've sewn over the last 7 years since I bought my sewing machine, but I can tell you this: I've matched every single one of them. When I saw Riley Blake Designs had an entire section of just stripes, I knew I had to get some.
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| A portion of the 1/8" stripe selection |
The only problem was that my love of stripes runs deep, y'all so I couldn't choose just one. I stared at the selection of 1/2", 1/4" and 1/8" inch stripes and started saving my favorite swatches so I could play around with them in Photoshop. I realized the 1/8" stripes had nearly every color of the rainbow and a plan started emerging. However, black and white stripes are my most favorite of all and I just couldn't leave those out. With a little Photoshop cropping and merging, I had created something a bit magical.
Did you know how much easier it is to match stripes in Photoshop than with a sewing machine? HA! I was determined to match the 1/8" stripes vertically on the bodice inset, all while creating a chevron pieced bodice. It wasn't easy, I'm not even going to sugarcoat it. If this challenge speaks to you, have some glue handy because that saved my sanity! (Directions on how to create this at the end of the post!)
I used the newly updated Monet by Little Lizard King and chose the straight bodice as I thought the curved bodice would be too much with all of the stripes. I deviated from the pattern slightly by not doing the back bodice inset. I also added belt loops because my tween is rocking her belts lately and she doesn't like to shift them all around. I also added some ribbon trim around the inset to frame it a bit.
I originally was going to do a horizontal rainbow pieced look for the inset on the back but after I got through with the front, it was a quick no and just cut out two sets of the lining pattern piece. HA!
After school we ran to Party City and got a rainbow of balloons and headed outside for some pictures. I'm sure the cars driving by were wondering why I was taking pictures of my daughter holding balloons.
Are you a stripe fan or anti-stripe? Let me know below!!
My friends at Riley Blake Designs were so sweet and included some extra goodies in my package! I especially loved the magazine with the upcoming collections. (PS... I photographed it with a little peek of something I'll be sewing early 2020)
Here's a quick rundown of how to achieve this look:
I cut my stripes at a 45-degree angle from the selvage (stripes run parallel with the selvage). For the middle colors, I used a height of 1.75". For red and blue, I left them complete triangles to trim off when cutting my pattern piece out. Remember you need to mirror image your pieces or you won't achieve the "v" when attaching the left and right sides. I worked my way from the top down. Stitch a stay stitch at 1/4" along the top edge of the orange and iron to wrong side at the stitch line (not only is it a quick guide for you SA, but it provides stability so the bias cut doesn't get stretched when attaching it.) Flip it over, along with the red. Place glue along the folded SA. Place the red piece so the raw edge matches the raw edge of the orange, taking care to line up the stripes. Topstitch in place. Repeat process 9 more times with remaining colors (and opposite side). Place both halves right sides together and attach along the middle, making sure the seams of each color are matching. Then cut out your pattern piece, using the middle seam as your "folded" edge on the pattern piece.
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