{Project Run & Play} Project Jet Set: Hello, Palm Beach!

“Ladies and gentlemen, as we start our descent, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins. Thank you.

On behalf of Project Run & Play Air, we'd like to welcome you to sunny Palm Beach.  The current temperature is a balmy 80°, enjoy your stay."

Hello, and welcome to my stop on the Project Run & Play Project Jet Set Collection Blog Tour!  I have been working behind the scenes for a while now and I'm so excited to share it all with you!  I think this is my favorite collection yet (and I have sewn quite a few).  Our stop is inspired by Palm Beach, Florida.  

Confession: I've never actually been to Palm Beach (we usually visit Orlando or Siesta Key when we vacation in Florida), but my fabric choices were leaning to a preppy tropical and I'm imagining Palm Beach to fit the description.

I am a visual planner so before I order any fabrics, I grab the swatches and see how they all look together.  To shop for my fabrics, I headed to Raspberry Creek Fabrics.  I'm a huge fan of theirs.  Not only do they have a huge selection of various bases, I also love their fabric designs and knew something would catch my eye to give my collection direction.  All of their CLUB designs include the main colors in the title so you can easily search for matching fabrics, taking out any guesswork as to whether it'll match.  Raspberry Creek Fabrics was completely generous and sponsored my looks --- a huge thank you to RCF!!  

Today's stop will focus on our "sightseeing" outfits -- inevitably we venture into the town we are visiting to walk around and visit the various shops.  We pick up souvenirs to remember our trip and splurge on treats.  The patterns featured are Cruise Culottes, Rimini Romper (as a top), Too Wild Dress, and the Passport to Paradise Mini Backpacks.

Teen Look

cruise culottes: This fun pattern gives you the feel of shorts/pants with the look of a skirt.  The drape of your fabric can completely change the look of your culottes.  I chose a nice, flowy stretch crepe in this gorgeous tropical floral print that inspired the rest of my purchases.  I lobbied hard for the full length tiered pant, but was obviously denied.  During photos, she did admit that maybe pants length would have also been fun. The shorts length, however, is definitely more fitting with our vacation destination.  

I added the inseam pockets, but left off the decorative flaps.   It's always nice to have pockets, right?! To finish off the waistband for a polished look, I ran parallel rows of stitching through the elastic.  This also prevents the elastic from shifting or rolling.

rimini romper (modified):  I'm in love with this top!  When selecting fabrics and patterns, I debated between pairing the culottes with the top of the Rimini Romper or the Overlook Raglan.  In the end, I thought the Rimini Romper suited her style better and I'm so glad we went in this direction.  In the RCF shop, we found a solid Dusty Pink cotton lycra that looked to be a perfect match to the hibiscus flowers in the crepe.

I made the top of the romper, following the tutorial - mostly.  I actually left the back center seam for last which means you can avoid the burrito roll method for the armscyes. After the top was completed, I finished the bottom with a folded band that was slightly smaller than the opening of the bottom.  It's the perfect crop length.  She has worn it nearly everyday at some point in her day which means it's a clear win.  

I can't wait to try out the romper version for her too!!

passport to paradise mini backpack:  To finish off her look, I sewed up a Passport to Paradise Mini Back in a buttery soft light yellow twill.  Light yellow is her absolute favorite color so she's very excited with how this turned out.  I carefully selected all the little details -- the handmade logo and the hibiscus and flip flop zipper pulls that I'm sure were designed with this project in mind.

For this version, I used a midweight interfacing on the main pieces and left off the interfacing on the lining.  It's slightly less structured than her sister's bag so I think I could have interfaced the lining too.  The twill was fantastic to sew through, even with all the layers in some spots!

My girls are still in awe that I've designed this.  And to be honest, I am a little too!  I really don't consider myself a designer so when I received an email to participate in the collection, I assumed it was to sew up some of the pieces.  Imagine my surprise after a few weeks when they asked what pattern I was thinking of contributing.  HA!!  I was in the middle of recovering from covid when the original email came so apparently my brain was clouded.  After prototyping a few different ideas, I decided this idea was my favorite.  And now, I'm fairly certain every new outfit will need to come with a matching backpack.  Time to stock up on interfacing!

A huge thank you to Susana of Suco by Susana for working with me turning my hand-drawn pattern pieces into a printable PDF file!

Tween Look

too wild dress:  My tween still loves to wear dresses so I knew this would be the perfect choice for her.  I found a lightweight salmon pink chambray in the RCF shop that would compliment her sister's look, but wouldn't be too matchy-matchy.  She was a little skeptical about the softness of her dress when we unboxed our goodies, but I assured her that washing it first would soften it right up. 

This pattern comes with about a million options for straps and can really change the whole vibe of the dress.  The lace-up back was my favorite option!  I always sew each item custom to my daughter's measurements.  I blended 3 separate sizes (chest, waist, and height) and then held my breath that my blending method worked because I had no time to sew up muslins first.  When she tried it on for the elastic fitting, it was perfect!!  Whew!

passport to paradise mini backpack:  For this version of the Passport to Paradise Mini Backpack, I chose the Tropical Floral print that I used for the Cruise Culottes, but selected the Sueded Boardshort as the base.  I love how it pops against the chambray and the sueded boardshort has such a nice feel to it.   I used a firm interfacing for the outer pieces and a midweight interfacing for the lining pieces.  It has a nice firm structure to it.  My machine, however, had a bit of a time trying to pierce through all the layers where the tabs were added.  Boardshort has such a tight weave so I'm sure this played a big role in it.  I ended up swapping the strap tabs for stretch crepe tabs and completely eliminated the hidden tab to secure the wallet.  

I used the same hibiscus flip flop zipper pulls and placed her handmade logo in the lower right hand corner, exactly to her specifications.  All of my hardware for these bags came from Idleblooms -- full warning: that site is addicting and you'll want to buy it all. Leave some for me... haha!

. . . and that's a wrap!  We hope you enjoyed hanging out with us today.  We're off to explore Palm Beach now.   Join us on Monday - poolside - for two more fabulous teen/tween vacation looks!  See you there!

If you were inspired by today's looks,
head over to the shop to pick up your patterns!