{Project Run & Play} Project Art Studio: Blank Canvas

 

 An empty canvas is a living wonder - far lovelier than certain pictures.

- Wassily Kandinksy

When I joined Project Art Studio, I began brainstorming ideas.   Art is individual and no two are alike.  As I saw more and more ideas from others come in, I became more stumped.  I've always tended to stray from "what everyone is doing" and be completely unique.  My youngest daughter is very much the same way.  As I worked my way through available fabrics, I was drawn to this simple white canvas fabric.  Every artist starts with a blank canvas and figured we may as well too!

The Degas Dungarees are a labor of love.  The tutorial is amazing though and walks you through every little step.  The finish honestly looks like I went to the store and bought these.  She kept this outfit on for an appointment afterwards and received compliments on it too!

As long as the Dungarees took to sew, the Easel Tee was like "I got you".  I'm pretty sure it took longer to piece the pattern pieces and cut than it did to sew.  Dolman sleeves and bands make it incredibly easy.

I know white is notoriously hard to photograph... haha - what was I thinking?!  Also, this child in all white may probably last about 2.5 seconds.  She totally embraced the concept though.  "Besides, white goes with everything, Mom!"  She's at the age where it must look store bought and "cute" is no longer allowed.  

She's a blend of a few sizes, but prefers her skirts on the shorter side.  I used an 8 height with a 6 waist blend.  If I had to sew it again, I'll probably go a straight 8 or use a 7 waist, which is her hip size.  It is slightly small at the hip area, but still comfy in her book.

The topstitching is SO worth it.  The only issue I ran into is the installation of the jean buttons -- only because the local brand is not that great.  The bib buttons were Dritz and went on so much easier.  Highly recommend only using Dritz brand.

One of Kandisky's famous paintings is Squares with Concentric Circles.  I had a little fun in Photoshop with a portion of my own rendition of his famous work.  

 

{Raspberry Creek Fabrics} Suit Up for Summer 2022

 

Hooray!  It's SEW ALL THE SWIM season! In 2018, I took the plunge (HA!) into sewing swimwear and I've not looked back.  It's my favorite thing to sew and probably my 'most worn' makes.   I'm happy to be back on tour with Raspberry Creek Fabrics for their swim tour -- I love sewing their swim!

raspberry creek fabrics always has an amazing selection of swim prints but I think they outdid themselves this year.  As I looked through the album, my list of favorites began to grow.  How could I even begin to choose?!  I enlisted my girls to make the selection -- at 11 and 13, they need to love it to wear it.

As my teen looked through the album, she fell in love with the tonal sage green tropical leaf print.  I tried to show her a few I had on my favorites list I thought she'd like, but she was insistent.  Then she saw it had a coordinating print for her little sister.  I love that they still love to coordinate, even out in public!  My youngest agreed that the gray and sage dinosaur leaf print was needed in her life.  I added the sage and white grunge stripe print to tie both suits together. Of course, don't forget the lining -- I am grateful RCF makes it a one-stop shop for all my swim needs.

As soon as these prints arrived, I knew my daughter was spot on for the selection.  They are gorgeous and the sage green color is such a pretty shade.  Despite making her loads of suits over the past few years, I went on the hunt for a new pattern that would work with her petite frame yet be cool for her new teenage status (well, in 2 weeks...).  Enter gigi by jalie patterns.  Not only does it come with 2 top front options, 2 top back options and 2 bottom options, it covers sizes from a 21" chest through 50" chest - that's 27 sizes!  She got to completely customize her suit which she loves to have control over the decisions.

The color-blocking aspect of the pattern made it super easy to incorporate both prints.

She loved the double closure back option and I think it offers great support and will stay in place during all her swimming and flipping.

My favorite reason for sewing swim is being able to achieve the perfect fit -- something that's impossible from the store. 

To say she's in love is an understatement.  She's smitten with every single detail and cannot wait to try this at the pool.

... and then there's my youngest.  She couldn't be more different from her older sister.  Her latest favorite swim pattern is zoe by jalie patterns.  I found this pattern a couple years ago and nearly quit while cutting out the pattern pieces.  It seemed so complicated and I really doubted my ability.  My daughter just knew I could do it so she cheered me on.  Once I was finished I couldn't believe I made it!  It's such a statement suit.  It also has the same amazing size range as the Gigi.

For this version, I added a folded zipper cover at the top which mimics a RTW suit we saw when we were out shopping.  It provides just that extra bit of comfort at the top of the zipper.

The pattern looks complicated with the inset sides, but it all comes together so easily.  

I love that she loves what she loves and wears it with pride.  I've made her several dino items over the years, but I think this is her favorite by a mile.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Raspberry Creek Fabrics Swim Fabric details:

58” 225 GSM 82/18 poly spandex, at least 60% 4 way stretch.

50+ UPF protection. Perfect for swimsuits, rash guards, tennis skirts and more. The 18% spandex in this fabric means you will not end up with a sagging swimsuit at the end of the day.

Shopping RCF swim is easy and fun!  The listings contain the main colors in the title so you can easily find coordinates with the same color so you know they match!  The also have several coordinates such as stripes, dots, ginghams and more.  You can also find solids and matching boardshort material.  They seriously make it so easy to get all you need in one order.  click here to head to the shop.
While swim can seem intimidating, I find it's similar to sewing knits without the annoying curling of the fabric.  Here's a few tips/tricks I've used over the past 4 swim seasons:
☑ Figuring out your preferred stitches will help you be successful.  I like to use a long zig-zag on my regular sewing machine for finishing my elastic topstitching, despite owning a coverstitch machine.  ☑ If your stitches are skipping, you need a different needle!  I can tell when I forget to put my ball point needle in because be zigzag will have random straight stitches peppered throughout.☑ I tack all my seams together with tiny dabs of tacky glue before heading over to my machine.  It's easy to apply a small amount with the tiny nozzle and it dries quickly so it won't gum up your needle.☑ In lieu of expensive clips and pins that will poke holes in your fabric, use bobby pins from the dollar store!  They slip on without having to move the fabric and the have the perfect amount of grip to keep your layers in place. They are also way cheaper than clips.   (Of course, don't sew over the bobby pins...)☑ Don't tell anyone, but I use regular braided elastic from the store... shhh!☑ When topstitching your elastic with a zig-zag stitch, make sure you aren't sewing too close to the edge of the opening.  This will cause your elastic to flip out.  Remember that one side of the zig-zag stitch should "fall off" the elastic edge on the inside edge.  I use a 2.5L 4.0W zig-zag and line my edge of my suit with the edge of the foot.☑ For visual tips and tricks, visit my youtube channel or the LLK/Styla Sew Along group where I've hosted swim sew alongs for the past couple of years.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

For more inspiration and swim-sewing tips,

be sure to check all the other stops in the tour!

Thank you to all of our amazing sewists who are joining us this week!

Hosted by SewSophieLynn and Paisley Roots

Sew Hard of Hearing, I Em Sew Happy, Zaji-Kali Makes, Sewing with CWay

Sew Mary Mac, Lorelei Caroline, Sew With Summer, All My Spare Time

Made By Kates, The Imperfect Sewist, Intensely Distracted, Lovely for Life

Sew Whit Designs, Sew What with Afton, It's Liesel, Clothed in Vermillion

Kainara Stitches, Stacey Durant, Desert Blooms, That's Sew Kari

{Raspberry Creek Fabrics} My Favorite Things Blog Tour 2021

 

Last year, I was lucky enough to earn a spot on the Promo Team for Raspberry Creek Fabrics.  It's been an absolute fantastic year and I'm sad to see the year end.  Raspberry Creek Fabrics has always been a fantastic place to grab custom prints at a reasonable price.  While they carry other fabric selections, their in-house printed CLUB line is what I love about them.  And now they're about to get even better!!!  (I'll come back to that... keep reading!)

For our stop on the "Favorite Things" Blog Tour, we needed to pick 3 things -- Favorite Fabric, Favorite Pattern and Favorite Sewing Notion.  I can honestly say, it was harder than I imagined to pick my favorite.  I decided to start by choosing my favorite base hoping that would steer me in some sort of direction.  My favorite base is SWIM -- I love that it's near instant gratification.  I can sew the girls a suit in way less time than I can make a dress.  I don't have to stop after each step to iron which saves time!  Plus, the suits get worn over and over -- we go to the pool daily because it's too hot not to!  Finally, the girls love getting to "order" custom suits and I love that they actually fit (unlike store ones).

As I was deciding on which swim print, Tami made a game-changing announcement -- RCF will be able to print current prints, old prints, custom prints on a whole list of substrates!  WHAT?!!  (This will all be ready by the end of this month! We got a little sneak of the possibilities for this tour.) Okay, that just opened up my swim possibilities wide open! I thought about choosing a print I sewed earlier in the year, but figured I'd enlist my oldest daughter. She immediately loved the Sage Green Mustard and White Painted Daisy Print (normally Double Brushed Poly). This print is a double win because daisies are my favorite flower!  Then we grabbed coordinating mustard stripes (another favorite of mine!) and micro dots (normally these coordinates were on cotton spandex and French Terry).  These prints are so good paired together, but in the past, they probably have never been sewn up together because they came on completely different bases.  I cannot wait to make more custom combos!

I started sewing swimwear in 2018 and my very first swim pattern I sewed was Laguna by Little Lizard King.  And it's definitely my most sewn swim pattern so it was a no-brainer for my favorite pattern.  My girls love the many options that allow them to make their own choices!  I also love that it's a great base pattern, making it easy to hack.  The girls now look at the swimwear in the store to give me ideas.

My oldest loves the halter option, bikini length top and bikini rise bottoms and I don't dare add a ruffle anywhere.  HA!!    For the halter options, I personally omit the elastic in the ties because it makes for much thinner straps.

These striped bottoms have my whole heart!  I think it's my favorite piece of both bikinis.  She's obsessed with this suit -- in fact, she hasn't worn any of her others since I finished it.  That's a total win!

My youngest has been into ruffles lately so she always requests the ruffled vintage bottoms.  She originally requested the exposed ruffle on the bikini top but as I got to that step, she decided against it.  (Personally, I think she just wanted to snuggle and it's hard to snuggle when I'm at my machine).   She also prefers more coverage on top so I sewed up the high neckline and then used the binding finish here.

She doesn't like halters so I love that it has the option for fixed straps.  If you peep the tie in her hair, I sewed up a matching hair tie for each girl to surprise them and they LOVED it.  

If you've not sewn Raspberry Creek Swim, you need to try it! It's 50+ UPF Protection, 225 GSM and at least 60% 4 way stretch.  Fabric content is 82% Polyester 18% Spandex and is 58/60" wide! I've been sewing RCF swim for a couple years now and our suits look just as good the second season around!

Last but not least, my favorite notion (and one of my most used) is my seam ripper!  I am a perfectionist so I seam rip A LOT -- even on these two suits.   This seam ripper is Cindy's Seam Ripper from Riley Blake Designs.  They sent it to me for Christmas along with some yummy minty chocolates.  The shape makes it so much more comfortable to hold -- you can hold it up or down, hook it on your finger, use the outer finger rests, etc.  It also can't roll off your desk onto the floor which means I haven't lost it yet.  (Seriously, all my others are lost in a day). It is SHARP!!  There is nothing more frustrating than a dull seam ripper and some seem to dull after a few uses.  I've used this religiously for 7 months and it's just as sharp today.  Plus, the little cap not only protects your seam ripper when in use, it acts as a stitch eraser!  It's seriously SO good!!

And that's a wrap on our favorite things!!  This has been fun and my girls have seriously enjoyed all the Raspberry Creek Fabrics makes over the last year and they are worn over and over!  

For more Raspberry Creek inspiration, check out the other stops on the tour!

Made By Kates, Kainara Stitches, I Sew Best After Midnight

Sew Mary Mac, Tessa Does for Love Notions, Sew Love You

All My Spare Time, Pins and Pinot, Crafty Professor

Sew Hard of Hearing, Replicate then Deviate, Sew Sophie Lynn

Genwin Design Co., Shwin Designs, That's Sew Kari

{Project Run & Play} Project Smooth Sorbet

 It's here!  It's finally here!!  Project Smooth Sorbet is Project Run and Play's latest designer collaboration and it's full of 10 amazing patterns.   I've been working behind the scenes all Spring and am thrilled to contribute two cute purse patterns to the lineup - fetta & frutta.  It was really hard keeping the secret for so long!

Since competing in Season 23 (Spring 2020), I've been lucky enough to sew three of the designer collaborations and I always love how they center around a fun theme.  Smooth Sorbet is ALL about sweet patterns, fun colors and sorbet!  It doesn't get better than that!  

Actually, it does -- Art Gallery Fabrics was beyond generous and sent me all this fabric to sew up coordinating looks for my two girls.  Thank you AGF!!!  I chose coordinating prints from the Hello Sunshine Collection by Katie Skoog and added in a Striped Knit Basic for one final piece.

I sewed 6 of the 10 patterns and I'm loving how they can become a whole capsule wardrobe.    The garment patterns are full of options that you could sew at least 26 (I lost count towards the end...HA!) unique pieces.  I am definitely sewing up the remaining 4 patterns!  They are all so good!

Smooth Sorbet Collection 

• Bacca Bootcuts (Sizes NB - 16 | Call Ajaire)

• Bacio Basic Tee (Sizes NB - 14 | Jennuine Designs)
• Baie Blazer (Sizes 12m - 14 | Jennuine Designs)
• David Rain Jacket (Sizes 12m - 14 | Bobbins 'N Buttons)
• David Rain Jacket Expansion Pack (Sizes NB - 16 | Call Ajaire)
• Fetta Purse (One Size | That's-Sew-Kari)
• Fragola Top & Dress (Sizes 12m - 14 | Suco by Susana)
• Frutta Purse (One Size | That's-Sew-Kari)
• Limone Lounge Set (Sizes NB - 14 | Jennuine Designs)
• Parfait Polo (Sizes 1 - 16 | Project Run &Play/Skirt Fixation)
• Sorbetto Swimsuit (Sizes NB - 16 | Call Ajaire)

(I've sewn the items in pink)

First up is fragola top & dress.  This top has my whole heart!!  While I normally sew dresses for my youngest, she's starting to gravitate towards tops and this looked perfect for her.  I selected Tropic Like It's Hot in Rayon and the drape is so dreamy -- just as I pictured.

Fragola comes in top length, dress length and maxi length.  It's a babydoll silhouette with optional flutter sleeves.  The back features a button opening and the easiest placket you'll ever sew!  It's magical.

We paired it with the baie blazer in Art Gallery's Striped Sleek Mint.  I love the subtle stripes against the bright bold floral of Fragola.

Baie Blazer is one of those patterns that looks intimidating, but comes out perfectly after taking it step-by-step.  I chose the Peplum option and the pattern includes a unisex option as well.  The pattern is suited for medium to heavy weight stable knits with 20-40% stretch, but I love how it turned out in AGF's super soft lightweight knit.  The pattern also includes pockets and a button closure front (which I omitted).

To finish off her look, I stitched a frutta purse and decided a pink pineapple would be fun and whimsical.  The purse body is Poolside Blush and the crown is Sweet Slice of Watermelon.  The diamond print of Poolside Blush was perfect for quilting.

Frutta was fun to make and sewed up much faster when I wasn't stopping after each step to take a picture for the tutorial! HA!  I originally sewed Frutta for my Week 1 look in Season 23.  I had already sewn my youngest a purse and knew my oldest needed one too.  Long story short, my original Pineapple Purse idea was not turning out how I imagined so I dismantled it and cut it into this shape the morning of pictures.  For this release, I tweaked the pattern a bit -- enlarging the finished size and boxing the bottom corners to allow for more room inside.  This pattern is very beginner-friendly.

____________________________________________________________

For my oldest, we went a little more casual.  First up is the bacio basic tee.  I loved the fun bright floral print of Summer Shine. 

Bacio is a great wardrobe staple.  It's a casual fitting tee with both straight or curved hem.  The neckline can be finished with a traditional band or a fun exposed edge band which I'm intrigued to try.   I sewed the traditional neckband here. 

We paired it with the limone lounge set -- sewing up the knee length skirt option in the bright Sweet Slice of Watermelon cotton.

Limone offers SIX length options -- shorts, bermuda shorts, crop, pants, and two skirt lengths: knee and maxi.  I knew she'd love the skirt the most and chose the size based on just her hip and decided not to lengthen for height.  She prefers her skirts above the knee and since she's petite, it gives her the illusion of height.  (She gets it from me so I'm passing on all my tips and tricks!)  This pattern also has both plain and paperbag waist finishes with optional drawstring.

Last, but certainly not least, is the fetta purse.  This purse was one of my favorite pieces I made for Season 23 -- it made me smile every time I'd see it (and still does). I went with a traditional lemon again, using the Canary cotton that coordinated perfectly with the Hello Sunshine collection.   Now each girl has a Lemon Slice!

Fetta is just plain fun!  Its simple shape means it can be stitched up in under 30 minutes, but is a great introduction to adding zippers.  It's perfectly sized to hold a cell phone, some money and lip gloss.  Included in the pattern is the free iron-on image (slightly modified from above to fit the curvature of the purse bottom better).  My daughter has already requested an orange slice next!

And that's a WRAP on my season long project!  Head over to the Project Run and Play Shop to grab these patterns on sale this week and check back next week for the LOOKBOOK!  You'll find some great inspiration and lots more photos of the projects.

{Raspberry Creek Fabrics} Swimsuit Tour 2021

 

Beep, beep! It's my stop on the Raspberry Creek Fabrics "Suit Up For Summer" Blog Tour!  This is always such a fun and inspiring tour -- I've seen so many awesome suits this week!  

Raspberry Creek Fabrics has an amazing lineup of swim prints this year with 50 new prints!  There is literally something for everyone!  If you've not sewn RCF swim before, it's a nice weight (250 gsm), 50+ UPF protection, and is 58/60" wide with at least 60% 4-way stretch.  (I tend to order 1/2 yd cuts for my girls unless they request a 1-piece suit -- that way I can try more prints... HA!!)  Oh, and there are board short options too!!

You can save 15% on the Swim Fabrics with code SWIMTOUR (ends today!).  In the "swim shop", you can also find coordinating solids, stripes, dots and gingham.  Don't forget to add swim lining or power mesh to your cart too!  

This year, my girls picked out their prints and then I picked a coordinating board short fabric for a cute coverup.   My youngest picked the Red Light Blue and Green Striped Cherries!  I had a feeling she'd pick one of the fruits.  (This print is also available on cotton spandex, double brushed poly and French Terry too!)  I love the combo of the turquoise stripe mixed with the bright cherries.  The Solid Red Board Short is the perfect shade of red too!

I used the Bodhi Boardskirt from Bubby and Me Creations and then added the waist details again with the add-on from the Linden Shorts by Sew A Little Seam.  The tie is decorative because I cannot get enough of my new grommet toy .. er, tool. 

I love the little side pocket too.  Now she can walk to the neighborhood pool and not be walking in just a swimsuit.   This board short sewed up really easily too!  I used a microtex needle.  I used a pressing cloth on top of my seams to avoid putting a hot iron directly on the fabric.  I'm pretty sure she's going to request a matching board skirt to every suit I sew her this year!

For her suit, I knew I wanted something different than what I've sewn her, but I couldn't find a pattern for what I wanted!  I decided I'd use one of her favorite patterns as a "block" and then transform it (that's the beauty of sewing, right?!)  I started with the Antibes Rashguard top by Little Lizard King and chopped off the top of the bodice and then did the same to the sleeve heads as well.  To finish it off, I added elastic to the top, straps and finally a waistband with 3/4" elastic to keep the suit in place when she jumps in the water.

The bottoms are the High Waisted Vintage Bottoms from the Laguna Pattern by Little Lizard King.

I love the full coverage this suit offers but still looks so super cute!!  It's perfect for her fair skin and modest style.

... and then there's my tween whose style is not modest like her little sister.  Hehe.  She picked this fun Fuchsia and Black Painted Hearts (she said it reminded her of the watermelon suit I sewed for the RCF Swim Tour 2 years ago).  I paired it with Matte Black Swim and Solid Black Board Short.

She requested a pair of shorts for her coverup so I modified the Beaufort Shorts by Little Lizard King and added fun ruched side seams.  She always loves the little extra details.  To modify the pattern, I straightened out the hem so there would be fabric to ruche.  The construction steps were switched around too so I could hem the legs with the bias tape before sewing the outer side seams.  Then I pressed the outer seams open so I could stitch the tie channels. 

 

For her suit, I tried out a new-to-me pattern -- Panama by Striped Swallow Designs (this pattern was generously donated to me for this tour!).  I learned a few new techniques too!  I love when I can learn new tricks and tips.  On this suit. the waist elastic is enclosed between the main and lining fabrics of the swim bottoms and it gave a really nice finish inside.  I used the cutout detail, but I think I need a little work on the band because I lost most of the cutout when I attached it -- whoops!  My daughter still loves it though!

The braiding detail on the back is what sold me on the suit!  I'm really in love with this and it looks SO GOOD!!  The suit comes in both the two-piece and a one-piece option.   I omitted the pieced front, but will be trying it in stripes next time!!

WEEKEND BONUS:  Save 15% in the entire SHOP!!

Use code: SUITUP2021

Find more inspiration here:

 

Sew Mary Mac  Merritts Makes  Wild + Wanderful  Call Ajaire

Made by Kates  Violet and Jewels  Sweet Mama Life  All Things Katy!

Intensely Distracted  Pins & Pinot  My Heart Will Sew On  The Petite Sewist

All My Spare Time  Kara Metta  Handcrafted by RED  Sincerely, Shantelle

Replicate Then Deviate  That's Sew Kari  Desert Blooms  Boo + Lu

A huge thank you to our sponsors and don't forget to check out today's giveaway!!
Again, you can find the tour on Instagram with the hashtag: #suitupforsummer2021

Titchy Threads  Sew A Little Seam  Simple Life Pattern Co.  Pattern for Pirates  Ellie and Mac  

Lowland Kids  Gingham Hive  Striped Swallow Designs  Honeydew Kisses  Little Lizard King  

Jennuine Designs  Greenstyle Creations  Made for Mermaids  Call Ajaire  Hey June  Boo Designs! 

  Sofiona Designs  Love Notions  Lil Luxe Collection  Jalie  Sweet Red Poppy