Project Run and Play Week Three: Shine Bright

It’s week three! What a ride it’s been!  I’m thrilled to have made it this far in the competition and have been loving my competitors creation’s each week.  Make sure you head over to Project Run and Play to check out their looks and to vote for your favorite.

The theme for this week is “Astronomical Proportions’.   I really, really struggled with this one.  I love that this competition pushes me to try new things and to be adventurous but I also want to be true to my own design aesthetic and style.  As designers we pondered the double meaning of the theme; outer space and also big dramatic proportions or style elements.   Trying to go with both meanings and stay practical and wearable was my big hang up.  I decided to go ‘big’ in my own way.

I kept thinking of the stars- both in the sky and on the silver screen.  We are channeling the bright, shining stars in the sky and also our favorite Hollywood movie stars.  It made for a fun week sewing and an especially fun photo shoot.

Fabric played a huge part in this week’s look.  I used mostly fabric I’ve had forever and that I picked up for a steal.  The sequins, lining knit, and neon pink scuba knit are from LA that I grabbed last year.  The sequins were a screaming deal at $5/yard and the scuba was a remnant that I got to dig for ;).  The faux leather knit came from a local home decor warehouse for $3/yard and the space knit was a Joann remnant for a couple of dollars as well.  Serious savings!  While it was amazing finding just the right fabrics in my stash it also meant I had to work with the yardage I had.  It proved a bit challenging on the main pieces but worked out in the end.

This dress was such a learning experience.  It was only my second time working with sequins and my first big project with them.  I only broke ten needles in the process- haha!  The sparkle and shine are so worth it though!

The real showstopper is that skirt!  I added fairy lights for extra wow factor and love the results.

I wanted this dress to be both playful and sophisticated and to really suit her style.  I loved this dress and this one as well and wanted to use elements of them in our look.  I love the blouson top and wanted a circle skirt to really showcase those twinkling lights.  I love the bishop sleeve of the second dress but unfortunately didn’t have enough fabric for long sleeves.  The slight flutter sleeve is my compromise!

The dress is lined in a super soft grey rayon jersey knit.  It’s comfortable and helps retain the drapiness of the sequins.  I did an elastic casing on the bodice lining only to avoid an extra seam on the sequins.  The elastic had to be nice and snug to hold up the weight of the sequins and battery pack.

The lights are removable and took a lot of time to figure out.

I created a zipper pouch in the pocket to hold the battery pack.  There is a buttonhole on the other side of the pocket for the light strand to feed out of.  The lights are hand tacked to the inside of the sequins and are just loose enough that they can be removed easily.

If I were to create this dress again (hello, future me!) I’d do a couple of things differently.  This was my first time making a light up sequin dress after all!  Hopefully someone else can use these tips to make their little princess’s dreams come true.  The battery pack is a little too heavy and bulky in her pocket and I think I’d either do a separate pocket in the back of the bodice or since I knew she’d be wearing shorts underneath it would be ideal to put the battery pack in a pocket there then do a buttonhole on the skirt lining for the lights to feed through.  The fairy lights were lightweight and the wire was pliable and worked well with the weight of the sequins.  The lights add just a bit of fullness to the skirt which worked well for this application.  How fun would a light up dress be for a night of fireworks at your favorite theme park?  I think there are lots of possibilities with these fun lights!

The spin factor with the lights is our favorite! I love that she picked Chucks to really play up the playfulness of this look.  Perfectly suits my soccer loving, book-worm, old soul of a daughter!

I used the Nina Blouse from Coffee + Threads as my basic bodice pattern again.  I eliminated all closures and did a slight boatneck to fit over her head.  I redrafted the sleeve to have as much flutter as I could fit on my remaining fabric.  I just love that drape!

I used the Love Notions Leggins’ pattern to make a pair of shorties to wear underneath to allow her to spin to her heart’s content!  I added height to the waistband and cut them to hit mid-thigh for coverage but to stay hidden too.  This fun space print was perfect for the theme and I love when they peek out a bit as she twirls!

Overall, I’m so happy for the push Project Run and Play gave me to cut into my beloved sequins.  It was worth all the broken needles in the world to see this little miss feel like a star!

This girl is my little sassy one.  She’s full of spunk and I wanted an outfit that captured that.  A neon pink top with faux leather leggings sure did the trick!

For her blouse I used the Hey June City Park tee as my base.  I sized up and redrafted the body for a boxy, loose fit.  I added wide blouson sleeves for our take on ‘astronomical proportions’.  I love the drama of the sleeves and finishing them with an elastic cuff keeps them a little more practical.

Just about as puffy as this simple mama gets 😉  She’s in love though!

I did a slight high low hem to add to the dramatic feel.

Gold foil stars add the finishing touch.  My Cricut and I are becoming BFF’s this competition too.  As I searched for star fabric all over the internet it hit me that my Cricut could give me just the look I wanted.  I was able to use the bright fabric I wanted and add just a spattering of stars to tie it in with the theme.

Her pants are simple leggings with a few modifications for a sleek fit.  I used the Peony Leggings from Sew Like My Mom.  I slimmed the legs even more for a second skin close fit.  I added height to the waistband for a high-waisted silhouette.

They’re cropped just at the ankle for a retro feel.  Really wishing I could rock the pleather pants like this girl!

Our shoot day was another one for the books.  After six soccer games and a birthday party, we had a fun shoot planned in front of this cool wall.   Mother Nature had other plans as the skies turned grey and it started raining then turned to slushy snow.  Perfect photo conditions!

Luckily I had a backup plan and we headed to a ‘fancy’ parking garage for a high fashion photo shoot- complete with natural wind machines and an audience.  These girls loved getting glammed up and really turned on their inner movie stars.  A little makeup and a rocking hairdo go a long way in making them feel confident and really bring them out of their shells.  Yet again, the photo shoot turned out to be my favorite part of the process.  These girls crack me up and we just have a blast each time!

Make sure you head over to Project Run and Play to vote for your favorite look!  Voting is open until 8pm EST Thursday, March 29th.