film petit: napoleon dynamite

June 13, 2013June 13, 201349 Comments

it’s time to sit back, relax, and enjoy as…

Napoleon Dynamite, GOSH!

Napoleon Dynamite came out in 2004 and its mythical creature-obsessed title character and his funny speech patterns captured the imagination of America for a few years there (haha). really – i’d never met a kid like Napoleon…but a HS teacher friend of mine from a smaller town said yes, she’s taught kids just like him – they really exist. this movie is just a fun tale of social awkwardness, fitting in or not at all, getting standing ovations for crazy dances…and it’s a joy. it feels like real kids somewhere doing random stuff rather than “fake high school” like you normally see in movies. it celebrates being different and awkward and i love it.

film petit: napoleon dynamite

so the movie tells the story of a group of high schoolers and a few adults, and in true film petit fashion, we’ve largely split them up across the three blogs. i initially chose just Deb, but once i started sewing her outfit, i realized it wasn’t quite enough to “sell” the look. so i decided to sew Uncle Rico too, and recreate the super awkward yet hilarious “Glamour Shots by Deb” scene!

Deb, played by Tina Majorino, is a shy girl with a very strong sense of style and ambition – she’s always dressed in the height of 80s/90s fashion, she sells homemade handicrafts for college money, makes her own puffy sleeves for the school dance, runs a glamour shots studio out of her bedroom…she’s basically every sewing blogger’s former self. 😉

Just imagine you’re weightless. You’re in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by tiny seahorses.

so Em is Deb. i designed the shawl collar shirt with french sleeves which i sewed out of a thrifted pillowcase (major score!), and made her leggings out of peachy interlock knit using my Go To Leggings pattern. i realized you very rarely see Deb’s legs in the movie so i just had to guess her pant selection…but i remember my little sister wore tons of leggings all through the ’90s, so i figured that was a good bet.

the shirt was pretty funny to sew in that awful polyester, and the hot pink fanny pack was a must. i just kind of made it up on the fly, and it goes around her waist with thick elastic. and of course she rocks the side pony and multiple bracelets. here she is ensuring that her photo backdrop is perfectly set.

and who is it set for…? why, uncle rico of course!

Rico (played by Jon Gries) is the crazy uncle that comes to stay with Napoleon and his brother, Kip, while their grandma recovers from a sand dune accident. he tries all sorts of “get rich quick” schemes during his stay, and decides that he needs an official photo to put on his official name badge. he goes to Deb.

i knew this outfit would be soooo fun to sew for O, and he was totally cracking me up with his mustache (which he loved, and totally cried when i wiped it off) and chambray outfit and big ol’ brown shirt underneath and daddy’s watch (again). i mean come on!

the vest was self-designed starting with the flashback skinny tee as a basic pattern block. i was proud of figuring out how to put a fully lined vest together cleanly with no bindings, and definitely see making more of these for this little guy. the shirt underneath is blank slate patterns’ perfect polo, with the collar extended 1/2″ to add to Rico’s “stuck in the 70s” look. my mom saw a photo of the polo and thought i bought it, which is a testament to Melissa’s design!

his pants are the parsley pants i blogged here, and in his full chambray and brown outfit, he coulda been state champ.

the kids loved pretending to have a photoshoot with my Holga (which they thought was digital, as you can see above) and then Rico even turned the photoshoot around on Deb!

okay! now that our photoshoot-within-a-photoshoot is over, you MUST go check out what my partners sewed!

our guest Delia from Delia Creates went way above and beyond, sewing TWO versions of Napoleon, one Pedro Sanchez, and a different Uncle Rico too! AAAAAND she took photos at actual filming locations! AAAAAAAAAAND she designed and photographed our food plate titles at the top of this post! she’s a rockstar. visit her blog and bring chapstick, ‘cuz her lips hurt real bad! thanks so much for joining us, Delia!

my partner Jessica from a little gray picked some hilarious inspiration when she chose to sew Rex Kwon Do dojo duds for her little guy, and make her little GAL a Napoleon shirt and shorts! friggin SWEET. go check it out!

>> > > >< < < <<

here are the guidelines for film petit:

every month or so, Jessica and i (plus a guest blogger) sew an outfit (or outfits) for our kid (or kids) inspired by a movie we love.
please add any of your movie-inspired kid sewing to the film petit flickr group. if you sew along with our film petit choices, we’d love to see that too!
this is a pretty relaxed series, really the only rule is to make outfits for kids based on films you love. if you have any questions, please let either of us know.
film petit archives: the life aquatic with steve zissou, amélie, fantastic mr. fox, psycho, moonrise kingdom, ferris bueller’s day off, the big lebowski, back to the future

P.S. This post contains affiliate links which means i receive a small commission if you click through to Amazon or Go To Patterns, and I received the Perfect Polo from my lovely sponsor Blank Slate Patterns for free.

P.P.S. EAT THE FOOD!

junebug dress pattern testing

June 4, 2013June 3, 201322 Comments

i’m so excited that my friend Jess from Craftiness is not Optional is now turning her crazy bank of tutorials into real PATTERNS! she started with the Bapron, and now she’s venturing into her trademark little gal clothes. check it out, it’s the Junebug Dress!

this pattern means a lot to me, but i didn’t even realize it until I was sewing it up as a tester.

the Junebug Dress (in free form) was my remix challenge for the first week of season 3 of Project Run & Play. i flipped the bodice around, added some overlays, and it became the Sweet Tartan Dress (tutorial here) and sort of “put me on the map,” blog-wise. my remix of the Junebug actually led to the first emails between Jess and i – we became quick buds, then decided to do Vintage May together, and have been in pretty regular contact ever since. she’s an inspiration and SUCH a hard worker! recently, Jess’ daughter Sadie and Em have become the cutest pen pals – they keep trying to talk us into a playdate (kinda hard when you live 700 miles away, but we’ll make it happen someday).

so a lot has come from this one little dress!

springtime junebug dress

I should probably talk about the pattern – it’s a great pattern. Jess pumped up the volume with sleeve/sleeveless and dress/tunic options, plus great step-by-step photos and instructions to help you sew a darn cute little garment. it goes from size 18 months to 8 years (thanks to digitizing/grading services by Melissa), and the bodice fit is pretty generous, meaning i sewed a 2T bodice for Em (with a 5T skirt). since it has plenty of growing room, it’s a pattern you could get lots of uses out of as your little gal gets bigger.

springtime junebug dress

this fabric combo was a collaboration with Em. she had picked out a Sarah Jane Children at Play fabric a while back, and when I asked her what she wanted me to use for the Junebug, she pulled it. i thought the print might be a bit busy for the dress and almost said no, but then i noticed something in the print…

doesn’t that dress on the left look awfully close to a Junebug?? Em liked the one on the right up there too, so i mixed both together until I got this…with two pink kona solids on top, red buttons, and amy butler full moon polka dot in tangerine (which i believe i picked up at cool cottons).

she loves it.

it was such a pleasure to pattern test for Jess! she presents sewing in such a friendly and approachable way, and i’ve learned a lot by following her blog. i’m a fan.

i celebrate her entire catalog.

and here’s a little glimpse at Portland spring. it’s warm, we head out when the weather looks fine, and then…it starts raining. i mean, it just started sprinkling, but Em thought we needed to immediately run for the hills.

we made a mad dash inside, just like YOU should make a mad dash over to CINO to pick up the Junebug Pattern!

springtime junebug dress

see what i did there? hehe.

stay dry out there, you guys.

kcw spring 2013 :: hawaiian girl dress

April 25, 2013April 25, 201317 Comments

story behind this one: lately when Em comes out of her room having dressed herself, she often looks like she’s headed to dinner on Maui or something. plumeria hair clip, skirt, lei, whole deal. she also has been asking me to make her a maxi skirt like mine.

boom. made her a hawaiian girl dress.

i saw a super cute dress on groovy baby…and mama this morning and made my own version as soon as i could, because i knew it’d be fast and Em would love it.

the fabric is a lightweight voile that fru-t sent me when i won a giveaway of hers a while back. she sent me a bunch of amazing fabrics, actually, and this is the first i could bring myself to cut into! i just gathered the front and attached some fold over elastic to the top.

Em loves it, perfect for this suddenly summer weather we’ve gotten here in the past couple days. here she is doing a halfhearted hula.

alright, that wraps up KCW for me! i’m just out of time. see, i didn’t even finish this dress, the straps still need to be sewn down.

HOWEVER. it’s a good thing Rae extended the Spring Top Sewalong, because tomorrow i have a free pattern and tutorial for you! like you meaning YOU – the grown up gal! i’m pretty dang thrilled about it – i even taught myself illustrator, so it’s all digital and stuff. 😀

see you tomorrow!

a couple of superheroes

April 16, 2013April 16, 20138 Comments

i’m always curious with other sewing bloggers what the clothes look like AFTER they’re blogged, like how (and if) they’re worn in daily life. this is pretty much how my kids look on the weekends these days. Em is especially into “the layered look.”

they both are in outfits of their own choosing. okay…well maybe i asked O if he wanted to wear his superhero cape (that i made him for christmas and hadn’t blogged yet). and then maybe Em decided she wanted to wear hers too. and then maybe i just went ahead and took pictures of them in the backyard, unmoved lawn, spaghetti-o face and all. keepin’ it casual over here.

every kid needs a superhero cape!

his super deeds include watching big sis climb the lilac, broom riding, secret keeping, and giant bouncy ball tossing.

on her: cape, cardigan, store-bought t-shirt in size 3T but it’s pink so she put it on, doily skirt with tulle circle skirt underneath, sparkle leggings and sparkle hair clip from delia, butterfly boots from great aunt Nancy

on him: cape (from my tutorial), raglan t, “basketball shorts” over sweatpants that used to belong to E, socks

i used this awesome rocketship print from Anna for the cape lining. isn’t it fun? i think it’s riley blake…? the outside of the cape is various kona cottons with bright orange and red topstitching.

superhero cape

and one of many blurry running shots. he’s just a tiny superhero fighting crime, nbd. 🙂

superhero cape

PS FILM PETIT with DANA up next!

handmade kid clothes swap

April 4, 2013April 10, 201338 Comments

a few months back, Robin of Nested in Stitches had a really great idea to bring together a bunch of sewing bloggers with similar taste and style for a handmade kid clothes swap extravaganza. i was lucky enough to be involved during the planning phase, and it was so, so fun to see it all unfold. we were inspired by our swap partner’s pinterest board to create an outfit for their kid, all in secret! you can read more about the swap here.

polka dot geranium tunic

i think a lot of us sewing mamas are pretty generous in our sewing – we sew for our kids, other people’s kids, baby gifts, wedding gifts, house stuff…but we don’t usually get too many handmades in return. i bet the reason we have blogs is that we DON’T know too many people in real life that are our age and do what we do. the internet brings all of us crazy late-night modern sewists together and it’s a cool thing to share our passion with others.

but sometimes it’s also nice to receive, and Robin’s swap is the best of both worlds – sewing for someone else in a really thoughtful way, and getting something in the mail from another mama that puts just as much love into her sewing as you do.

you know who drew my name? DELIA! oh i love Delia, she’s such a bighearted and kind person, a fact that was proven when i opened up the adorably wrapped package she sent. it was obvious she put an incredible amount of thought and love into what she made for Em, taking into account both her likes and my own tastes. she also filled gaps in Em’s wardrobe – i rarely make tunics and Em was in dire need of leggings, especially because these days she loves to layer all sorts of pieces together to make her own crazy looks.

swap outfits from delia

i’ll let Delia explain more about the TWO beautiful and perfect outfits she sewed for Em, but first i need to point something out. i think many of us swap participants were really nervous about sewing for our partner, thinking a fellow sewist would judge us more harshly on the straightness of our stitches or our finishing techniques, but when Em and i opened that box from Delia i noticed zero of the “imperfections” that she talks about below, and only saw the most beautiful chiffon Geranium tunic, the perfectly-fitting sparkly and striped leggings, the fantastic mustard linen top. Em got SO excited about the outfits too! really, just perfect…and it felt so special to see her sewing firsthand, with those pieces so caringly made just for my little gal. i nearly cried.

polka dot geranium tunic

anyway, here’s Delia talking about her inspiration and what she made, with a bunch of photos and my comments in italics. 😉

***

When Robin told me that I had Kristin, I was both excited and super nervous. I mean…this is Kristin of Skirt as Top! I knew whatever I made would have to be perfect. (and it was!!!)

So, I didn’t create perfection (yes you did) but I had a lot of fun perusing her awesome girls pinterest board and creating something for her cute adorable Em. It was SO hard to not repin a bunch of stuff from there. I didn’t want to tip her off you know. 😉

geranium tunic and leggings from delia

Using Made By Rae’s Geranium pattern, I sewed my first Geranium. I felt a little ambitious and decided to line it with white linen and add a white and silver polka dot chiffon overlay with chiffon flutter sleeves. I whipped up some glittery teal leggings to go with and threw in a sparkly zipper flower clip my friend Tori made for me a long time ago. It just matched so perfectly that I just couldn’t not, you know? (and Em LOVES it!!! she’s a huge fan of hair clips she can put in easily herself)

The whole ensemble was inspired by the many sheer or ballet style outfits she pinned along with the flutter sleeved tops she pinned. See here, here, and here for just a few examples. I made it inspired by the ballet look without looking like a tutu. (mission accomplished – she didn’t stop dancing/leaping through this whole photoshoot, as you can see)

I also tried to infuse what Kristin had said Em liked. She mentioned sparkle (check), twirl (even though it’s a tunic, it twirls, check), and polka dots (check).

Even though I felt like I had sewed something Em would love, I was super nervous that Kristin might not love it (poppycock!). So, I sewed some more.

I was heavily inspired by this pin here, and this color scheme here and ended up making my favorite piece yet. This tank has a slight high low rise hem, flutter-ish straps, a single covered button at the back and a faux “placket” of black buttons on the front all sewn in a yellow linen from Jo-Ann. (i love the linen and the fit is so nice too – Em wore it with grape-colored shorts for Easter dinner and it’s perfect for spring/summer)

I sewed more leggings using Go To Patterns Leggings pattern again which is a really great pattern. It takes out the sizing guess work and makes great fitting, professionally finished leggings every time.

In the end, the stripes on one of the leggings don’t line up and the buttons on the chiffon top are off center – ugh (didn’t even notice). But, it all fits her and she likes it, which is what was I was most worried about. I learned that sewing a tiny hem on chiffon is not so bad, and that I need more flutter sleeves for Natalie too because they are so fun and perfectly pretty!

I felt so honored to be a part of this sewing swap and that I got to have my dear friend Kristin as my secret sewing assignment.

Kristin sent me a few texts of Em twirling in her outfits when she got them and they MADE my day. She is the cutest Kristin! (aw thanks, Delia!!! you really nailed Em’s style but it’s all so perfectly YOU too…i wish i could give you a big huge hug!!)

***

isn’t it all so great? thank you SO MUCH Delia!

okay, so what did i make?

well. i was lucky enough to draw Danielle, one of my first sewing blog friends – i emailed her after i found her blog when she posted for No Big Dill two years ago because i noticed some similarities in our lives that could not be ignored. Danielle was kind enough to write back rather than think i was a crazy person and ignore me. we became fast friends, she encouraged me to start my blog and our friendship has only grown since (I even met her and her kids last summer, our little gals hit it off and Em still asks if she can play with Avery sometime…). i was thrilled to sew for both of her kids!

here’s a preview – click over to my sparkle for her cute little towheads rocking their outfits!