film petit: back to the future

April 18, 2013September 26, 201337 Comments

where we’re going for film petit this month, we don’t need roads…

and we’re back with more ’80s movie goodness for you today! it’s every 30-something’s introduction to the perils of time travel – 1985’s Back to the Future (affiliate link)!

written and directed by Robert Zemeckis, BTTF is the story of Marty McFly, played by a teenage Michael J. Fox, who is accidentally sent back in time to 1955 in his friend Doc Brown’s souped up DeLorean. he must find a way back home while also ensuring his parents (also teens at the time) get together. if he fails in his mission, they will never get married and have him, and he will cease to exist…! and then his mom decides she thinks he’s cute and wants to go to prom with him! also, biff! ohhhhh dear. it’s a super fun movie and a must-watch for an entire generation.

so as far as i’m concerned, there are three true “main characters” in BTTF: Marty, Doc, and The DeLorean.

i decided to go more conceptual than i have in film petits past…yep, I totally sewed an outfit inspired by a time traveling car.

Screen Shot 2013-04-18 at 1.37.30 AM

i actually put an insane amount of thought into trying to bring the vague idea i had in my mind to an outfit that would make sense to everyone, so let’s see if you’re with me, starting with the hair.

i actually just wanted to point out that i totally spiked up my 2 year old’s hair with pomade so he looked more 80s. okay moving on.

DeLorean jacket! i knew i wanted to make a jacket, i wanted it to look a bit ’80s, a bit driving jacket-esque, and be lightweight and in DeLorean gray. i thought i’d add more detail to it, but the sewing got tricky and so i added detail elsewhere. oh oh! funny side note i remembered while writing this post – when we were choosing a grout color for our bathroom tile, one of the options was actually called “DeLorean Gray.”

we chose it.

if he lifts his arms, it’s even got gull-wing doors!

i used Rae’s Flashback Skinny Tee as a base for the jacket, adding room to the neckline, armholes, and chopping off many inches to accommodate the rib knit band at the bottom and the length of the zipper. this is my first time sewing a separating zipper, and the first time sewing taffeta (!) which was the best color gray they had at JoAnn to give me the look I wanted (despite being really impractical for a 2 year old).

the final jacket reminds me of Jess’s Drive-inspired jacket, the creation that sparked this whole film petit idea in the first place, so i thought that was cool too!

under the jacket is another Flashback Skinny Tee in 3T, which I freezer paper stenciled to look like the OUTATIME license plate on the car! i had a heckuva time figuring out what to put on a shirt, but as soon as I watched the movie again and saw that plate, i pretty much ran to my sewing room to make it. i added stripes to look like the California plate at the top, and i get a feeling he’ll wear this one a lot.

on the bottom, another Rae pattern! this one is the fab new Parsley Pants pattern (I was a tester). i dyed a pair of my husband’s old khakis ORANGE to look like flame trails the DeLorean leaves behind as it rockets into the past in the parking lot of JCPenny (it was my husband’s idea to do that!). then with a stroke of late night inspiration, i drew tire treads onto the knee patches to nail home the car idea a little more.

oh and his neon green-tread shoes represent plutonium fuel. hehe.

now, you didn’t think i’d make a delorean outfit without a flux capacitor, did you?!

of course not. you would never.

and there you have it! my little guy says it’s time to go visit our two fellow time travelers and see some amazing and wonderful things.

off he goes! won’t you follow him?

first, i can’t believe that we lured the Queen of All Sewing Bloggers, Dana of MADE, into joining us for film petit! Jess and I were so excited to have her sew with us, and we realized she’s just as much of a procrastinator as we are (score!). Dana made a super awesome Mary McFly outfit for her son Owen, AND a bonus ’50s girl outfit for her little Clara – both are perfection. GO CHECK IT OUT! thanks for playing, Dana!!

aaaaaand my partner-in-crime Jess sewed Doc Brown’s white jumpsuit for her daughter Elsie. yes, daughter. it’s freakin’ hilarious, Jess always gets the silliness just right. GO SEE, GO SEE!

***

here are the guidelines for film petit:

every month or so, Jess and i (plus a guest blogger) sew an outfit (or outfits) for our kid (or kids) inspired by a movie we love. our next guest will be Delia from Delia Creates!
please add your movie-inspired kid sewing to the film petit flickr group. there’s some really amazing stuff in there – we love it when you play along!
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. you can see all of Jessica’s film petit posts right here.

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!

the day i found a time capsule

April 10, 2013April 10, 201326 Comments

i’m busy busy with wedding prep (my sister is getting married this weekend!), film petit sewing, family birthday parties, and learning my new job (!), so there’s not much time left to blog at the moment. and when i get super busy in “real life,” you know what that means – i bring home guest posts!

this one is from sew much ado’s flashback friday series, a really enjoyable (and often hilarious) collection of memories from crafty bloggers. my original post went up here. maybe it will help you get in a nostalgic mood, too, because vintage may returns next month!

***

Late one night, a few months ago, I was sewing, as I often do. Suddenly, I needed a zipper and didn’t have the right size in my stash. As a last ditch effort, I decided to look in the saran-wrapped box of notions that my grandma had left me when she died, but I had never opened. It was then that my sewing stopped for the evening, because what I found wasn’t a zipper, but a time capsule.

My grandma had died in 2010 after living a long and full life. She lost her first husband in WWII and married my grandfather, also a vet, a few years after the War ended. She had five children of her own (including my dad), then decided she wasn’t quite done raising kids, so she adopted one more baby. She was always proud to tell everyone how many grandchildren she had (I lost track around 30). A year or so before her death, she told me the birth story of one of my uncles, where she walked to the grocery store and back in full labor. She was a tough lady, a strong woman. She wasn’t the most cuddly, sweet, always-have-candy type grandma – she was the grandma you learned botanical plant names from, you had memories of feeding the geese with, who told you stories of world travel.

I think women of her era were more self-sufficient. They came of age during the Great Depression, they raised kids while so many of their husbands were at war. They had to know how to cook, sew, knit, crochet, mend, needlepoint, embroider, can and preserve, garden, make more out of less. Skills that a few of us possess today and that many of us are trying to reclaim, they all knew.

My grandma could do it all. In her younger days, I’m told she was a prolific seamstress. In her 70s she took oil painting classes, and in her 80s she passed the time by knitting. She knitted a blanket for every great-grandchild at birth, and Em was one of the last to receive one. It’s a treasure and Em knows how special it is – she refers to it as “great grandma’s blanket.”

I had to sneak this photo in – she happened to be in the hospital with heart trouble the day Em was born. I never met my great grandparents, so I thought it was so cool that Em got to meet hers.

So anyway, when I was looking for that zipper, I opened the three boxes she had left me – her one grandchild who sews – and was stopped in my tracks. I found her coursework from when she took sewing as a teenager. Tucked inside her “Dressmaking Made Easy” book were graded work samples, smocking, buttonholes, stitch finishes…all sewn by hand. I try to sew in a way that’s technically correct, but I’m self-taught. My sewing now is nowhere near the skill level of my grandma at ages 16 and 17.

As I think about it now, I’m guessing she’d likely been sewing since she was a child. Those classes took her to the next level and earned her a degree.

Tucked in with her coursework, there was a photo of her mother, religious cards, and photos of her, as well as the (handmade) pincushions she used, with pins still in them. Her graduation announcement and certificate were there too.

I’m not sure what lesson I learned that night. I mostly felt in awe of her skill and beauty as a 17-year-old. It made me more sure that sewing is in my blood on both sides of the family, as my mom is also a technically skilled and talented sewist. It made me want to learn more, to build my skills and pass them on to my kids, to continue the legacy of sewing in my family. It made me feel proud that my grandma thought I was deserving of her sewing supplies enough to will them to me. I feel a real responsibility to carry on the tradition.

Thanks so much for having me, Abby! This was such a joy.

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!

check out all of the swap participants for more bloggy fun! some really awesome stuff happened here – can’t wait to do it again sometime!

wool greenpoint cardigan

April 3, 2013April 3, 201325 Comments

one of the best (and hardest) things about sewing is being able to make all this stuff that i used to buy. and once i know how to make it, i CAN’T buy it anymore. take cardigans for instance. once Adrianna (of Crafterhours and Hey June Handmade fame) sent me her Greenpoint Cardigan to try out, and i found out how easy it is to make, i’ll likely never buy a cardigan again (except maybe in dire circumstances)!

for my first try at this adorable little pattern, i sewed it up with a couple of old felted wool sweaters and an old scarf. it’s got a bunch of cashmere in it and is soooo soft for Em to wear. i was very inspired by this Mini Boden sweater.

the wool worked, though i added a bit too much interfacing in the maroon band and it didn’t stretch as much as it needed to. i actually made this a couple months ago (again) but just remembered i needed to post it when Em recently chose it to wear layered over one of her crazy outfits she’s pulling together these days.

i made it in a size 4, which is a bit too big for her. but as a ballet coverup, the grandpa cardigan look works great.

she loves buttoning things.

and dancing. always dancing.

check out the Hey June Pattern Shop to grab your copy of the Greenpoint Cardigan pattern, and add something new to your “make not buy” list! 😉

oh and you’re gonna wanna come back tomorrow for a SUPER fun project i worked on! it involves me sending a couple outfits to Utah and receiving a couple amazing ones in return!! for now, you can read more here.