STYLO no. 3 Grey Zone

Photo (and graphic added) by Stacy

Yesterday I shared my Peaches and Cream look for STYLO issue three. Now today I’ve got my Grey Zone look to share. Again, just like for the Peaches and Cream photos, all of the Grey Zone photos featured in STYLO were taken by my friend Stacy ~ thank you Stacy!

This whole outfit came together because I was really inspired by the black and white pins found in the STYLO no.3 Mood Board. Black and white can be so classic, classy, and chic. So this is my little Diane Keaton look. Or maybe it could be Mary Tyler Moore since the photos were taken in downtown Minneapolis. I love the contrast going on here, black and white, masculine and feminine. Anyway, just something different for STYLO and maybe something a little different from what I usually make… maybe some people are surprised I didn’t sew a dress!

Here are the details about my Grey Zone look...

Sis Boom Ethan Shirt 
Fabric: white cotton, from SR Harris
Notions: white Dill buttons, from Michael Levine
Size: 6
I’ve already used this pattern a couple of times and it’s a really good button shirt pattern because it has a collar with a separate collar stand. For this white shirt I eliminated the front patch pocket.

Oliver + S Art Museum Trousers
Fabrics:
black wool with white dots, from SR Harris
lining: black and white graphic print cotton, Night and Day designed by Kim Schaefer for Andover Fabrics, from Michael Levine
Notions: 
black Dill buttons, from SR Harris
white zipper, from SR Harris
Size: 5 with size 6 length
This was the fourth time I’ve used this pattern, it’s my favorite pants pattern. I used this zipper fly tutorial and this was only my second zipper fly! On these pants I eliminated the belt loops. I absolutely love this black wool! I need to go back to the store to buy some more because I would love to sew myself a pair of pants with this fabric.

Oliver + S Forest Path Cape
Fabrics: 
black wool coating, from SR Harris
lining: black and white graphic print cotton, North Star “GRAPHYX” designed by Mark Hordyszynski for Micheal Miller, from Michael Levine
Notions: black Dill buttons, from SR Harris
Size: 6
I love this cape! It has such a nice shape, great style, and comes together so nicely. I would love to sew myself one and lucky for me, there is a women’s version of the pattern. And how perfect is the name of the lining print ‘North Star’ since I live in Minnesota where the State Motto is “L’Etoile du Nord” which is french for “The Star of the North” and the most common nickname for Minnesota is “The North Star State."

Peaches and Peanuts The Tie 
Fabric: black and white graphic satin, from SR Harris
Size: Child S/M
This is the first tie I ever made! It was such a fun sewing project and I would never hesitate in the future to sew another tie using this pattern. A tie can really add something unique (to an outfit) whether it’s a print or a color. I love how in the first photo the lines on the tie echo the lines in the window of the building in the background.

I did bring my camera along to the photo shoot and I got exactly one photo and this is it because right after I snapped this shot my girl went running off! (The wind was gusty at the top of these stairs ~ look at her hair!) She was particularly more difficult to photograph during this photo shoot because she was running around all over the place. Stacy performed miracles to capture a few photos of her! That being said I’m sure you can understand why I’m very grateful to own a dress form :)

You must go check out the details about the Grey Zone look that Stacy made for her daughter.

Thanks to Michael Levine for providing some of the materials for this look. Use the coupon code 'Stylo10', which is good for 10% off your entire purchase.

Thanks for stopping by. I just love sewing and it’s a joy to share what I create. One of the things I love so much about STYLO is that it brings the online sewing community together. Thank you STYLO!

Sew In Tune Winter 2014

 Sew In Tune Winter 2014 is here! It's an online sewing series where you sew up an outfit inspired by a tune. The hostesses are Melissa from Melly Sews and Stacey from Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy! All this week there are two Sew In Tune posts per day, so check out their blogs to see them all.

 Today it is my turn to play and the song I picked was Waterloo by ABBA.
More specifically about my inspiration:

• Waterloo battle: military inspired jacket
• Napoleon was from France: the jacket sewing pattern I used is from France
• The ABBA music group is from Sweden: Swedish flag (blue with a gold Scandinavian cross)

 For my son, Mr. J, I created 3 pieces: a pair of yellow trousers, a blue jacket, and a white long sleeve t-shirt and here are the project details...

 Yellow Trousers
Pattern: Oliver+S Art Museum Trousers with this zipper fly tutorial
Fabric: yellow cotton twill
Size: 7 with 9/10 length
Sewing notes: My first zipper fly! I have been sewing up a ton of little girl dresses these past few years, but only a handful of pants. I am so happy I tackled the zipper fly. I'm so pleased with how well it went and with the result that I hope to sew zipper flies on all pants in the future.

 Blue jacket
Pattern: Oberweiden (paper pattern in French, comes in sizes 6-12 years)
Fabrics:
Jacket: blue cotton twill
Lining: Kona cotton in blue and gold
Size: 10 years
Sewing notes: This jacket is "demi saison," so it does not close (I am really thankful I didn't have to sew all those button holes, especially because I added 6 buttons instead of the suggested 4). The sewing went pretty well as I knew enough French to get by and there are easy to follow drawings. I'm not a huge fan of putting in sleeves, but these went in extremely easily.
For the lining of this jacket I was inspired by the Swedish flag which is blue with a gold Scandinavian cross. It was really quite easy to add the gold Scandinavian cross. First I cut out the blue lining fabric. Second, I took 2 inch strips of gold fabric, folded under .5 inch on each side, then topstitched them onto the blue lining fabric.
I really like the details on this jacket and am thrilled that it is gender neutral, so hopefully I'll get more use (and therefore my money's worth) out of it.

 White long sleeve t-shirt
Pattern: Made by Rae flashback skinny tee for big kids, comes in sizes 6-14
Fabric: I bought an adult size t-shirt from the clearance rack, so I used an existing t-shirt to make a smaller one, using the original hems, cuffs, and neckline ribbing, like in this video.

 If you would like to sew along you can add your Sew In Tune creations to the flickr group.

Many thanks to Melissa and Stacey for the invitation to participate in the series.

PS I created a challenge for myself. I want to complete the following 4 sewing projects before the Great British Sewing Bee Season 2 airs in spring 2014.
These are from the Great British Sewing Bee Season 1 and they are the 'following a pattern' challenges from all 4 episodes:

1. A-line skirt with invisible zip
2. Trousers with zip fly
3. Summer dress with French seams, rows of shearing elastic, and rouleau loop straps
4. Button shirt with collar stand

So with finishing these yellow trousers I have crossed 'Trousers with zip fly' off the list and have 3 more challenges to complete in order to reach my goal.

Art Museum Boy Look

 Today is my last day of the Oliver + S fall pattern preview...

Oliver + S just released the Art Museum Vest + Trousers (available in sizes 6M-12) as one of three of their fall 2013 sewing patterns and I'm so excited to share what I have made! Here is a sewing pattern for boys and girls. Last time was my girl's look, today I'm sharing my tween boy's look. Yay for handmade tween clothing!

Did you know that the vast majority of Oliver + S sewing patterns go all the way up to size 12? So they are not just for a little kid, they can be for a tween, too.

 You can read all about my thoughts on the Art Museum Vest + Trousers sewing pattern over here.

I do have to add: Thank you for the belt loops! With my son being so skinny he almost always has to wear a belt, so belt loops are a must. How nice that they are included so now I don't have to figure how to make then and add them myself. Speaking of skinny, one of the nice things about sewing clothes for your kids is that you can get a good fit if they don't fall into a specific size, by adjusting the sewing pattern accordingly before cutting out the fabric. For example, if I would have sewn this outfit in size 7 it would have been too short, but if I would have sewn it in size 10 it would have been too wide.

I was contemplating adding a zipper fly, but I felt I didn't have enough time (hoping to do a zipper fly next time). Would you like to sew a zipper fly with this one? If so, check out this Mock fly to zip fly tutorial from Cindy at Siestas and Sewing. It is my understanding that a mock fly to zipper fly tutorial on the Oliver + S blog will be coming soon.

 There could be so many different possibilities for boy looks with this sewing pattern, you could go more casual (like denim trousers) all the way up to very formal (all black and/or suiting fabric).

On a side note, do you buy digital patterns from Oliver + S? If so, I wanted to mention that there is some helpful information about printing out digital patterns at the printer by Nicole from the Nicole at home blog.

 Project Details
Pattern: Oliver + S Art Museum Vest + Trousers (difficulty level: 2 out of 4 scissors)
Size: 7 (with size 9/10 length)
Modifications: Like I mentioned above I added length on both the trousers and the vest, otherwise it was sewn by the pattern
Fabrics:
Trousers: Deep red cotton twill
Vest: Navy cotton twill
Vest lining: Free Spirit, Salt water - Octo Garden - Aqua
Notions:
Trousers: One, .75 inch red button from my stash
Vest: Seven, 5/8 inch navy buttons
Inspiration: The octopus is my son's favorite animal. Cindy from Siestas and Sewing whipped up this awesome O+S Sketchbook Shirt for her tween son. That inspired me to purchase some of that same octopus fabric so I could create something for my tween son. Another inspiration was that red is my son's 2nd favorite color and I just love deep red pants. Then it was just a matter of coordinating a vest with the deep red trouser fabric and aqua octopus vest lining fabric. After seeing the available fabrics at the store, in the end a navy it was.

 Here is what it looks like with the addition of the patchwork blazer I sewed him about a year ago. Yay, it still fits!

 (In case anyone was wondering, the white button shirt he's wearing is store bought).

My husband was very unsure of the combination of solid deep red, aqua octopus print and solid navy together. What you do think? Yay or nay?

Library Dress, Playtime Dress, Art Museum Girl Look

And that's a wrap! Many thanks to Oliver + S! I was honored to be a part of the fall pattern preview. I appreciated the invitation.

Art Museum Girl Look

 Continuing with the Oliver + S fall pattern preview…

 Today it's the Oliver + S Art Museum Vest + Trousers (available in sizes 6M-12) and it isn't just for boys, it's for girls, too.

 This one is the most difficult and time consuming pattern to sew up from the 3 new fall patterns. I mentioned that the Library Dress was my personal favorite design (being so cute). But I must say that the Art Museum Vest + Trousers is the best sewing pattern due to the fabulous construction techniques and impeccable details. (Plus you get more for your money since you can use it for both boys and girls). What you will learn how to do: darts, welt pockets, faux fly, belt loops, finishing the waistband facing with bias binding. Everything you need to know is explained step-by-step. You should have heard me in my sewing studio right after I saw the result of my first ever welt pocket, I squealed with delight!

 In the end you are going to have a very well made vest and pair of trousers, I tell you, that is for sure! There are a couple of places where you stitch in the ditch, a detail making a very polished look.

 The trousers took more time than the vest. I did all 4 welt pockets, the first welt pocket was the slowest, then they got quicker.

 You know me, I'm mostly a dressmaker, I've only sewn my son a few basic pants. So if I can sew up these trousers, you can, too!

 By the way, one thing that I found helpful was that there are a lot of close up photos of the finished trouser details here, so you can refer back it to in order to see what it is suppose to look like in the end.

 I went with a no frills version, but for a girl how about a dressy version for Christmas? With a red velvet vest and black tuxedo trousers (having a gold stripe down the sides of the legs), I was thinking of this especially for more of the tween group (ages 8-12).

 Project Details
Pattern: Oliver + S Art Museum Vest + Trousers (difficulty level: 2 out of 4 scissors)
Size: 5
Modifications: None, I sewed this completely by the pattern.
Fabrics:
Trousers: Khaki lightweight corduroy
Vest: Soft mauve cotton twill
Vest lining: Heather Ross Briar Rose, Calico in pink
Notions:
Trousers: 1, .75 inch brown button from my stash
Vest: 5, 5/8 inch pink buttons
Inspiration: I went very practical with this one. My daughter goes to a school where there is a uniform. The students are to wear solid color khaki bottoms, so she will be wearing these trousers to school. While I was at the fabric store buying the khaki corduroy, I came across the soft mauve cotton twill and thought that would make a complimentary vest. Then later at home I placed the Briar Rose Calico in pink up next to the vest fabric, it matched up well and was really cute, so that became the lining.

 (In case anyone was wondering, the white t-shirt my daughter is wearing was store bought).

 For my daughter's Oliver + S fall handmade clothing collection each look had some pink. I promise there will be no pink in the following one because up next I'll be sharing my tween boy's look using the Art Museum Vest + Trousers sewing pattern (maybe I saved the best for last? You'll have to see for yourself).

Library Dress, Playtime Dress, Art Museum Vest + Trousers