Two of us {week 4 formal wear challenge}

The final week of Project Run and Play! The final challenge is Spring formal wear. When we first got the themes back in December I knew exactly what I was going to make for week one and week four. The weeks in the middle? Not so much in fact I made 3-4 looks for each week. However back in December I was already dreaming of Spring and I knew just what I wanted to make. I wanted to design something for both kids and I wanted to play off their personalities.

Head here to vote for you favorite!

For Jude I went very casual for the formal wear. I made him shorts since to me boys in the spring time are running around and falling and this way he can look more formal with the trouser style shorts but not have to worry about grass stains or tears in the knees of his pants.

The shorts which are basically shorts versions of the Number 9 Trousers have faux flap pockets in the back because I wanted the look of the flap but I didn’t want the corners curling up or the pockets looking sloppy, and since the back pockets are almost never used anyway I just skipped them. So they are sewn down around the edges and then I added two vintage buttons.

The shirt is a slim fit color blocked collared shirt. It is a lot like the Maxwell Top only I started from scratch to draft the shirt so it had a slimmer fit, and it had pleats in the back and a stand collar so he could wear a tie. I also added color blocked stripes across the chest and color blocked the pockets to follow the chevron lines in the tie. The tie is something I had cut out and planned to make during week two since I was using the chevron fabric, but I never ended up making an outfit for Jude during week two, but the tie was perfect for this week. The navy and white chevron offer a great pop against the mint, white and grey.

Then there is Abbey. She is a spunky little girl who loves to wear twirly dresses, or princess dresses. So I knew I needed to give her a super fun silhouette. The dress started with the most gorgeous loose weave linen in bright coral. As a linen lover the fabric was just heaven. It had a great drape and flow but also held some shape really well.

The dress started with constructing a slip dress of sorts, layers and layers of gathered white tulle were sewn to the fully lined white bodice. This gave the base of a super full and puffy dress. Then I attached the pleated skirt to the bodice. I added hand beading in a water fall effect over the shoulder. I used a mix of 5 different beads to get the effect I wanted and it pulled all the colors from both outfits together.

The bodice is cut with a ballerina style neck line and V in the back. A navy ribbon ties around the waist and really pops with the colors. The skirt also got a thick heavy hem to keep the skirt weighed down a bit since the light fabric and layers of tulle would have made the skirt easily fly away.

And just for fun a little recap of the past 4 weeks looks. The whole competition has been so much fun, I loved sewing along with super talented ladies each week. They are all the nicest most amazing ladies. I have made some of my most favorite pieces, and now its time for a vacation 🙂