elli & nels *in stitches*: Circle Time!

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Circle Time!

Finally - it's Mystery Challenge time in the Sewing/Craft/Creative Blogger Facebook group! (If you fit in any of those blogging categories, go join! Great group, full of opportunities and great people, and run by the tireless, super organized, super sweet Stephanie at SwoodsonSays!)

We've been brainstorming, trading themes, and working for a month, and now it's time to share!

The challenge: make something, anything - a piece of clothing, a craft, whatever you like - based on the theme you're given.

My theme (given to me by Amy at Friends Stitched Together): Circles! They're everywhere, they're infinite, and they appear a lot in my hobbies - think of all the "circles" you see while sewing/crafting! Spools of thread or ribbon, buttons and snaps, dials on your sewing machine/serger, paint bottles, bobbins...

I decided to make a piece of clothing, since that's my crafting focus. Plus, I just love to sew for my girls, even if they're not fully appreciative. ;) In this case, I left the finished top on the floor for Natalie to find, so it was "her idea". Sure enough, she brought it to me - "Oh, pwetty CUTE Mom! Put it on!"

So I did. She's right. It's pwetty CUTE.

I came up with this beach coverup/swingy top mostly by accident. I'd considered a simple circle skirt; a dress with circle pockets; even dreamed of making a circle skirt constructed entirely of smaller circles!

Mostly I procrastinated.

Finally I Googled "circles" (yeah, I know, broad enough search term?) and found these pictures (below) in the images. Color wheel! Of course! A circle made of circles.

I cut out a simple a-line tunic from some cozy white sweatshirt fleece I had sitting on a shelf. Natalie loves anything knit, since all she likes to wear are pajamas. Then I cut up a rainbow of colors to applique on the front, to make the color wheel. Going through my collection of fat quarters to get a large enough selection was fun!

After trying and failing to finish the edges of the straps a couple of different ways (bias tape was too stiff to go around the small curves properly, fold over elastic wouldn't behave itself), I said "Forget it" - and cut them off. Suddenly my tunic was a top! I added bias tape straps, knotting them over the shoulders for a playful summery look. Now what to do about the hem?...

I don't remember what gave me the idea, but I ended up cutting strips of the sweatshirt fleece from the scraps left, and braiding them together. I had to hand stitch the braid on, since I'm pretty sure my sewing machine would have no idea what to make of it! Finally, some 1/8" elastic stitched around the neckline, and a bit across the back to pull the whole thing in - it was a bit too wide for skinny Natalie, but pulling in the back made it the perfect size. It also has the added benefit of giving the skirt a faux-circle-skirt appearance!

It's far from what I imagined at first, but Natalie looks adorable in it, and since it's so hard to get her to wear anything I make, the best part is that she loves it!