PR&P - Week One - Down By the Bay

Week One is finally here and I'm so excited to present Down By the Bay, my little girl's outfit inspired by the ocean.

The Theme

The theme for this week was to remix no big dill's It's Okay to be Biased skirt, a super creatively designed piece made by using strips of fabric all cut at a 45 degree angle (the bias).

Because of my colour choices of navy & white, and knowing I could have my first week photos taken at a beautiful beach, I chose to go Nautical with my look.

The Size

Anja is wearing size 2.

The Photographs

Taken by my talented brother at White Rock beach in BC, Canada

The Fabric

Dress: cotton (top & lining), satin (bias strips), taffeta (underneath bias strips)
Beret: jersey knit (bow - poly blend)
Belts: polyester blend
Tote Bag: cotton
Bloomers: satin

I knew immediately I wanted to create a dress, and as I went through my fabric stash, I was drawn to some navy satin that I knew would look great cut on the bias.  From there, I paired it with some medium-weight white cotton, and voilà - the nautical theme hit me!  I also had the striped navy knit, that I used for Anja's hat, as well as the fabric for the bag.  All I needed to buy was the fabric for the belts.  I knew I had to have a bright yellow and coral pink...I love the 'pop' of those two contrasted with navy & white.  I chose the slate grey belt colour as my one more subtle option.

The New Techniques

Every week I'm in this competition, I would like to try one new technique, or at least attempt to perfect one I've tried before.

This week was my first attempt at freezer paper stencilling, something I've been wanting to try for some time.  I chose to use this technique on the reversible tote bag.

I also sewed my first fully exposed zipper, and I'm very pleased with the result.  It's one of those things that is quite simple to do, and creates such as strong contrasting effect on the back of a garment.

The Ensemble

And here it is...pics and more pics of Down By the Bay:

The Accessories

This little beret was so fun to make...and Anja actually kept it on her head for the entire photo shoot...something she never does! 

It was so neat to go from a pile of little bias strips to some adorable bloomers.  This is the same satin fabric that I used for the bias strips on the dress.

I love the versatility of having a few belts to choose from.  And the anchor buttons are a perfect fit with the nautical theme.  

The Patterns & Tutorials

I drafted the pattern for the dress myself using a block that I created using this book.  The hat was adapted from an awesome (and free!) tutorial  by former contestant Lil Blue Boo.  For the tote bag, I got my idea from Made.   And Dana also shows how to make freezer paper stencils with her perfectly explained tutorial.

The Voting

To vote for one of eight looks, head over to Project Run & Play.  The designer who receives the highest score by combining judges points plus reader's votes, will share a tutorial and win a prize for the week.  The designer with the lowest score will, unfortunately, leave the competition.

Thank you so much if you chose to vote for me!

Coming up next week...Fashion Icon...can't wait to show you my look!