Project Run and Play Season 14: Week 2

Bouncing over to another week from this season, week two’s theme was one it took me a while to get on board with. The theme was “Buffalo plaid”. ! For starters, I am not a fan of plaid anything. I think I could count on one hand the number of plaid items in my home at any given moment, including my 6-year-old son’s flannel shirts! I am just not into plaid. and then, if it’s going to be plaid, it better be a nice, light plaid, with bright, happy colors and a white base. Definitely not black and red.

Now, I know some people are calling any solid color/black pattern “buffalo plaid”, but I did a little googling and read the origin story on Wikipedia. And you know that with Wikipedia, since anyone can write anything about anything, you are getting the best possible information. ; ) Thanks Michael Scott!

So after my Wiki research, I determined that true Buffalo plaid was indeed, the red and black check pattern that is blowing up Target, and if I was going to do this theme properly, I had better come up with a way to use the print in a way that I wouldn’t totally hate. And do you know what? I LOVE it!! This is one of my favorite looks I think I have done in a very long time!

For my girl look, I did an Autumn pinafore from one of my favorite patter companies, Violette Field Threads. The plaid fabric I found that had the structure I was looking for was quite thick, almost a polyester tablecloth feel, which would not be great to use for the back straps. So I subbed in some black velvet ribbon from Hobby Lobby. Can I just say how much I love velvet ribbon? It’s that luxe touch that I just can’t get enough of right now.

The dress I Frankensteined together from a few tried and true patterns. the Penelope Dress from Violette Field Threads again, for the bodice and collar. Sleeves are from the Sunki dress by Figgy’s Patterns, and I just adjusted the pleats to fit the armsyce. I really love the oragami feel of these sleeves. The skirt overlay was cut off of a party dress I got at a clearance store, so it was already trimmed and sewn into a semi circle, so i just cut an underskirt the same length as the waist and gathered them together. I swapped out the buttons on the Penelope bodice for an invisible zipper (because seriously, ZIPPERS) and discovered a “duh” trick to make sure the waist line seams lined up once the zipper was zipped! I’m probably the only one who can’t seem to line up the waist seams, like, ever, but I figured it out. Sew one side, zip the zipper, mark the waist seam on the opposite side of the zipper with tailor’s chalk, unzip, and sew the second side, matching your mark to the waistline. Done! I can’t believe I didn’t figure that out sooner…

The one downside to this cute dress, is the adorable sequin collar. Which *does* rub little necks, and pretty much ensures that this photoshoot will be the only time this dress is ever worn. Any ideas on how to fix this without taking the dress apart? Taking all suggestions…

The baby look is just the Brindlle and Twigg Raglan Romper, with added ankle cuffs. I did the sleeves from this cute quilted Buffalo plaid from JoAnn’s, which actually doesn’t stretch, but worked just fine. The body is my favorite Cotton/Spandex French Terry from Raspberry Creek Fabrics, which is nice and cozy for these chilly Ontario winters.

And that’s a wrap! Thanks Project Run and Play for pushing me out of my comfort zone, into one of my favorite outfits to date!