Voting is over for the first group this week and results will be announced on Friday! This is our last week with all 12 Season 29 designers! After this round of voting, the top three from each group will advance to Week 3. Make sure you check out all of them and cast your vote at the end.
As a reminder, here is the theme:
SOFT FOCUS
Get inspired by textures, colors, or blurred lines, and make it fashion!
If this inspires you to sew something for kids, why not join the sewalong? Details are HERE.
Are you ready to see the incredible outfits created by our next six designers? Great! Here you go…
Liz Velazquez – Candyland Dream
For this theme “Soft Focus” involving colors and textures I wanted to create an outfit for everyday wear. My daughter loves dresses so pants were not an option.
I used the Bayron Bay Dress pattern from Little Lizard as a starting point, I modified the front of the bodice creating a V for a fashion look. For the textures I drafted and added a “Cargo pocket” style in corduroy fabric. I used the Laurel pattern from Peony Patterns for my top, I modified the sleeve cuffs by making them shorter. I created a hair band with tulle for a little sparkly detail.
I was inspired by the colors of my daughters’ favorite game CANDYLAND so this beautiful flannel fabric was perfect. I had bought this fabric a while ago at Joann, it went perfectly with the theme and my visualization.
See more pictures in my IG Liz V Designer
Emily – Delicate Darling
When I heard the theme ‘Soft Focus’, I thought of the word whimsical, light colors, soft and flowy fabrics, and dresses. I was rocking my 1 year old in the middle of the night and remembered this gold dotted mesh I had stashed in my cabinet. (Sometimes it really pays off to hoard fabric 😆). Pulled it out the next morning and thought it was perfect for this theme! Paired with a super soft pointelle, it embodies soft focus to me.
I made the bodice out of a pointelle knit from Joann Fabric, using Samantha Marie Design’s Petal dress pattern. I used a simple circle skirt for the underneath layer, then topped with the gold dotted mesh, also from Joann. I used the Willow dress from Peony Patterns for the tiered skirt, but did an exposed gather instead of the traditional method. The elastic puff sleeves are my own design, with the base being from the Willow pattern.
Her bow is also self drafted, using the mesh with a rolled hem along the edges. For a touch of whimsy, I made a star wand out of sherpa from ISEE fabric, stuffed with a few fabric scraps, and yarn tied on.
Amy Gilane – Fall Texture Play
When considering the themes for this week, I was captivated by the idea of the incoming fall and chasing my children around, watching leaves fall and colors change. A soft, blurry image in my head of my son running, just a blur on my camera, as he toddles along adventuring on our farm made this my focus.
Rich in texture, my fabric inspired collection from L + E Fabrics made his whole look. I started off with Lowland Retro Joggers, doing the side stripe reversed in Luxe French Terry, with the angle accents in slub terry and ribbing. Pulling the idea of soft, the luxe tone on tone sage color really made this a natural texture. Completed with an equally a soft focus: no top stitching, just a nice press to keep theme. I then sewed a Curved Hem Tee from Lowland in Slub Jersey, adding my texture and colors by adding stripes to the pocket, which is reversed slub french terry. For his hoodie, I played more with texture, placing Luxe Terry inside out for some of the color blocking on the shoulders, and the inside of the hood. Slub terry, ribbing, and slub jersey provide detailed contrast. The hoodie makes a fantastic layering piece, rich in color and texture, with the gentle press instead of top stitching for my softer focus.
A puppy inspired Lowland Bum Bag is a play not only on texture, but dimension, applying multiple pieces of the teddy fabric in a soft nod to a puppy shaped face, leaving the ears hanging loose for tactile dimension. The zipper plays on colors used in my whole look, from Shine Bright Label Company, and a small paw print tag is near the bottom, offsetting the puppy applique. It was a perfect accessory that tied his playful demeanor to the look.
Nikki Scott – Fancy Like…
Fancy Like…
…Applebee’s on a date night! Yes, I absolutely had this stuck in my head while we were taking pictures, so it’s only fitting I use it as the theme! When my daughter and I were at Joann’s looking for fabrics for the monochrome round, we checked the remnant bin like we usually do. My daughter saw this sparkly floral fabric which little girl’s dreams are made of (and sewists nightmares!) and would not let it go! No matter how adamantly I said no, that fabric still somehow ended up in our bag when we left the store for a “someday maybe” project. When I found out the prompt for the second week was soft focus, it was serendipitous to use this sparkly floral fabric!
For the dress, I wanted to keep it simple since the material was so difficult to work with. There was a lot of hand cranking the needle through this material, so that I wouldn’t break needles on all the beading. Thankfully, only one needle was broken in the making of this dress! I went with a Made for Mermaids Lillian which I slightly modified to have the style of pockets I like, fit the remnant size, and modified the top of the back to have binding so no beads would be against the skin.
I really thought this dress needed an accent that highlighted the flowers within the dress. My daughter is the type of girl who won’t leave a bow or headband on for more than 5 minutes, so I decided a purse would fit her style much better! The pattern is the free Buttercup pattern from Made By Rae. This vinyl from Fabrictopia is such a gorgeous soft blue that went so perfectly with the ivory contrast stitching and rose gold rivets! The whole outfit is perfect for a date night (with her dad)!
Chandy – Fluffy Dinos
As soon as I knew the theme was “soft focus” I knew I had to make a look with some fluff for my daughter. Why dinosaurs? She loves dinosaurs, her favorite movie is Jurassic Park and her collection of dinosaurs is unparalleled. 🦕 Her favorite color is purple, so purple everything!
The top is made from a cozy brushed waffle sweater knit. I started with a Made for Mermaids Vanessa and modified the neckline to be hemmed instead of banded and added a tulle bow to the back. For that extra fluff I opted for bishop sleeves.
I love hi-lo skirts, the way it flows when walking, but still allows for mobility. Which is very important for a 5 year old, who loves climbing and running. I used the skirt portion of Little Lizard King’s Arendelle and turned it into a skirt. The bottom layer is a satin lining and there’s about 15 layers of tulle before the top layer, which is a cute 3D dinosaur organza. For her headband I used the same fabric as the skirt lining then fussy cut out dinos from the remnants of the organza and attached them to the headband.
I didn’t want just another pair of biker shorts for her to wear under the skirt, I wanted something with some poof. So I made some bubble shorts, using Little Lizard King’s Newport shorts, but I modified it to use a knit fabric instead of woven making it super comfortable for her to wear even without the skirt.
Now that my kids are older. I make sure to take their opinions and preferences into account. They are my customers after all 😀 This outfit takes into account her love of comfort and dinosaurs with a bit of punk.
Bonnie – Elevated Comfort
Hey sewing friends! When thinking about the theme “soft focus” this week, I was drawn toward “soft” colors and textures. Comfortable, everyday clothes that would be colorful and fun, but softened. Something you would want to lounge around the house in, but also look modern and stylish if you need to go out. I’ve been thinking about a specific relaxing sweatshirt for awhile now. I used Sew A Little Seam’s Constance Sweater as my base in this perfect french terry. I picked a print that wasn’t overwhelming and had the muted tones I was going for. I adjusted the sleeves and added big pleats at the top of the armscye and added more volume to the bottom of the sleeve. Cuffing right at the elbow helped me achieve the look I was going for. Instead of hemming or adding a band to the sweatshirt, I serged thick elastic to the bottom, flipped it up and strategically tacked it down in spots.
For the pants, I used the Lowland Kid’s Cargo Pants in a linen bed sheet with beautiful light blue-ish gray tones. Linen is one of those fabrics you always feel comfortable in. Additionally, I used the Lowland Kid’s Letterman Jacket. I lined it with sherpa, which gave me a little bit of a run for my money at times! The outside texture of the jacket is gorgeous, but I wanted it to be extra cozy, comfy and soft, which is why I used the slightly darker gray sherpa inside. I decided to make the jacket more “letterman” style by doing contrasting sleeves in a light pink and cuffs in a muted brown. I added the playful butterfly patch as well.
The bag, again, pulled the look together. I wanted something smaller that crossed her body. It’s perfect for all her little treasures. The gray bias tape on the outside pulled in the colors from the jacket. And the green canvas added another texture. This time I made a very simple tie bow for her hair in the same fabric as the sweatshirt. I adored how it looked in her hair and how quick it was to sew! You can see more details and read more information about this soft and cozy design over on my Instagram.
It is so much fun to see the different outfits inspired by the same theme! We love all of the creativity and hard work that went to each one! Unfortunately, you have to choose just one favorite in the poll below. Voting ends at 8pm EST on Thursday, 9/12. Results will be announced on Friday morning.