We want to make sure you got a chance to know the Season 23 judges! These fantastic ladies were crucial in determining the results each week. We were so pleased to be honored with their talents, and we want you to be sure to check out their sites and follow them on social media.
Our week 1 judge was the color queen Katie Kortman! Katie is an artist with a Bachelors (BFA) in Drawing and Painting from Brigham Young University and a Masters in Teaching Art. She teaches art and sewing from her home, designs fun fabric, and recently released an ebook, Wear Happy Color! The perfect judge for the Analogous Color theme, we're so honored to have Katie Kortman with us this Season. Follow her on Instagram for the most colorful addition to your day.
For week 2, we tapped into the talents of Sherri of Mamidesofiona. A jaw dropping sewists, her garments always are technically perfect, whether she's sewing for herself or her gorgeous daughters. Since her own Season on Project Run & Play, she's started the very successful pattern company, Sofiona Designs. Be sure to follow her on Instagram for tons of beautiful sewing.
Our celebrity sewing guest judge for week 3 was Mandy of Sugar Bee Crafts, also a former designer on Project Run & Play! She has the cutest DIY tutorials, recipes, sewing and crafts galore on her site! You can also pick up some really awesome national parks digital designs in her shop. Be sure to follow her on Instagram for a bright and colorful addition to your feed, and her stories are always uplifting too!
And judging week 4 was the mega-celebrity Tabitha Sewer! (And yes, that is actually her real last name. Cool huh?) She describes her style as colorful, eye catching, and playful. She likes to create things that stand out through color and texture. One exciting addition to Tabitha's site is BUTTONS! Check out all the fun colors, shapes and sizes. Be sure to follow Tabitha on Instagram to add some happy to your day!
We also have our faithful panel of judges for all of 2020:
Cassie comes to us from Lily Shine Creates. She was a designer on Season 10, and now designs patterns for Violette Field Threads. Who can forget her amazing Shine Brite creation for the 80s Cartoons Theme? These days, she's sewing quite a bit for herself as well as her childern, and it's sew inspiring! It's a true honor to have Cassie make time in her busy life (follow along on Instagram!) for Project Run & Play.
Katy comes to us from Wild + Wanderful. She was a designer on Season 12 and is the boy sewing expert on this panel! You can find her on Instagram here. Katy also runs Thread & Grain, with so many products for sewists! It's so exciting to have her on the panel of judges for 2019.
Carin comes to us from Art Bella Creates. She was a designer on Season 18 and shared her breathtaking aesthetic every single week! A truly talented sewist, Carin is always a 1st pick when we are creating our stunning lookbooks! Be sure to follow Carin on Instagram. It's incredible to have her on this panel for Project Run & Play.
It's such an honor to have these talented ladies giving their time and effort on the behalf of Project Run & Play. Please thank them by following them on social media, and reading and commenting on their blogs!
Season 23 is over, and thus ends the bright, happy event that cheered our hearts during such a dark time! But never fear, we have some more excitement planned for the coming weeks...stay tuned.
This is what Tabitha Sewer, our celebrity guest judge had to say about her Squeeze the Day creation:
Thats Sew Kari
My favorite look of them all. I get so excited when seeing kids in bright fun colors. When the print on the fabric is fun and colorful, you get extra brownie points for me. This garment was beautifully made. the lining in this dress was sewn perfectly. Very well done. My most favorite part about the winter lemon dress look was the purse. I mean….HOW CUTE IT THAT! So good, I tell ya!
For the opposite look, the yellow gingham is also a fave. Perfect fabric choice. I love the chambray skirt for this look as well. Its so nicely made and it fit the child perfectly. Well done. I love the waist much for this look the best! it was out of the box thinking and the fact that it was done in the fun lemon fabric..The best! Well done.
How can it be Week 4, Signature Style week, of Season 23 already? This has been such a light and joy in a very dark time. The designers are TRULY to be congratulated for sticking it out to the end! And they will be rewarded...did you see yesterday's prizes post?
Okay without further ado, here are the designers' Signature Style creations. Be sure to scroll all the way to the end of the post and support TWO of them with your vote.
Baby Nest USA - Rosita the Riveter
Hi there again! It’s Richelle and Reine for Week 4. We can’t believe we reached the finale week! Thank you so much for all the love and support! We had so much fun doing these projects. It’s a welcome distraction during this difficult time. We had fun sewing and doing mini photoshoots on our front yard during the whole season. This week’s theme is Signature Style and I wanted this theme to not only involve my sewing style and techniques but also Reine’s preferences. My daughter is 10 years old and is very opinionated about what she’s gonna wear, the style and the colors. We are Filipino-American living in the United States and I thought it’s the perfect time to represent both. For this week, I give you Rosita the Riveter.
We were inspired by Rosie and decided to add our Filipino heritage in the collection. There’s nothing more signature than our DNA. My daughter loves art and for this week we went for retro pop art colors. For the top, I used the Bebekins Laney Top and modified it to have this Filipiniana sleeve. Filipiniana also sometimes referred as traje de mestiza or simply terno is a traditional dress or top worn by women in the Philippines. We wanted a fun and playful look and used this Ruby Star Pop! Soda Fabric. I also added an inset with bias tape weaving. I love using bias tape and piping and I made sure I incorporated that for this look. I omitted the ruffles and opted for flat piping instead. Instead of using facing, I enclosed the seams using bias tape binding.
Rosie needs her infamous red bandana so I made this self-drafted red linen bandana scarf/headwrap. I wanted to keep the androgynous and utilitarian look from the 1940s and drafted a pair of shorts that was inspired from one of my RTW shorts. I added patch pockets, back felt pocket, belt ties, removable sash and removable suspender. The short features a flat front waistband and elasticated back. Reine loves rompers and requested that I make one for the Signature Style Week. The red linen is Robert Kaufman Brussels Washer. Both Soda and Red Linen Fabrics were from our local shop StitchologyAbq. The yellow blender fabric for the piping and weaving were from Ziggie Lane Fabric. I also wanted to add accessories that still have the utilitarian vibe. I made a denim flat cap style hat using the Little Lizard King Beccar. The look is not complete without a purse so I decided to make a matching denim satchel using the Little Lizard King Coralie pattern. I omitted the mermaid face and fins and ended up adding rows of yellow topstitching that also match the hat. I also added yellow flat piping from the same yellow fabric used for the top. The 12 oz Blue Designer denim was from CaliFabrics.
For more pictures and behind the scenes, visit us at Instagram and Facebook. Reine also made printable coloring pages for your kids. We had so much fun doing these and thank you so much for keeping up with us every week! Remember to vote! Maraming salamat!
Sew A Little Seam - Classic Comfort
I'm so excited to have made it to the final week! This has been such a rewarding experience - many moments of doubt and seam ripping, but a lot of fun! I thought this week would be the easiest week, but I struggled a bit trying to pinpoint what my signature style is. When looking back at my makes I found that I'm drawn to classic looks with little details to make them unique. I love making comfortable essentials that my kids will love to wear and get lots of use out of.
For my daughter I like soft colors and ruffles, with just a bit of edge and she loves dresses with twirl factor. So this week I used the Willow dress as my base in a pretty peach fabric from The Styled Magnolia. I added six rows of pintucks to the front bodice, narrowed the shoulders a bit to add a tie, and raised the back. To make the skirt super twirly I divided it into three layers, each layer double the size of the last. That was a lot of gathering, but she loved the result! Jackets are also a big part of my style, so I used the Ollie Bomber Jacket pattern to make a utility jacket from a soft French terry and fully lined with a striped cotton jersey. I added a gathered sleeve cap, a placket for snaps, a stand collar, flap pockets, and elastic waist. I removed the bottom waistband, and made the cuffs so they could be rolled to show the contrasting fabric. Since I knew she was going to be doing a lot of spinning, running, and jumping, I used the Movie Night Pajama bottoms to make a pair of shorts to wear under the dress. To finish the look, I made a little striped bag and a pair of hair clips. For the purse, I cut out a peach from the fabric and fused it to the front of the purse then added glitter around the outside edge. For the clips I hot glued glitter faux leather to the clips and then interfaced the peaches before adding them, and then finished the edges with glitter glue.
For my son I love classic looks that are a bit preppy and he still likes whatever I make him. I used the Constance pattern as a base for his hoodie. I added a button placket, and altered the hood to have a high collar in the front. I added grommets and a drawstring to the sides of the hood for a fun detail. I had a thick rib knit that matched the French terry perfectly to use for the waistband and cuffs. I layered the hoodie over a Birch Button Up shirt in a chambray, patterned fabric. The button up has a traditional full button placket for the front and tower plackets on the sleeves. All seams are flat felled for a nice finish inside. The shorts are the Grady pattern with some modifications. I made them slightly wider through the leg and added the cargo pockets from the free Linden add on pack. Each pocket is closed with Velcro to make them easy to get in. I added a secret pocket at the side seam and also one inside the cargo pocket. My son thought that was really fun! I added grommets and drawstring to the waistband and I also added grommets to the inside hem of both legs to add a drawstring that hung down for a little extra detail.
I've really had so much fun this past month! Thank you for reading along and as always you can see more photos on my blog.
That's Sew Kari - Squeeze the Day
Wow! It's hard to believe it's already the final week of Project Run and Play. My girls and I have had an absolute blast throughout the weeks and it's been fun to find creative ways to source forgotten materials. We are so incredibly thankful for the all the love and support too! So, thank you all!!! Before this all began, I had an idea for my Signature Style week, but as it came down to sew it, I realized that I just wasn't feeling it. It wasn't cheery enough and right now, I need all the things of happiness. So, I delved into my massive stash (much to my husband's dismay, I'm sure) and happened to come across this lemon fabric on navy and white mini stripes. Wahoo!! Yellow lemons scream happiness. Mini stripes make me giddy -- I love, love, love them! Add in a few of my other favorite things and I've decided to "Squeeze the Day"... (I had to explain this to my 9 year old...lol)
I knew right away, I'd sew the lemon stripes for Aurora. She loves wearing fun, bright fabrics and they suit her personality. As I decided to include my favorite things, I absolutely started with Little Lizard King. My girls have grown up in these patterns and I owe much of my growth to the countless tests over the years. I took Carmelo and made some changes -- most notably, I changed the front neckline, moved the zipper to the side seam for independent dressing, combined the back pieces into one and added a built in pettiskirt so all the seams are enclosed. In lieu of the bias-tape folded style straps, I used rouleau straps that I learned from Duchess & Hare. No outfit is complete without a purse, so I turned to my most sewn purse pattern for the girls -- the Pinky Promise Bag by Little Moo Designs. I left off the top flap and sewed the front piece in white for contrast and added a Squeeze the Day iron-on with my Cricut Maker.
Marissa is a bit more sophisticated in her outfit choices and loves skirts and fitted tops. I chose a dark chambray and used the skirt pattern I drafted last week. I slimmed the skirt down a bit from last week to add front pockets that she requested. For the tee, I found a remnant of this bright yellow gingham knit from Spunkin Honeyhead Custom Designs and started with the (retired) Free to Be Me tee by Little Lizard King. I removed several inches in length, left off the sleeves and brought the neckline up slightly and finished with a facing. I finished all the openings with my coverstitch machine, one of my best investments. To complete her outfit, I drafted a mini purse-belt that can also be worn cross-body. It features a zippered top opening as well as an adjustable waist so she'll fit it for years to come.
I have really enjoyed sharing my creations with you over the past few weeks! Please take a second to vote below and be sure to visit my blog for more photos and details -- CLICK HERE
And now it's your turn!!! Use the voting widget below to support TWO of the designers with your vote.
This week's celebrity judge is Tabitha Sewer. She really has the talent to judge this week's look, and we're delighted to have her help! The designers are scored as follows: 1/3 score = public voting 1/3 score = panel of past Project Run & Play designers 1/3 score = celebrity guest judge of the week Inspired to sew along? Link up your own creations for a chance to win!
Can you believe those Fairy Tale looks?!?! Some days the world feels like a bad dream, and so it was especially uplifting to have these designers bring some lighthearted Fairy Tale into our life!
The results have been tallied and the winner of Week 3 is:
Here's what Mandy of Sugar Bee Crafts, our celebrity guest judge had to say about the Tale as Old as Time look:
Tale as Old as Time: We are smitten with the denim jumper dress, it really brings Belle into a modern wearable look. And that ruffle detail is so cute!! I also love the Beast Mode tee and the fun play on words that it brings. The jacket gives the perfect hint of the beast without being too overbearing and overdone in fairytale. Loved it!
Sadly, only 3 designers are allowed to advance to Week 4, and we're reluctantly sending home:
And we're on to Week 3! This one is so fun and the designers really had fun with it too! Here is the prompt: Week 3: Fairytale
This theme is a child’s dream come true! This week you’re going to translate a fairytale into everyday wear.
Be sure to VOTE for two of the designers at the end of this post.
BabyNest USA - Modern Alice
Hi again! This is Richelle and Reine for Week 3! When the theme was revealed for Week 3, me and my daughter already knew we needed to do Alice in Wonderland. She’s one of our favorite characters. Alice is so much alike like my daughter - entering pre-puberty, sensible, adventurous and has insatiable curiosity about her surroundings. Her style is feminine, but not overly feminine and she is always wearing a beautiful shade of sky blue. Alice has a very effortless look that’s always ready to partake in adventures that require comfy clothes. I spent some time visualizing what we wanted to convey on this outfit without hitting the viewer over the head with it. After all, the theme is to make a fairytale into everyday wear.
I wanted to do something modern but still have the features of the classic, contemporary style. My idea behind the whole outfit was what would a 10-year old Alice would wear in 2020? So I decided on using cotton and denim fabric to give it texture, modern vibe, and structure without losing the whimsical and feminine features of Alice’s clothes and sacrificing the wearability and comfort.
I used the Little Lizard King Oxford top as base and self-drafted the puffed flutter sleeves. I also drafted a pleated denim skirt using this medium weight denim fabric from Califabrics. I wanted to add some hard features and this denim was perfect for giving a nice volumized skirt. It features a flat waistband and elasticized back for comfort and ease whenever Reine had too much of the macarons and teas. To give a nod to Alice’s apron, I self-drafted a suspender that can be attached to the skirt. Alice loves bows so I made sure we incorporate that to the outfit. I made a removable bow brooch that attaches via a brooch pin. She also loves her black hair bow but to make it modern, I made a scrunchie with a big bow using the Little Lizard King Birmingham bow. Now to my most favorite item from this collection -- the bunny circle purse. This was a labor of love! I quilted layers of padding and cotton and added this Boho Bunny Applique from Hazel Alekmond. I mixed hand embroidery and topstitching to give a mixed media feel. The main fabric has some shine and glitters that look like leather in real life! I used gold hardwares and zippers to complement the gold thread on the denim and suspender and the gold hearts from the brooch and applique.
We had so much fun making this collection. I hope you love it too! For more photos and behind the scenes, visit us at Instagram and Facebook. Reine also made some printable coloring pages. And don’t forget to vote!
Sew a Little Seam - Tale as Old as Time
I'm so glad I made it to week 3 for Fairy Tale week! I'm a huge fairy tale fan and one of my favorites is Beauty and the Beast. I asked my son if he wanted to be Gaston or the Beast and he chose the Beast. I had to explain that he wouldn't actually get a full fur costume. But it worked out great because their relationship reminds me of Belle and the Beast - so stubborn one second and then so sweet the next. I decided to go with the Disney look of Belle in her blue dress and the Beast in his blue and gold suit.
For Belle's look I drafted a denim overall pattern. The skirt has three pleats on each side and curved pockets, and the bib has a patch pocket and a cute little ruffle. Belle needs some roses, so the buttons are antique brass roses and I used a red ribbon rose on the keyhole of her top. The lining fabric has roses on a yellow background like Belle's ball gown. I also added some white trim to the hem of the skirt. Her top is the Juniper pattern modified to have a keyhole back and the sleeves from the Willow pattern. I used a viscose twill that is really soft and drapes nicely. The bottom is finished with a pretty leaf trim if she wants to wear it separately.
For the Beast's look, I modified the Constance pattern to have a button front with gold trim that wraps all the way around. I used the welt pockets from the Ollie pattern and added some leather trim to the edges for a little extra detail. I added gold trim to the sleeves too. The white tee underneath is also made from the Constance pattern and I added vinyl to the front. The jeans are the Grady pattern. We also made some paper roses as our art project for the week to use for the photos.
Thanks for reading about my fairy tale look! If you'd like to see more photos, you can head to my blog.
Tip Stitched - To Grandmother's House We Go
Out of the four themes, this week was the one I was most worried about. Miss Socialite is twelve so she's not as into fairy tales as she used to be. Still I thought her pick would be Ana or Elsa since Frozen 2 came out recently and she has been watching it. To my surprise she immediately said "Little Red Riding Hood!" when I asked her for a fairy tale idea. Obviously that meant a red hooded cape, but what else? When I asked her what else would go with it she said she had to think about it. While she was searching pinterest I was thinking up a cute dress, maybe a knit bodice with a woven skirt.
Well she put a halt to those thoughts. She handed me this sketch of a red cape, white tee, gingham shorts and a red overskirt. It seems I have a little designer on my hands. Whelp, she asks and I deliver. She originally wanted red gingham, but I had to swap it to black because is what I had on hand. I actually think it works better and in the end I think she agreed with me. I also opted for a tie closure for the overskirt. Aside from those small changes I feel that I accurately created her vision. One of the perks of sewing is that I can make these kinds of ideas come true for her.
For the cape I used McCalls 7460, view C because I definitely wanted the hood and she chose the the squared hemline. This red crepe, from Minerva Fabrics, was in my stash and is the perfect shade of red. I also used the crepe for the overskirt which I drafted myself using her measurements. Lastly the shorts are McCalls 7150 and modified them to have a flat front and adjustable button elastic back. The black and white gingham shirting was supposed to be a shirt dress for me. Sadly this is not the first time she has claimed fabric from my stash that I already had plans to use. Thankfully, I still have two yards so maybe that shirtdress is now a shirt. LOL
She loves all the pieces and I love that she designed it to be practical for everyday wear. Head over to my blog, TipStitched, for more pictures and details of how I drafted the overskirt and modified the shorts.
Fingers crossed I'll see you next week,
Tiffany of TipStitched
That's Sew Kari - Present Day Princesses
Yay!!! I've been looking forward to Fairy-Tale Week from the moment the themes were announced. Over the years, I've created numerous fairy-tale-inspired dresses for my two girls. However, my girls are past the frilly dresses and of course, I want them to wear it afterwards! I knew immediately I'd choose Princess Aurora for my youngest. Her name is Aurora and I can't believe I've never made her a single thing Aurora-inspired. I had an idea for my oldest based on her personality and I was pleased that she picked the same -- Princess Belle. As I was formulating my idea, I decided to bring the princesses to present day as tweens like my girls are.
Princess Aurora :
I sewed up a casual outfit with just the right amount of glam. To start, I made a pair of cropped jeans with hand-beaded light pink and iridescent jewels added to the pockets. I started with the Tyler Skinnies by Petite Stitchery & Co. I cropped them and finished with a frayed hem (stitched above so they won't fray too high). On the waistband, I added a light pink jeweled shank button. The denim is Indigo Washed Designer Stretch Denim by Cali Fabrics that I got with my pre-season shopping spree. To let you in on a little secret: this denim is actually inside out. The backside was just the right shade of blue for my nod to Aurora's fairy godmothers fighting over blue and pink. For the top, I started with the bodice of Wimberley by Little Lizard King, added the high-low peplum from the new Thistle Dress by Jennuine Design for One Thimble Issue 23 and added self-drafted bow sleeves with peek-a-boo shoulders in likes of her famous pink dress. It's sewn up in a super soft knit so it can double as a sleep shirt. My Sleeping Beauty requested the "Nap Queen" iron-on so I grabbed my Cricut to make it happen. The final piece of the outfit is an oil cloth cell phone purse. It features a single shoulder strap, large grommets and matching zipper. The oil cloth is also from Cali Fabrics! (I snagged the LAST yard...)
Princess Belle:
For Belle, I knew I wanted to go with a preppy outfit as a nod to her love of books and learning. I started with a self-drafted skirt with a fitted side-zippered waist in a bright yellow floral eyelet. The skirt has a built-in white cotton pettiskirt under the main layer. Next, I turned to the Give Piece a Chance Crop Top by Duchess & Hare and used just the lining pieces and added the desired length so it would end at just above the top of the waistband. I used a solid white linen from Riley Blake Designs and adorned the back overlap with 5 red heart buttons. I added a large rose in red foil iron-on from Cricut to tie in the rose that the Beast has under glass. The final piece of her outfit is a cropped, fitted denim jacket from my remaining denim from Cali Fabrics. I started with the Clementine Jacket from Violette Field Threads and removed the front overlap, cropped it several inches, and added a bottom band. I also pieced the back of the jacket together to mimic a jean jacket my daughter owns. It's fully lined and every seam is double top-stitched. The lining also features a denim facing along the front edges.
I hope you love it as much as my girls do!! I grabbed some screenshots (wink,wink) from their social media accounts because these princesses couldn't wait to show them off to their friends.
Visit my BLOG for more pictures and details!! Before you go, vote for your two favorites below!
Now it's your turn to help out! Use the voting widget below to vote for TWO of the designers:
This week the celebrity sewing guest judge, Mandy of Sugar Bee Crafts really has her work cut out for her!
1/3 of the designers score is determined by the guest judge
1/3 of the designers score is determined by the panel of judges
1/3 of the designers score is determined by YOU, the audience!