Southern Magnolia

First, I want to say thank you so much to all of you who voted for me and helped me get to the finals! I have thoroughly enjoyed pushing my sewing knowledge and creativity to make new designs for the various themes throughout this competition.

With this week being “signature style”, I knew that I wanted to make an outfit that showed off everything I love about sewing. One thing that is unique to me, is my use of floral illustration in embroidery. Even before I became a pattern designer for Wild Seeds, I loved to adorn my daughter’s clothing with “sketchy flowers”. It was a fun way for me to use my background in the arts while adding texture and beauty to solid-colored fabrics.

Another thing that I love is classic beauty and simplicity. While I can admire bright and bold patterns and fabrics, I prefer to use solid colors for most of my own sewing designs. Then I usually add embroidery, lace, or trims to the fabric to bring contrast and character.

For my final outfit, I sketched out a floral design across the entire bodice, front and back. The flowers are anemone illustrations traced from my own Castilleja embroidery pattern, while the leaves were just drawn on with a heat erasable pen. Hours and hours of hand embroidery (WAY too much coffee) and beading give this plain white cotton a couture style.

While the top of this romper is self-drafted, I used Wild Seeds’ Tulip pattern for the culottes of the romper, then added a circle skirt on top of it for a bit more fullness. My daughter really loved having the freedom of the romper while still feeling like a princess.

But with Easter only a couple days away, I also wanted to have the option to dress it up a bit more. I used Wild Seeds’ Primrose skirt with pale pink linen and a swiss dot tulle overlay. The skirt comfortably fits over the romper, turning a fun day outfit into a glamourous dressed-up look, making this outfit perfect for all occasions.

Head over the the Project Run & Play blog to see all the other finalists and vote for your favorite!

Thank you again for this wonderful experience!