Time to VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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*We are the first circle to click in the poll at the bottom of the post (Becca&Suzanne of Pattern Revolution)*

So we were only allowed 5 images and 600 words over at Skirt Fixation - and you can imagine how that was no where near enough for two blabbermouth photographers like Becca and I!!! We wanted to show off and explain some of our choices in greater detail.

We'll start with my Named Jamie Skinny Jeans:

To start with the sizing only goes up to a 12, and I dear readers am not a 12 (but maybe I will be soon!). I am more of a 14/16 in jeans depending on the brand and fit. So I sized these up... so only thing I didn't do is adjust the pocket placement, I wish they were slightly closer together.
I finally broke down and bought REAL jeans thread for these - so worth it! The top stitching looks like what you expect from a store bought pair of jeans. I had fun with the embroidery on the back pockets - it is free hand stitching and meant to having the feeling of a sketch.
The waistband and pocket bags are made from the same silk as the belt. The waist band is understitched along the top edge and then hand stitched along the bottom for a clean finish.

Next up, the Date Night Dress and Slip:

Both pieces are finished with french seams, which is perfect for these fabrics.
I altered both to have a top length high low hem, making sure the top layer was a bit shorter than the slip so that the green would peek out.
For the Slip, I did the bias straps out of the same silk as the belt for another little touch of color. Both silks are fabrics that one of my mom's friends brought me from her home country of Myanmar. I am so thankful for the unexpected sewing gifts that show up at my door!
The White Flutter Top is cut on the bias and made from an old night gown (it isn't a 'Me' outfit if something isn't upcycled)

So that is a closer look at my outfit.... now Becca wants to get to tell you more about hers!

Ahhh the evolution of design. Remember that scene in "The Devil Wears Prada" where Miranda and her team are pulling from racks in her office to assemble the "perfect" ensemble? Imagine that. In my house. The conversation, within my own head. The "racks" of clothes? hours of adapting the same piece over and over and over at my sewing machine.

Yup. I'm crazy AND indecisive.

So buckle up, I'll take you along for the journey.

Jocole Racer Back Tank, Jocole Yoga Waistband Skinny Pants, Elle Apparel Kimono, Jewelry styled by Krystle Clark, Rep of esbe Designs @PatternRevolution @SkirtFixation #ChallengeCreate — Jocole Racer Back Tank, Jocole Yoga Waistband Skinny Pants, Elle Apparel Kimono, Jewelry styled by Krystle Clark, Rep of esbe Designs @PatternRevolution @SkirtFixation #ChallengeCreate

The racerback: It started as a nursing friendly piece. Sure, Everett's a year old next week, so I'm late to the game there, but the bigger he gets the more necessary "easy access" becomes. In this case, "access" was under the sheer overlay. The pink knit underneath was set up as a bra top in the front, and a torso panel. Each was fixed in place under the bust with a knit band, and attached to the back shirt at the side seams. I gave myself a high five. (That's always the kiss of death, no?)

THEN I went to hem it!

....but wait. They're attached at the sides. How to hem two separate layers if they're attached at the sides? To heck with it! I'll just hem them together!

(Are you following along? Do you know already what I didn't until I put it on? Yup,...)

Bye bye nursing access.

On top of which, the original a-line shape of the shirt totally drown my shape under the drapey kimono.

There was a number of ways I could remedy the piece, but my oh so wise mentor advised me to keep it simple, and not to get caught up with fancy stitch work in my first sewing contest. (Thanks, Suzanne!)

So I took it back to the cutting board, gave it straight lines and a curved hem, and closed up nursing access. (Sorry, Everett! At least it's knit and easy to fit us both under there :))

Despite the Dr Frankenstein treatment, I'm actually really proud of the professional finish on this shirt. I used a twin needle to topstitch the neck and sleeve bindings, and along the hem.

Next up: the Kimono! I used the wonderfully simple tutorial by Elle Apparel, and modified the hem line for a more dramatic hi-lo effect. It's really my first time sewing silk (or faux silk.. not confident this RedTag find is the "real deal") and boy is it SLIPPERY. Pins and a walking foot were my best friends navigating that sewing hurdle.

...and TIME. With tricky materials, it's so so important. My husband's voice echoed in my head "if you don't have time to do it right, when will you find time to do it again?" (Yes, it's super annoying being married to someone smarter than me ;))

*TIP FOR HEMMING ALONG CURVES! My work with hemming the curved lines of the kimono reminded me to keep a VERY shallow hem. I used this rolled hem foot. Takes some practice, but it's totally worth having in my sewing collection.

Now for the pants! After my Named Jamie Jean addiction throughout my $50 Fashion series, I didn't know I could find love in another pair of skinnies. Until I had the opportunity to pretest the Jocole skinny pants! The yoga waistband is Jodi's gift to all mommas everywhere, and I'm no exception! I passed on the pockets, and my instinct to add a faux fly in the front (K.I.S.S. right?) but the gold thread topstitching gave these the professional polish I was after.

*Gold Thread Note: You *must* use this with your denim needle! I learned the hard way on my first jeans.. after the battle to squeeze a THICK thread through the teeny tiny opening of a universal needle, the last thing you want to mess with is the series of wonky thread-tangling problems you get when using the wrong needle for the material you're working with. Live/learn, or let me "live" and learn from my mistakes ;)