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PR&P - Week One - Down By the Bay

Friday, September 14, 2012



Week One is finally here and I'm so excited to present Down By the Bay, my little girl's outfit inspired by the ocean.

The Theme

The theme for this week was to remix no big dill's It's Okay to be Biased skirt, a super creatively designed piece made by using strips of fabric all cut at a 45 degree angle (the bias).

Because of my colour choices of navy & white, and knowing I could have my first week photos taken at a beautiful beach, I chose to go Nautical with my look.

The Size

Anja is wearing size 2.

The Photographs

Taken by my talented brother at White Rock beach in BC, Canada

The Fabric

Dress: cotton (top & lining), satin (bias strips), taffeta (underneath bias strips)
Beret: jersey knit (bow - poly blend)
Belts: polyester blend
Tote Bag: cotton
Bloomers: satin

I knew immediately I wanted to create a dress, and as I went through my fabric stash, I was drawn to some navy satin that I knew would look great cut on the bias.  From there, I paired it with some medium-weight white cotton, and voilà - the nautical theme hit me!  I also had the striped navy knit, that I used for Anja's hat, as well as the fabric for the bag.  All I needed to buy was the fabric for the belts.  I knew I had to have a bright yellow and coral pink...I love the 'pop' of those two contrasted with navy & white.  I chose the slate grey belt colour as my one more subtle option.

The New Techniques

Every week I'm in this competition, I would like to try one new technique, or at least attempt to perfect one I've tried before.

This week was my first attempt at freezer paper stencilling, something I've been wanting to try for some time.  I chose to use this technique on the reversible tote bag.





I also sewed my first fully exposed zipper, and I'm very pleased with the result.  It's one of those things that is quite simple to do, and creates such as strong contrasting effect on the back of a garment.

The Ensemble

And here it is...pics and more pics of Down By the Bay:










The Accessories

This little beret was so fun to make...and Anja actually kept it on her head for the entire photo shoot...something she never does! 



It was so neat to go from a pile of little bias strips to some adorable bloomers.  This is the same satin fabric that I used for the bias strips on the dress.



I love the versatility of having a few belts to choose from.  And the anchor buttons are a perfect fit with the nautical theme.  



The Patterns & Tutorials

I drafted the pattern for the dress myself using a block that I created using this book.  The hat was adapted from an awesome (and free!) tutorial  by former contestant Lil Blue Boo.  For the tote bag, I got my idea from Made.   And Dana also shows how to make freezer paper stencils with her perfectly explained tutorial.

The Voting

To vote for one of eight looks, head over to Project Run & Play.  The designer who receives the highest score by combining judges points plus reader's votes, will share a tutorial and win a prize for the week.  The designer with the lowest score will, unfortunately, leave the competition.

Thank you so much if you chose to vote for me!

Coming up next week...Fashion Icon...can't wait to show you my look!


21 comments on "PR&P - Week One - Down By the Bay"
  1. Soooo cute! The different belts are my favorite. Good luck this week!

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  2. Cute dress! And i adore the idea of swappable belts.
    In the pics above it looks like the anchor side of your tote bag is boxed/blacked out? What happened there?

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    1. Thank you! No, it's just the pocket that's on the other side! Should've switched it over for the picture!

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  3. So cute Heidi! I love that the belts are interchangeable, awesome touch! Very cute outfit.

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  4. Love the ruffle-bottomed bloomers!! Awesome work!

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  5. I love this dress, perfect with the interchangeable belts! I appreciate the work it takes for the designers who make two dresses or two looks, but I am always drawn to the designer who makes one very well thought out look. This dress first caught my attention too because it is so different from the other designs. Great job!

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  6. great job! i love the little sailor look and your pictures are amazing!

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  7. The whole look is so clean and tasteful; simple yet elegant and made beautifully! I think that PR&P is a place to showcase different techniques, ideas, I expect the looks to inspire the readers and followers. Your design definitely inspired me. I can't wait to see what you do in the following weeks! Good luck!

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  8. You did a beautiful job Heidi. A very well conceptualized and adorably nautical design.

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  9. Beautiful! I really like the design of your dress. Classy and unexpected.

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  10. i love this dress and i think my favorite part is the interchangeable bels which i wouldn't know about if i had not clicked over here. Great job and i love how you are challenging yourself each week on top of the challenge you are given.

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  11. So adorable, Heidi! Love the hat and the little tie on the shirt.

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  12. The pictures are totally frame worthy! Your stencils look super professional and I'm in love with the bloomers!

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  13. Yay Heidi! The pictures are so cute! perfect for this classy and adorable outfit. All the colors you put together were so smart and I love those buttons

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  14. Hi Heidi.. such an adorable dress. Those little details adds a spark to the entire outfit. Gr8 job!!!

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  15. your design is really amazing... all details... I am luck that I met your blog... loves...

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  16. I loved this so much! Hands down my favourite! {I'm a sucker for a sailor look!}

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  17. Just had to pop in to say that I used to live in White Rock! Loved it there and used to work right on the strip down by the water. I miss it. Such a great place. It was nice to see that familiar view!

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    Replies
    1. Small world!! I used to live a couple blocks up from the beach, but now my mom does. White Rock's so awesome...love it there!

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  18. Adorable outfit. Love the little beret. I just had to download the pattern to make one or five, or ten for my little girl.

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  19. Thank you all for the kind words! You're all so sweet! :)

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