K.I.D.S. – Skirt as Top…

November 8, 2012 13 Comments

I am so excited to have today’s Guest, Kristin from Skirt as Top! Kristin is such an amazing blogger that absolutely blows me away with her creativity, design and style.  Of course it helps that she has a thing for elephants…

I mean come on, how can you not love that?! But the thing I love most about Kristin’s site lately is her incredible Film Petit Series that she has teamed up with Jess of A Little Gray for…

I get so excited when I see a new Film Petit post from Kristin and Jess – I just know it is going to be awesome.  Instant click thru.

Needless to say, I was so curious to see what her gorgeous little girl would come up with for us today! And whether or not it would involve elephants…

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hi me sew crazy readers! i’m so excited to be here today!!
my 4.5 year old daughter Em and i are sort of a design team, to tell you the truth! from crazy-looking softies to halloween costumes to fabric selection to entire outfits based on her favorite things, Em has played a pretty major role in my design process for a while now. i sew with her likes in mind because it helps ensure my projects will get worn, though i try to expand her horizons too (i got her to wear blue by including butterflies and twirl and ruffles on her coraline dress). we’re at a point where she probably has more confidence in my sewing than i do, proclaiming “mommy can fix it” to the most horrendous of rips! nice little confidence booster there.
at a pretty early age (like before she turned 2) she decided her favorite color was pink. she has since added a couple others, and if you ask her now she’ll tell you her favorite colors are “pink and purple and red.” she’s a much girlier girl than i am – it cracks me up. so when i drew a simple outline of a girl and asked her to draw something for me to sew, i wasn’t surprised one bit that she reached straight for those colored pencils and drew a pink and purple colorblocked dress (with heart headpiece).

pink and purple colorblock dress

i wanted to make the dress very comfy for her and it seems like she picks her jersey knit dresses to wear quite a bit, so i hit the old navy sale rack (my favorite knit fabric source) for two adult shirts and repurposed them, adding color block purple panels to the signature dress to create this little dress from her design!

pink and purple colorblock dress

she added a few hearts above her head, telling me she would like a heart headband too. via instagram, the lovely delia reminded me of katie did’s felt heart headbands (side note: if you’ve never seen katie’s site, you should really go, be inspired, then mourn the blogging community’s loss of an amazing talent because of one stupid jerk. katie remains one of my biggest inspirations and i’m so sad she isn’t blogging anymore, though she does have a pretty great little business going now!).
my hearts are felt too, machine-stitched onto some fold over elastic.

pink and purple colorblock dress

i added puff sleeves (tutorial here from Rae) and kept the existing collar so the buttons would remain functional.

pink and purple colorblock dress

Em loves it. she chose to wear it to her grandma’s birthday dinner and was so very proud that she designed it herself! she seemed especially excited about the buttons. she loves to button buttons.

pink and purple colorblock dress

it was so fun putting big smiles on her face with a dress she designed!
thanks so much for having us, Jess! such a fantastic idea for a series and a fun one for Em and i both!
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That is so fantastic Kristin!  I absolutely love what Em drew, and the heart headband you created?!  You really made that drawing a reality, that is just adorable!!!  Thank you so much for being here and being a part of the Series, so much fun seeing what our kids can come up with!
You can find Kristin from Skirt as Top hanging out at:

Thanks so much for stopping by, and until next time…

Happy Sewing!

Filed Under: guest, k.i.d.s., kids inspiration and design series, series, skirt as top

Comments

  1. KeriAnne says:
    November 8, 2012 at 11:10 am

    I love this idea, and I love what she designed! Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Jessica says:
    November 8, 2012 at 12:43 pm

    Em is the cutest. Kristin is the cutest. Nailed it.

    Reply
  3. Summer says:
    November 8, 2012 at 1:35 pm

    This is such a fun series! Love seeing what y’all are making :)

    xo
    summer

    Reply
  4. kate says:
    November 8, 2012 at 1:39 pm

    great job kristin! she looks thrilled.

    Reply
  5. nest full of eggs says:
    November 8, 2012 at 1:57 pm

    this looks like it was a lot of fun Kristin ~ the headband is adorable :)

    Reply
  6. Jessica says:
    November 8, 2012 at 4:22 pm

    glad to know she appreciates all those buttons!! So cute and fun to have her take pride in her own designs!

    Reply
  7. Jane@Buzzmills says:
    November 8, 2012 at 4:57 pm

    so cute, great job to both of you! love that she even accessorized!

    Reply
  8. kristin says:
    November 8, 2012 at 5:35 pm

    Thanks so much for having me over here, Jess, and for saying such nice things! Blushing. It was fun being “just a seamstress” to my mini designer taskmaster. ;)

    Reply
  9. Emily says:
    November 8, 2012 at 5:56 pm

    What a fun dress! Great job Kristin and Em. :)

    Reply
  10. Jess@craftiness is not optional says:
    November 8, 2012 at 8:47 pm

    so adorable! Em is such a great designer!

    Reply
  11. youandmie says:
    November 9, 2012 at 1:22 am

    So cute! Love the color blocked side panels! I can only imagine how exciting it must be for these kiddos to get to design and then wear their own creations! And I love that the fabric is repurposed so you get all those awesome buttons/placket without all the work! Nice job, ladies :)

    Reply
  12. Stef says:
    November 9, 2012 at 6:32 pm

    Repurposed buttons? Genius! And Em looks beyond thrilled with herself and her cute design! I’m just picturing in my head the two of you designing together with your very different personal tastes – So cute!! Great job, Kristin!

    Reply
  13. suan zhang says:
    March 11, 2013 at 8:04 am

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    Reply

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