Project Run and Play Finale

It is finally HERE! The finale of Project Run and Play. I am still floored that I made it this far. Every week I have been in awe of the amazing creations made by my fellow competitors. Several times I thought for sure I was a goner. It has been an amazing 6 weeks: 

This final week was an entirely new challenge. With the hubby gone, the complete lack of supplies on the island, and no theme to spark inspiration, well, lets just say I was a bit stressed out. In the end I LOVE what came out of all that stress, if nothing else it is definitely my kind of look.  
Petite Chouette

My goal was to create an outfit that looked like Anthropologie, Emerson Made, Elias and Grace and Zara all had a baby together ha! I couldn't just make one garment, oh no. This is the FINALE! So lets start with the coat! 

Because Dili does not sell cotton in colors I hand dyed natural cotton to be a deep turquoise. Again this is done with local organic dye so we will see how it washes ha! 

Since there is no where to purchase buttons I commissioned a local wood worker to widdle me some oversized buttons. I love their imperfections, how the holes are just slightly off center on one set so I really had to pay attention when placing them so they would line up. 

The coat is lined with a gorgeous liberty print and natural cotton. Again I only had 1/4 a yard sent to me by a reader, so, when making my own pattern, I cut the liberty print in a way that it was all along the edges and back and then the natural cotton filled the rest. This took some serious fiddling the first time but it was worth it! 

The collar and sleeves are ruffled. Of course there had to be ruffles! This is a signature look and I am ALL about ruffles :) There is a long belt held on by two belt loops on either hip made from the fun liberty print so they pop next to the blue. There are two box pleats on either side of the front panels to give the coat some much needed volume and body. Now what is underneath? First the top. 

The top is made from white cotton, lace and a hand embroidered flower chain. I by hand made each pleat on the bib then tucked a strip of lace in between every other pleat. Once I attached the bib to the main body I covered the seam with the embroidered flowers. 

The sleeves of course are gathered making them super comfy :) 

The back of the dress I wanted to be asymmetrical so I made the right portion button farther on top of the left. To add some "drama" I made 4 button holes and attached tiny buttons on the top and then there are 3 hidden buttons (using the second bottom layer) that button along the rest of the shirt. 

The skirt is a blend of some sort that I purchased a long time ago because the color was so "me". 

I created a high waisted skirt with box pleats all the way around. 

A side zipper on the left and a seam pocket on the right (little girls need places to put their Chapstick too you know!) 

The leggings I made by cutting up a deep burgundy maternity shirt, hemming the bottoms and then sewing up the back center. 

Now for the accessories. I adore over the top hats. LOVE them. 

I have been waiting my whole life to go to a wedding in England just so I can have a reason to don an over the top feathered number (I guess it would help to LIVE in England ha!) This particular hat is made from felt I made (you cannot buy felt on the island either) when I first got here. It's edges are finished with bias tape. 

I went everywhere looking for feathers but could find none so I bought another feather duster and destroyed it. Then I added the one peacock feather I brought back from Jakarta, some velvet ribbon and some bling! 

If you would like to make one for yourself, or your cutie you can find a tutorial HERE. For her feeties I made her some slip on t-strap tweed shoes. 

The tweed came from an old skirt and the bottoms are reclaimed leather. Kierra kept telling me how comfy they were, even if they were a tich wide. 

The buttons are simply for show, the straps have easy on/off snaps hidden underneath. She loved holding the little Owl I brought. 

I kept asking if she wanted to put him down but she refused, so he sort of dominated the shoot and that is where the name of the outfit came from: Petite Chouette or "Little Owl". Plus I thought the colors were very earthy and "owlie?" The field is a partially abandoned lot (with a family living in a little shelter in the back) and Kierra had fun pulling up stalks. 

Then we got lucky and a little goat wandered over. I was worried at first that Kierra might be scared of him but she walked right up, grabbed some grass and made friends :) 

I am thinking about sharing the pattern for the coat and skirt if there is enough interest. If you have a moment I would love for you to hop over and see the creations that Ashley and Katy made. I know the three of us have all worked sooooo hard on these projects we would love if you would head over to Project Run and Play and vote for your favorite! This is the last one so PLEASE take a moment to vote! (Um have you SEEN the cool prizes ha!) Thank you so much for your support through this competition. It has been amazing to take part in. I hope you have enjoyed seeing the creations each week!