Project Run and Play - Stripes and Polka Dots

My one and only new year's resolution was not to buy any new fabric until I use up most of my stash. I promptly broke it on January 2nd. Darn it, ebay! In my defence the fabric was so bright and cheery and the day was so gloomy and cold. Plus, it had polka dots and gnomes. How am I supposed to resist that? Since the fabric was a constant reminder of the fact that I can't keep my resolutions for more than a day, I decided it needed to be used immediately and it would be perfect for a polka dots and stripes challenge for Project Run and Play.

We present you a gnomes and polka dots dress. The pattern came from 3/2011 Ottobre magazine. I decided to use a pretty simple pattern since the print is quite busy.

Ania chose the buttons. I think they fit perfectly. I added a cardigan to use during winter.



The pattern came from a Japanese pattern book, The Polka Drops. I was a little leery about using the book. It is, well, in Japanese. And it's not like you can just copy a sentence and paste it into Google translate. But I didn't need to worry.





The pictures were very helpful. I also liked how they didn't include basic steps, just the ones that might be confusing. That way you don't get overwhelmed by the abundance of text and pictures.

To go with the polka dot theme I added small buttons covered with the contrasting red fabric and round elbow patches. The pockets have a roundish opening. :) Overall I am happy with how the outfit turned out.  Ania likes both pieces, even though she was tired of modeling and kept moving around.

 





24 comments

  1. Such a cute little dress! I love the fabric and the cardigan with the dots is the perfect accessory.

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  2. loved your outfit and the fabric was worth breaking your only resolution, wasn't it? ;)

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  3. She looks cute in it, so I guess it was worth breaking my only resolution. :)

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  4. I love this dress and the fabric was perfect for it. Great job on figuring out the Japanese...that still scares me.

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    1. Thank you. Don't be scared of the Japanese patterns, I was surprised how much I understood just by looking closely at the pictures. :)

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  5. WOW, that looks super nice! a perfect set. I loved the red buttons and the elbow patches (they are very in :)). So can you now add JApanese to your resume ;)?

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  6. I Love the elbow patches and red pockets, it makes that cardigan really fun! Great fabric choice too!
    thank you for sharing your talents.
    With love,
    Jo
    http://shaffer-sisters.blogspot.com/

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  7. :)
    the first thing that comes to mind when I think of polka dots are toadstools.
    love the red & white cardigan and all the details are so fun !

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    1. Thank you. I have a soft spot for toadstools, even though the English name is kind of ugly. :)

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  8. Ahhhhh, that cardigan!! LOVE!! Great to know the Japanese pattern wasn't too hard to follow......we want to try out a 'foreign pattern' sometime this year!

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    1. Thank you! I love Ottobre magazine, the patterns are really nice and there is always a good variety. The drawback is the minimal instructions and no pictures to follow along. Farbenmix patterns are awesome. I had a good expereince with the Japanese patterns. My problem is that I routinely forget to add seam allowances. But that just me. :)

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  9. Ok---that fabric is worth breaking any resolution for---it's awesome! Love the dress and the cardigan!
    liZ

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  10. Fun and cute! I like how you added elbow patches to the cardigan.
    I keep making that same promise of not buying new fabric too, and then break it every time I go to Jo-Ann ;)

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  11. Adorable fabric! It is just perfect for that dress!

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  12. Hi Olga. I LOVE the cardigan. I see so many insanely cute patterns from those Japanese pattern book. I think I need to buy some soon ;-) I follow you now on Bloglovin. Great things you are making!

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  13. We featured you on our blog. Thanks for sewing along! http://shaffer-sisters.blogspot.com/2013/02/prp-sew-along-winter-2013.html
    With Love,
    Jo

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