Tuesday, September 22, 2009

StichNLove's Tie-Dyed Ensemble Wins ACT's Retro Challenge

Congratulations to Christie of StitchNLove for winning ACT's retro themed September Challenge. At the beginning of the month, our guild master, Jenn of Jemz, dared us to get "groovy" with the 1960's and 70s and create something "far out". And Christie responded by creating this funk-a-delic (a creative combination of the words funky and psychedelic) Tye Dyed Bell Bottom Outfit complete with a cloche hat.

Christie was captivated by the material from the moment she first laid her eyes on it. Each time she returned to the store, she was once again drawn to the colorful tie-died material but couldn't figure out what to do with it until the theme of ACT's September challenge was announced. "When I thought of the 60's and 70's, I thought of bell bottoms and tie-dye. This outfit blends the two," said Christie.

Christie designed this boutique outfit using patterns she found online at You Can Make This. She used Toni Hamel's Skinny Bell Bottoms pattern as the basis. She combined elements of two shirt patterns from the same site to create the tie-dyed top. Even the hat pattern came from You Can Make This!

The pants pattern seemed to run a little big, which presented her with an additional challenge. However Christie was very pleased with the overall project and said, "It took about a day from cut to last stitch, but it came together even better than I imagined."

Knowing that Christie is Mom to 6 children, I asked her when and how she carves out the time to design and sew her outfits. Her reply: "Very creatively actually. I sew when Dad is home in the evenings and after bed time. And I sew during the day as much as the kids will let me. There are only two not in school. Next year, I have to decide if I am going to homeschool my youngest daughter, and that will be interesting: homeschool and a sewing business.

(Any homeschoolers out there? Leave your tips for Christie in the comments below.)

When I expressed my curiosity about what her young model had to say about the outfit, Christie shared this antidote. "She is such a ham! She often stands next to my mirage of outfits with her hands in a prayer position and asks what she can wear. This outfit, if I am not mistaken, she wore to bed that night, she liked it so much!"

Each month ACT (Artfire CafeMom Team) challenges its guild members to create something that reflects the chosen theme. Member artists have 21 days to submit their entry by posting a picture of their item in a designated thread within the guild's forum on Cafemom.com. The general public, as well as guild members, are then invited to vote for their favorite item during the last week of the month.

Christie was the only one to rise to the challenge this month, but even if there had been several artists competing, I do believe that she would have won hands down with this 60's & 70's inspired bell bottom ensemble.

To find out more information about ordering this fun colorful outfit in the right size for your little lass, just click on the link to go to the listing for this Tye Dyed Bell Bottom Outfit in StitchNLove's Studio on Artfire.com.



2 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Diana said...

Congrats!!