mystery sewing challenge Archives

The Mystery Challenge is a fun challenge. You basically challenge yourself to create something (anything) based on a theme chosen for you by someone else. (That’s the mystery part of it, you don’t know what your challenge theme will be until after your partner is chosen).

I found this theme to be even more challenging than the last one. Not just coming up with an idea of what to make, but also depending on where you read the Rosie the Riveter everyone thinks is Rosie (image below), according to some is not. So confused!

image courtesy of anywhere on the web :P Although this one I found on Wikipedia — image courtesy of anywhere on the web 😛 Although this one I found on Wikipedia

This is the real Rosie the Riveter apparently:

At first I thought I would make a cute little Miss V version of Rosie the Riveter, but 1. it’s an idea that’s been done by celebs and Halloween costumes many times so I decided that it wouldn’t be challenging enough, and 2. I just pulled out the hand me downs in size 2 and oh gosh, there is just so much Miss V doesn’t need any more clothes! So then I thought about making Silly Bean into a Rosie but again reason #1 above applies here as well, and #2 well, she could do with more clothes but if it’s not pink anywhere it’s like pulling teeth to get her to cooperate for pictures so it wasn’t worth the trouble.

So then after finding the Rosie The Riveter website and seeing that they sell the We Can Do It poster in their shop, I decided it’d be ok after all to do something based on that poster. So I thought I would make a little purse based on the colours of the poster. I was going to use the FABulous Home Sewn Sunburst clutch pattern but halfway through cutting the pieces out, realised that I didn’t have a zipper in the right colour and no time to go pick one up! (I left things thing a little late…) I will still finish up the clutch, I think the it’s perfect design for doing the colours of the poster.

Then I read this quote on the Rosie The Riveter website:

Rosie the Riveter is a reminder to all of us to try new things, test our limits, and believe in ourselves and others. These tales of dedication and courage can inspire us!

So I decided to try something new. No, I didn’t go try welding or carpentry, although those would have been great Rosie activities to do. Instead I decided to try embroidery. I’ve been wanting to make a wall hanging for awhile with an embroidery hoop but never got around to it. I’ve never done embroidery before, although I did do cross stitching when I was younger (from about age 9 to my late teens).

At first I thought I would just embroider the phrase ‘We Can Do It” but I figured it’s a phrase that’s a little overdone (and well, a feminine activity like embroidery doesn’t really go along with the spirit of the work that the Rosie the Riveter trust does). So I changed it to Be Creative. Works well for the craft room I think.

and of course since I was running late on this I wasn't able to get the final pics done, I will update tonight with finished pics! — and of course since I was running late on this I wasn’t able to get the final pics done, I will update tonight with finished pics!

It’s not perfect, but I like it. I’ll update the post tonight with the completed pics. I went to take pictures this morning (yep I was running real behind) and the battery was running super low and Silly Bean has a dance concert in a couple hours so need to recharge the battery so I can take pictures of the dance!

Lulu&Celeste signature

Morpho Butterfly inspired 'Sugar and Spice' Dress

Morpho Butterfly inspired dress

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. That means if you click the link and buy through it, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. All opinions are 100% my own though.

I belong to a group on Facebook for crafty bloggers (art, sewing, etc) and one of the bloggers, Amy, of Friends Stitched Together, decided to organize this round of a little challenge for any crafty/sewing blogger that wanted to take part. The Mystery Sewing Challenge.

The basic premise is after being assigned a mystery partner, we had to assign a theme for the other blogger who then had to design an item based on that theme. It’s a friendly little challenge, no prizes or anything, so it’s more of a personal challenge to go out of your comfort zone I suppose. It was a little tough. It was hard enough just coming up with a theme that would hopefully be interesting and inspiring for the other blogger let alone coming up with ideas once I got my own theme.

Morpho Butterfly inspired 'Sugar and Spice' Dress sewn by Lulu&Celeste

SUGAR AND SPICE PATTERN BY PEEK-A-BOO PATTERNS

So what was my theme? The Morpho Butterfly/Rainforest! (Morpho butterflies live in the Rainforest so in case I couldn’t think of anything for the butterfly I had a broader category to fall back on. Thanks Jessica for the theme!)

So I had never heard of the Morpho butterfly but after a quick Google image search I realized that I had seen pictures of them before. They are a gorgeous, brilliant blue, and I happened to have the perfect Kona cotton in my stash!

My little butterfly

At first I thought about making a skirt with faux butterfly wings (kinda like this) but then decided I wanted it to be less of a dress up skirt and more of a real skirt to wear. So then I decided on a cute little twirly skirt with layers of chiffon to make it flowy and mimic a butterfly’s movement but I figured the layers of chiffon would just hide the beautiful blue colour. Then I was testing a cute twirly and flippy skirt that would have been perfect for what I was picturing that would work without chiffon but since the pattern isn’t being released until next week that idea was nixed as well.

I go through this same thought process almost every time I tackle a project. (Even for test projects I have to debate fabric choices for a few days).

So I changed tactics and decided to do a dress with flutter sleeves. Ha! There are many flutter sleeve dress patterns out there but the perfect one for me was the Sugar and Spice (affiliate link) from Peek-a-boo Patterns. The morpho butterfly’s wings are edged in black and the Sugar and Spice has side panel details as well a small, square yoke that worked perfectly by making those pieces in black.

I knew I was playing with fire by making a blue dress for my pink and sparkle obsessed daughter. So I found her this pretty SPARKLY scarf (it’s part of Salwar Kameez outfit my friend gave me) that she ran around with for pictures. (Also the reason for the pink leggings she had to keep on wearing, one day soon -I hope- this child will decide she likes other colours. I’m waiting!)

After I finally had come up with that I thought I should make a raincoat as well to complete the outfit. (Hey it rains in the Rainforest right?!) But the only raincoat pattern I own needed to print out on something like 70 pages and it was running late and I just didn’t have the time to spend on putting together that pattern. Another time!

The outfit didn’t turn out exactly how I envisioned it. Next time I’ll try less writing down and drawing out my ideas and spend more time sewing them. I had really wanted a whole rainforest inspired look but the dress is all I wound up having time for.

If you want to see a top I made with the Sugar and Spice (affiliate link) pattern you can go here. It’s a cute pattern!

Check out the rest of the challenge looks:

Friends Stitched Together – History of Flight – 8/17

Felt with Love Designs – Under the Sea – 8/18

Knot Sew Normal – Fruit – 8/19

Friends Stitched Together – My Little Pony – 8/20

The Berry Bunch – Cover Up – 8/21

Pensebrox – Titanic – 8/22

Tangible Pursuits – London Dapper – 8/23

Rebel and Malice – Disco – 8/24

Sewing Sober – Espionage – 8/25

Sugaridoo – Musical Instruments – 8/26

Lulu & Celeste – Morpho Butterfly/Rainforest – 8/27

Paisley Roots – Classic Summer Movies – 8/28

Create 3.5 – Morocco – 8/29

Mae&K – Solar System – 8/30

The Sewing Sparrow – Safari – 8/31

*****

Project #5 for the August Sewing from the Stash challenge! The black I’ve had for years and years, and the blue has been in the stash since last October. I also used the blue in this project.

Ula writes for Lulu&Celeste

Link up parties you might find me at: