Beckett 3000: Project Run&Play week 2

(This is also my update for Operation: Project $0 since this whole outfit is for the boys' fall wardrobe and upcycled)

The week two theme for Project Run and Play is 'Fashion Icon'.  Now this theme would have been a breeze for me if I was sewing for baby girl.  I have fashionistas from every decade from the past century that I would love to design looks inspired by.  But, after sewing for baby girl last week - I am back to all BOY!!!  And sadly, I know NOTHING about current male fashion icons. (hangs head in shame).
So onto friendly Google I went, and searched for 'Male Fashion Icon' - I know, shocking search right ;op  I found a few things that struck my interest, but I really wanted to push myself outside my box. And then I found it - the PERFECT fashion icon to inspire an outfit for a little boy: ANDRE 3000.  (don't know much about him?  Click his name to learn more)

I was struck by three things in picking him as my inspiration - first he loves mixing casual and dress wear with pattern and COLOR!  Second, he always has a fun accessory - hats, bow ties, suspenders, cool shoes... there is always something that just makes the outfit 'more'.  And third, is virtually every casual picture of him, he has this HUGE smile on his face.  There is just something endearing about that.  So, my fashion icon he became.

I started with a design...

 altered it slightly... messed up a few times... and ended up with this:

I changed the 2 to a B, well, because he is B.  I scrapped the suspenders because I was having dyeing issues and didn't want them to look bad because of a bad dye job.  So the bow tie was added instead.  This is my first attempt at applique - I had some issues, so it isn't perfect, but I am happy with the result overall.  And yes, my boys own shoes - shoes that even would have complimented this outfit, but when you have a happy model you don't waste the moment by trying to wrangle them into shoes!!!

For this outfit I made the pants, sweatshirt, bow tie, and hat (just not the white shirt)
Pants:  Blue and grey wool, bought at an auction by my mom in a mixed box for $1
Sweatshirt: Upcycled from Men's sweater
Bow Tie & B applique: Upcycled yellow T (was my peanut M&M costume when I was pregnant w/ the boys)
Hat: Same wool as pants for outer, lined with upcycled plaid button up shirt


My poor photo session did not go quite as planned ;o(  I was taking the warm up shots and getting my little guy all happy - then I sat him in this cute red chair to start the 'real' shoot, and he immediately got stung by a BEE - GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, poor baby boy.  He didn't know what to do and just kept shaking his hand saying 'hot, hot, hot...'  Oh B, that is how mama would describe it too.

At least I had the pre shots, since we left the next day for vacation and there was no chance to re-shoot.

So here is B, aka Bex 3000:

 Those eyes - Oh those EYES!!!

 

 Taking off - I think he feels comfortable in his outfit ;o)  And my poor Mom in the background trying to wrangle A and baby girl

 If you look to the far right, next to his hand, you can see a yellow blur - yep, that is the culprit!

HOTHOTHOTHOT - Poor baby B, stung by a bee ;o(

Here are a few making/detail shots:

Bright yellow bow tie - in the future I will make bowties with woven cotton rather than knit, but it made sense to use the same fabric as the 'B' to tie the look together.  I will be making many more of these, they are so easy!  (click HERE fort he tutorial I used from papernstitchblog.com)

I love love love this little hat - this is a great way to show how much of a difference your seam allowance makes.  This was a size 6-8 boys hat, my baby is 18 months (although he has a HUGE head).  I knew I didn't want the hat as full as the original (just too floppy for this look), so I cut off about an inch from the original point and re-shaped the sides.  The brim and cut width of the crown are exactly the same as the original.  Then instead of sewing a .25inch seam as directed, I sewed a .33inch seam allowance - this brought in the crown perfectly to my little man's head.  The hat actually looks a little better on A because his head is smaller, but I love it on B - and he didn't want to take it off!!!
(click HERE for the tutorial I used from clevergirl.org)

I lined these pants with leftover cotton from the center of a bed skirt (it is so soft, and the same lining I used for baby girls' Satin and Lace Romper).  No matter how soft the wool, I always find it itchy, and I wanted B to be comfy.

 (I found a font I liked in PS, altered it to be a bit more angular, printed it out and then placed it under the T shirt to trace the B onto the fabric)

I'm bad about reading all the directions before starting ;op  I should have ironed my applique paper to the fabric BEFORE cutting, therefore cutting them together - ummm yeah, I didn't - so then I had to cut it as best I could and iron it on - lesson learned ;o)

 

You can see that my applique stitching isn't perfect - 1st I didn't have a stabilizer and I was working with two knit fabrics, ooops.  2nd, my thread kept fraying and breaking, until I figured out that you have to go slow, SLOW - then it works fine.  Lesson #2 learned. 

Linked Up: http://sewchatty.blogspot.com/2012/09/made-with-love-link-up_23.html, http://my1929charmer.com/sundays-best-awards-and-49-par-tay/, http://www.iheartnaptime.net/sundae-scoop-link-party-47/, http://www.homemakeronadime.com/2012/09/market-your-biz-and-giveaways-67.html, http://www.heatherlyloves.com/2012/09/sunday-roundup-22.html, http://www.thegirlcreative.com/2012/09/just-something-i-whipped-up_23.html, http://www.thetraintocrazy.com/2012/09/ma.html, http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2012/09/make-it-pretty-monday-week-16.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20TheDedicatedHouse%20(The%20Dedicated%20House), http://www.skiptomylou.org/2012/09/24/made-by-you-monday-120/, http://www.creatingreallyawesomefreethings.com/11301/, http://etcetorize.blogspot.com/2012/09/make-it-great-monday_23.html, http://www.linesacross.com/2012/09/the-cure-for-common-monday-56.html, http://brassyapple.blogspot.ca/2012/09/blog-link-party-make-it-monday-49.html, http://www.raisingbean.com/search?updated-max=2012-09-22T07:30:00-04:00&max-results=3, http://sarahdawndesigns.blogspot.com/2012/09/pintastic-monday-link-party-10.html#.UGEIDo1mTYg, http://www.sugarbeecrafts.com/2012/09/take-look-tuesday_24.html, http://itsablogparty.com/show-me-how-9-24-12/, http://thecreativeitchboutique.blogspot.com/2012/09/sew-cute-tuesday-92512.html, http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.ca/2012/09/time-to-shine-party-no-87.html, http://carolynshomework.blogspot.ca/2012/09/the-inspiration-board-link-party-69.html, http://www.salttree.net/2012/09/open-call-tuesday-21.html, http://onelittlemomm.blogspot.com/2012/09/wkww-what-kids-wore-wednesday_25.html