MADE

With all this time-travel talk, I thought I’d really take you back to the 80s since one of you asked to see a photo of my big bangs.  So here you go my friends.  Fortunately or unfortunately, they lived:

The Suman Family, 1987
Santa Ana, California
First Day of School

Left to right: my oldest sister Saunja (10th grade), my sister Camille (8th grade), me (6th grade), my youngest brother Mark (4 years old), and my brother Eric (2nd grade)….who leaned more toward the Miami Vice trend of ’87.

Why it was okay for an 11 year-old to dress like a 40 year-old woman is an 80s riddle.  But we did it.  And loved it.  And if my sister Saunja wasn’t in her cheer uniform you can guarantee she’d be wearing a button-up blouse with a big gawdy brooch smack in the middle of the neck…and leggings…and a scrunchie.  Oh wait, she is wearing a scrunchie.  Or is that a banana clip?

And what am I wearing?  I remember the outfit clearly, since I had laid it out the night before.  A Forenza sweater vest, white jeans skirt (I think), an Esprit bag, and my white/pink LA Gear.  Oh and yep.  Braces.  My second round of braces….which came equipped with a head and neck-gear, which I ONLY wore at night (hello? the hair.  And my dignity)

I look like such a kid here though I remember feeling so old.  And would have totally melted if Ralph Macchio or Michael J. Fox ever blinked in my direction!  And speaking of Karate Kid….

Just had to include one more photo gem, circa 2002.
When Casey and I were dating he and his friends dressed up like 80s movie characters for Halloween.  And they were a hit.

Left to right: Brett as Teen Wolf, Brian as Karate Kid on Halloween (a costume within a costume), Casey as Doc Brown, and Devin as Peewee Herman.

Okay. Later skater.
Have a rad weekend!
And if you want to see more hairstyles….check out my hairography from the past 15 years (which sadly lost all the comments when I switched to wordpress.  boo)

Oh, and don’t forget to enter the Consumer Crafts $250 giveaway if you haven’t already.  It ends Saturday night.  And check out Consumer Crafts for tons of cool supplies.   They have free shipping this weekend!

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I love the 80s.
I mean, like, Howard Jones, big bow, pegged pants, Karate Kid, Wham (Make it Big), shoulder pad, scrunchie it up love the 80s.  And I blame it on having two older sisters.  One crimped while the other teased and sprayed (with Aquanet) till they gave me the largest bangs in my 6th grade class.  Radical.

So when the Film Petit ladies chose Ferris Bueller’s Day Off as their feature project in January, I realized that I totally needed IN on the 80s sewing fun.If you’re new to Film Petit, it’s an ongoing sewing series hosted by Kristin from Skirt as Top and Jessica from A Little Gray where they give a creative/sewing interpretation of their favorite films.  They pick a new movie each month and ask a guest blogger to join along.  And for the month of April they asked me!  Well, I guess I asked them.  And then I requested either Teen Wolf or my all-time, probably favorite movie: Back to the Future.   And they went for it!

Is there a more classic, fun movie??  The plot is virtually seamless (okay there are nit-picky moments…like why does the rain suddenly stop after lighting strikes the clock tower?  Silly stuff)  But mostly the characters and moments are just fantastic!  You’re really rooting for everyone.
Except Biff.
Butthead.

So Jessica, Kristin, and I each picked a different character from the movie and gave them our own spin.  I went for the classic Marty McFly:

and turned him into Owen McFly:

with the key piece being a freaking huge orange puffy vest.



And with a few other items we completed the look (though I am missing the awesome Marty denim jacket because A) I couldn’t find one B) Didn’t want to make one C) Owen will prob never wear one here in Texas.  So if you have a jeans jacket you’ll be extra fly.  Or should I say MCfly)

Then layer it all together,

And you’re ready to go BACK, to the future.

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Most of the sewing came together smoothly, using patterns I already had.

• T-shirt: I used my Basic Tee pattern and repurposed Casey’s favorite red tee into little Owen size (thank you Casey for making a Back to the Future sacrifice).
• Button-up shirt:  I also used the Basic Tee pattern and extended it a bit to make a new button-up shirt from an old thrifted Mens XL shirt.  I even left the collar as-is, which is a little big for the new shirt but for this project it works.
• Suspenders: I used 3/4 inch wide elastic and sewed suspender clips to the ends.  Nothing fancy.  Next time I’ll make them adjustable.
• Jeans: These were Target clearance for $2 and originally more wide-legged.  You could just peg your jeans at your cuff but I sewed my down the side and inseams to make them McFly skinny.
• The Puffy Vest: Oh that vest.  A labor of love.

I used the Flip Vest Pattern which worked perfectly.  I really wanted it to be orange nylon fabric like Marty’s vest but couldn’t find any so I went with fleece.  I added a stand up collar (I’ll have to explain that in another post), sewed 4 layers of batting inside the vest, and quilted wide lines on the outside of the vest.  It wasn’t a “hard” project but definitely took all my body strength to sew through the many layers.  And I broke about 4 needles in the process (and couldn’t even add snap closures because the fabric was so thick).  Next time I’d use a little batting.  But I do love how it turned out.

And a little added surprise…when I finished sewing Owen’s shirt there was enough fabric left over to make a Clara skirt!

So I threw her in the DeLorian and she came out of it a 1950s girl at the diner.

I ironed a felt C to her sweater with fusible webbing, used a scrap of fabric for the headband, and finished the look with Old Navy shoes and a T-shirt from Forever 21.

And now Marty had some girls to impress while trying to escape Biff and his knucklehead posse.





I kind of think so.

And he took the modeling pretty seriously though he’s never even seen the movie.  He wanted to make sure his hair was pushed up and his sunglasses were positioned like they are on the DVD cover.

Cause that my friends, is the Power of Love (and the bribery of lollipops).
Thanks Kristin and Jessica for letting me join the Film Petit fun!  Of course the time travel doesn’t stop here.  Head to Skirt as Top and A little Gray where Doc and the Delorian are hanging out.

Now make like a tree, and get out of here.

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Thanks for entering our two Celebrate MOM giveaways last week.
And don’t forget, you can still enter the Earth Day/Mother’s Day Giveaway with Consumer Crafts until Thursday night.

Now on to the lucky winners….we even had a winner from Germany!

Fabrics A to Z Book Giveaway:
#1258 – Stephanie O who said: I would love a copy, thanks for a chance. 
#1385 – Franzi who said: Love your work, Dana! And I’d love to win your book of course
Come on number generatur!  
#91 – Courtney who said: This book looks amazing! I would love it!

The Vintage Pearl Giveaway:
#1064 – ButtercupBo who said: I love the Vintage Pearl!
#674 – Vicky who said: Pretty things! I’m sure I know a mom who would love something from there.

Winners will be contacted via email with additional info.
And for those who didn’t win, maybe a little purple polka dot bum and chubby legs will make the world feel better.  Have a great day!

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