{"id":49317,"date":"2015-09-01T10:40:38","date_gmt":"2015-09-01T14:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/?p=49317"},"modified":"2015-10-23T09:31:35","modified_gmt":"2015-10-23T13:31:35","slug":"the-monochrome-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2015\/09\/the-monochrome-project.html","title":{"rendered":"the monochrome project"},"content":{"rendered":"

Currently there\u2019s a black and white challenge going on over in the discussion forums<\/a>. Maybe you\u2019d like to join in on the fun. Shelley<\/a> is here to tell us all about it. Now I\u2019ll hand it over to Shelley.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Most of the time I have many more ideas for sewing than I have time to sew. I\u2019m sure that\u2019s true for a lot of you. But perhaps sometimes you struggle for inspiration and feel you could make something, if only you knew what to make.<\/p>\n

Then there are times when you sort of know what you want to make, but you throw an idea up on the Oliver + S forum because it\u2019s always fun to hear everyone else’s ideas. Well that\u2019s exactly what mcholley1 (@mcholley1<\/a>) did when she needed inspiration for a recital dress for her daughter<\/a>. Of course the idea took off, we all got carried away with the idea of sewing in black and white, and The Monochrome Project<\/a> was born.<\/p>\n

Have you sewn for your kids using only black and white? I was just about to start making my first ever monochrome dress for my daughter (a zebra ballerina dress by request) when the forum discussion began. It seemed the perfect time to have a sew-along and create some excitement about forgoing colour!<\/p>\n

If you want to join in then sew your monochrome outfit and post a photo to the Oliver + S Flickr group<\/a> or Instagram. Use the tag #oliverandsmonochrome so we can all find each other\u2019s work and maybe have a round up at the end. Which is when? How about the end of the first week of October, let\u2019s say, the 5th.<\/p>\n

The classic recital dress follows the \u201crule\u201d of solids, no patterned fabric, with a white top and black skirt. I knew Sarvi (@sarvi<\/a>) had made some beautiful versions for her little violinist, so let\u2019s start with the original idea, a recital dress:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Oliver<\/a><\/p>\n

1<\/a>, 2<\/a>, 3<\/a><\/p>\n

Then I waded deep into the Flickr pool in search of monochrome treasure and boy did I find some wonderful outfits. Amazingly, I also found a huge variety of Oliver + S patterns sewn up in black and white. There are some patterns, the Roller Skate<\/a>, Fairy Tale<\/a> and Croquet Dresses<\/a> in particular that seem to lend themselves well to monochromatic fabrics, but so many more have turned out beautifully when sewn up in only black and white.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t possibly include every image that I found and loved, and I confess to only managing to view about half of the 300+ pages in Flickr, but I\u2019ve rounded up some of my personal favourites. I hope you\u2019ll find them inspiring. Let\u2019s start with the solids:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Oliver<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1<\/a>, 2<\/a>, 3<\/a>, 4<\/a>, 5<\/a>, 6<\/a>, 7<\/a><\/p>\n

With solid black and white you end up with a more \u201cgrown up\u201d outfit. I would very happily wear that Kate Middleton-esque shirt dress myself. However, for kids you can use little bows, cat buttons and trims to add the perfect detail and break up large blocks of dark or light. Or you can accessorize with a cool hat or a light saber, take your pick.<\/p>\n

For this dress<\/a>, Nicole (@motherof5) added some playful large scale ruffles to the Playdate dress<\/a> and perfectly recreated a look her daughter had requested.<\/p>\n

For her daughter\u2019s first day of school dress<\/a>, Janice (@juliamom2009) transformed a simple white Roller Skate dress with some beautiful embroidery. I could have flooded this whole blog post with black and white dresses sewn by Janice. Go check out her Flickr feed<\/a> for more inspiration.<\/p>\n

Patterned monochrome fabric gives a completely different look. One type of pattern pops up a lot, and that\u2019s spots! Here\u2019s some monochrome spotty inspiration:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Oliver<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1<\/a>, 2<\/a>, 3<\/a>, 4<\/a>, 5<\/a>, 6<\/a>, 7<\/a>, 8<\/a><\/p>\n

White spots on black, and black spots on white. Tiny spots and big pebbles of spots. Here\u2019s a fabulous spotted Croquet dress<\/a> with perfectly medium sized spots! Depending on the size of the spots, spotted fabrics can range from subtle and almost gray through to quite whimsical and bold.<\/p>\n

Then we get even bolder with all sorts of fun patterns and stripes in black and white. If you like to sew loud, bright coloured fabrics then I hope you\u2019ll see that black and white can be every bit as eye catching:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Oliver<\/a><\/p>\n

1<\/a>, 2<\/a>, 3<\/a>, 4<\/a>, 5<\/a>, 6<\/a>, 7<\/a>, 8<\/a><\/p>\n

I make no apologies for letting the ombre shaded Lunch Box Tee dress join the monochrome set in that image. It is just too good!<\/p>\n

How incredible is this striped Art Museum Vest<\/a>, or this matching Art Museum outfit<\/a> in a car print! Here, a Roller Skate dress<\/a> makes great use of the patterned fabric. Gingham<\/a> is always a good idea, especially in black and white and I adore this little Class Picnic top<\/a> covered in birds \u2013 undoubtedly seagulls who\u2019ve come for the picnic crumbs!<\/p>\n

Finally, a simple black and white colour scheme can be made stunning by making use of texture in fabric. From soft merino knits, through wool boucle, to shiny silks and embroidered chiffons, by highlighting the fabric\u2019s texture you can create something exceptional:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Oliver<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1<\/a>, 2<\/a>, 3<\/a>, 4<\/a>, 5<\/a>, 6<\/a>, 7<\/a>, 8<\/a><\/p>\n

How luscious do these black corduroy Puppet Show shorts<\/a> look.<\/p>\n

After seeing all the wonderful monochrome Oliver + S garments that already existed I was excited to dig through my stash and rediscover some lovely wools, textured fabrics, patterned cottons and plain knits. I can see quite a few ideas sitting in the pile of fabric at the top of the post and I\u2019ve started a Black and White Pinterest board<\/a> to try and keep my momentum going. But what of my daughter\u2019s request for a zebra ballerina dress?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Oliver<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With no colour at all, that\u2019s probably still one of the brightest and boldest Oliver + S garments I\u2019ve ever sewn!<\/p>\n

What do you think? Can you restrict yourself to black and white and sew up a monochrome outfit? There are no hard and fast rules. If there has to be pink pocket lining in order for the garment to be worn, then so be it. But sometimes, by putting some restrictions on ourselves we become more creative. I\u2019m certainly feeling inspired and I hope you are too.<\/p>\n

Shelley.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Please join us for the black and white challenge–a chance to extend your creative skills by sewing pieces in just black and white.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7455,"featured_media":49337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20687],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-49317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-inspiration"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/monochromeprojectTITLE.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5jZS5-cPr","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":50988,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2015\/10\/the-monochrome-project-round-up.html","url_meta":{"origin":49317,"position":0},"title":"the monochrome project round-up","author":"Rachel Le Grand","date":"October 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Come and see all of the fantastic sewing that was done for the black and white challenge.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/monoroundupTITLE.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":61154,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2017\/05\/weekend-link-shelley-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":49317,"position":1},"title":"weekend link, shelley edition","author":"Todd Gibson","date":"May 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Liesl is taking this week off from writing her usual Friday Weekend Links post. But don't fear. Shelley is here to fill up your tank with some good reading material for the weekend.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/ShelleyHead.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12001,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2014\/08\/little-things-to-sew-cover-to-cover-challenge.html","url_meta":{"origin":49317,"position":2},"title":"little things to sew: cover to cover challenge","author":"Rachel Le Grand","date":"August 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Oliver + S Little Things to Sew: Cover to Cover Challenge is going on until the end of August. Shelley checks in today with a status update on the challenge.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/travel-quilt.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10153,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2014\/03\/my-favorite-oliver-s-pattern-shelley-from-lightning-mcstitch.html","url_meta":{"origin":49317,"position":3},"title":"my favorite oliver + s pattern: shelley from lightning mcstitch","author":"Liesl Gibson","date":"March 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Shelley is here today to tell us all about her favorite Oliver + S sewing pattern, the Nature Walk Pullover and Knit Pants.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/lightningmcstitch1_NatureWalk.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":75112,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2020\/05\/sew-tell-shelleys-kensington-mini-skirt.html","url_meta":{"origin":49317,"position":4},"title":"sew + tell: shelley’s kensington mini skirt","author":"Masha Richart","date":"May 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Shelley shortened the Kensington Knit Skirt to make a winter mini skirt using vintage fabric from a special source.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Shelley-hero.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":82741,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2024\/09\/shelleys-linen-prado-trench-coat.html","url_meta":{"origin":49317,"position":5},"title":"shelley’s linen prado trench coat","author":"Liesl Gibson","date":"September 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Shelley, aka Lightning McStitch, is back with a stunning linen Prado Trench Coat she sewed. 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