Week one of the Sew-vivor competition is here! And you will see, the Top 10 did not disappoint. There is so much talent and creativity in this first round! It’s going to be hard to narrow it down to the Top 8!
*Scroll all the way to the bottom to find the poll! 

Here’s what you need to know…

Voting: all day Wednesday (and part of Thursday due to a technical difficulty)
Results: the Top 8 will be posted on Friday morning
Tutorials: each contestant may decide to post their tutorials on their blogs later

The Challenge: each contestant has followed the rules for their first project…

Now check out the crazy talent, and vote for your favorite!

CONTESTANT #1: Miranda from One Little Minute

This bias cut dress tutorial from Tatertots and Jello drew me in with the fun, on-trend chevron stripe, and the whimsy with which Michelle made it. I definitely relate to “winging” sewing projects and being completely satisfied, even if surprised, by the outcome. I decided to follow her tutorial for lining up the bias stripe on the dress, but make it my own by flipping the chevron upside-down, creating simple dolman sleeves with a fun triangle loop detail, cinching the waist with elastic thread ruching, and adding unexpected pale blue pockets. (Because every dress should have pockets;)  Bring on the summer! With this happy, modest, comfortable dress, I am ready for it.

CONTESTANT #2: Jen from I Can’t Stop Crafting

I had a really hard time deciding what I wanted to make for this first challenge, there were so many gorgeous options to choose from! But I kept on going back to the Charlotte Russe Inspired Skirt from Sew Dang Cute. I’m a sucker for ruffles, and the added tulle got me hook, line, and sinker! I followed a simple dress pattern, and added the extra front panel and ruffle/tulle combination to the skirt, using Tam’s great tutorial. It all came together beautifully, and Tam’s trick for easy ruffling saved me a ton of time! Now Addie’s got a beautiful Easter dress that she absolutely loves, and I’m thrilled with how it all turned out. Thanks for having me! 🙂

CONTESTANT #3: Kailee from An Outfit a Day

Say hello to the Amber Apron, a vintage-looking amber and navy apron, inspired from the “Baking Day” Apron Tutorial (found at Ruffles and Stuff). I thought the tutorial was cute and I wanted to spice it up a bit by making an apron that looked like a dress when worn. I also adore the combination of yellow and navy, because together they have a really vintage feel. I used a cotton twill fabric to make this and gray bias tape for most of the edges. The whole apron is complete with a sash around the waist as well as two smaller sashes to tie together at the neck, pleats in the skirt, some cute white and blue buttons, and of course pockets! I put it on and felt like a girl ready to do some cooking magic in my small apartment kitchen. If you want to read more about it, head on over my blog, An Outfit A Day, for a tutorial. Now who wants to go bake some cookies?!

CONTESTANT #5: Kirstin from Kojo Designs

I absolutely adore all of Rach’s talented guest judges (what a line up!), so this week’s challenge was a bit, err, challenging for me. Trying to narrow to a single tutorial proved to be impossible, so I drew inspiration from the ruffled soda can cover at Tatertots and Jello, the simple bows tutorial at Ruffles and Stuff and the Lil’ Mister Bow Ties at delia creates to create Easter ensembles for my Smoochies. The ruffled soda can cover was reinterpreted as the loopy linen ruffle on a reversible dress for Piper Jane, the felt bows were remade with fabric (plus an elastic attachment)- perfect for Piper’s pigtails, and a coordinating bow tie (courtesy of Delia’s tutorial) rounds out Burke’s seersucker outfit. Thanks to the judge’s tutorials, the Smooches will be well outfitted on Sunday morning (more details and pictures at kojodesigns)!

CONTESTANT #6: Kelli

I chose to remake the Pin-Tucked Mother’s Day Apron from Delia Creates. I immediately fell in love with the pin tucks on the waist of the apron and who doesn’t love a long, wide sash? I decided a dress was in order (especially since I had never made one before) and with Easter right around the corner I had great motivation! My favorite part of making this dress was designing it and I learned a lot along the way. And so with delight, I present to you: the Emerald Pin-Tucked Dress!

CONTESTANT #7: Nancy from Nancy’s Couture

CONTESTANT #8: Renee from Hill Yeah

Hello! I’m Renae. I blog over at Hill Yeah, which is mainly our family’s blog, but occasionally I post my latest sewing projects on there. While perusing through all of the tutorials on the awesome judges’ blogs, Ashley’s (at Mommy by day Crafter by Night) messenger bag caught my eye. A year ago my husband made our daughter a backpack. Since then it’s come up a few times that it would be fun to make a toddler messenger bag. Ashley’s tutorial was the perfect excuse to try it out! I started with using her bag as a guide and then worked to size it down for a toddler. As I worked on it, the bag evolved into my own. I made the bag wide enough to fit a coloring book, and deep enough to bring along a few books as well. I also included slots for markers or pencils, and pockets for crayons, toys, or whatever else my daughter decides belongs there. The front pocket zips down for easy access, but is also open at the top when zipped up so we can get into the pocket without completely opening it up, or if we’re in a hurry we can just throw it all in, zip it up and go. I also chose to include an adjustable strap because kids don’t stay the same size for long. I’m hoping this is a bag she can use in the future for preschool or kindergarten. I put together a tutorial to make a simple version of the bag.

CONTESTANT #9: Jessica from Swenson Love

first, can i just say how excited i am to be a part of this amazing opportunity! top ten! i am still in shock! for week one of sew-vivor our challenge was to sew something that was inspired by one of the jugdes tutorials. i chose to do Ruffles And Stuff’s Bubble Skirt Tutorial {HERE}. instead of using the tights for the waist band i used elastic and i also added removable suspenders.
i made my item about two days after the top ten were announced. it has been torture keeping this from the online world! AHHHHHH!!! i am so excited to share it with you all now! 

CONTESTANT #10: Shannon from Googiemomma
of all the inspiring projects i saw on the judges sites, the one that spoke to me the most was the striped skirt at delia creates. the springy black and white color combo, the stripes, the full skirt–i loved all of it so much i could have just recreated it stitch by stitch and been perfectly happy! but this challenge is “inspired by”, not “copied from”. so i took those main elements i loved and came up with a springy dress for my oldest! the white eyelet is so feminine and pretty, but the black piping and underskirt give it just the touch of modernity  it needs to appeal to my “tween”. (is that a word? modernity? modern-ness?) the color inspiration is obvious. the stripes i turned on their sides with black piping traveling up the panels of the full pleated skirt. i finished it off with a black-edged ruffle and buttons down the bodice center, and a wide belt with more buttons in the back.