Knock it Off Series: Roberto Cavalli Parrot Shirt

What do you do when Heidi from Elegance and Elephants writes you an email to ask you if you are interested in taking part in her Knock it Off Series? Well, I no what I did: I screamed "YES" so loud that she could hear it all the way from Germany to Canada ;) To me the Knock it Off Series is one of the coolest that I've followed during the last years and I feel really honoured to take part this time! As soon as I knew that I would be part of it, I started to think about what I want to make. For quite some time I thought I would recreate one of the fantastic mini Boden applique t-shirts. However, during the last installments of the Knock it Off series many mini Boden clothes were used, plus these clothes aren't actually THAT expensive. I wouldn't buy my kids' whole wardrobe there, but if I really want that one tee, I can buy it. For the Knock it Off series I really wanted something unreasonably expensive if you know what I mean. So one day after work, I went to a big magazine store at Munich central station and bought (for the very first time) the VOGUE Kids magazine. I must say there is some really nice inspiration in there, but oh, is this stuff expensive!

I decided to knock off a parrot button up shirt by Roberto Cavalli Junior that I found online for 126 british pounds, i.e. for ~ 158 € or 212 $. Isn't that just pure craziness? Who pays that much for a shirt for a 2yr old? Just recently I have sewn my first button up shirt for my son J (not yet blogged) and this was the perfect reason to do so again. I really didn't expect sewing a dress shirt to be so satisfying, but I must say the many hours and the detailed sewing really pay off! I used the Ethan Shirt pattern by Sis Boom Patterns. I can't say enough good about this pattern. It is super detailed. There are diagrams for every single step and the result is super professional. I was a bit astonished that the seam allowance is just 1/4", but it came handy for sewing the collar and similar things. Btw. the Ethan shirt is the pattern currently being flipped for the Flip this Pattern Series over at Frances Suzanne, so I'm taking the chance to sew along there, too, with my slightly flipped shirt: I shortened the sleeves and went crazy pattern matching. The original Roberto Cavalli shirt isn't pattern matched at all, but inspired by the wonderful button ups over at Jo Chapeau (here my favorite) I just had to try to do pattern matching for the very first time. Excuse the picture overload but I'm just more than excited how well the different parts match. I just love where the two front pieces meet and have you recognized the front pocket at all? Also in the back I matched the collar (when worn up, the collar stand, the yoke and the lower back piece! Call me crazy, but I LOVE this shirt ;) (Plus, besides the wonderful shirt - I'm so excited about my new camera that actually allows me to blur the background. More about the new camera in another blog post in the future. No, I just want to say: aperture mode rules!)

 

So, coming back to the Knock it Off part: I know that this isn't looking "exactly" like the Roberto Cavalli shirt. I looked for another parrot fabric (from Buttinette) and liked this one best even though it is quite different than the original. I guess a 100% knock off of a print like this is impossible. Stripes or polka dots maybe, but something this busy - nope. The fabric is not 100% suitable for a button up. It's relatively stiff, but that's the good thing about sewing something for a 18mt old -  he won't complain ;) I get to dress him and he just does the "look adorable thing" for me! The real Roberto Cavalli fabric is for sure more delicate, but take this: Even with pattern matching (which meant that cutting took as long as sewing and that I needed much more fabric than without) I only used about 3/4 m. The fabric thus cost me about 5,20 €. The thread was actually gifted to me and the buttons I got in a very big bag full of buttons. So if I calculate everything very (!) generously this sums up to 7 €, which means that I could make 22 (!!!) of these shirts for the price of one store-bought one! Knock it off rules, don't you think?

 

 

I'm really glad that Heidi let me join this group of amazing ladies. So, thanks again Heidi! This was so much fun. To check out what the other bloggers knocked off visit Heidi's blog. You can also join the fun and upload your own knock off until August 20 to the Flickr group. Two winning entries will be chosen at random to win some nice prizes!

Also, please, please, please if you like my shirt go over to Project Run and Play where the auditions are held for the next season and vote for me! I really hope enough people will like my pattern matched parrot button up so that I can compete against some seriously talented women...

This is linked to the german linky parties Kiddikram and Made4Boys.