On the Night You Were Born Jumper Tunic – Project Run & Play Season 15 Week 2

We are HUGE fans of Nancy Tillman’s children’s board books and On The Night You Were Born is one of our very favorites.  So for Project Run & Play Week 2 I used this story as a jumping off point for our Crafting a Story prompt.  The result is this chunky On The Night You Were Born Jumper Tunic, combined with a puffy long sleeved top and leggings for the ultimate in comfort.  If you haven’t already voted this week, pop over to Project Run & Play to vote for your favorite and then come back over here for all the details on this super fun look.

The gorgeous illustrations in the book were my primary inspiration and I used the colors repeated throughout the book as colors in the look.  I also wanted something cozy and comfortable for my girl to wear so I kept that in mind while drafting all of the pieces for this week.  I remember the days all snuggled in and reading books for hours and wanted to represent that warm feeling in these designs.  Now that this early reader has moved on to chapter books, it’s a lot harder to get her to sit down with me to read.  She doesn’t want to wait for me and reads way ahead in all the books we’re supposed to be reading together haha.  I think I was feeling nostalgic during this project!

Let’s begin with the Jumper Tunic.  This started out as an all in one chunky sweatshirt with big bell sleeves from a dropped shoulder and I am completely in love with that design.  However, I wasn’t sure it would read well for the challenge this week so I split it up to two different pieces and am thrilled with the result.  The weather will turn here soon and the sleeveless jumper tunic will be perfect on those days where it’s chilly in the morning and hot by afternoon.

Both the long sleeved top and sleeveless jumper tunic were drafted and sewn out of solid white fabric.  The Jumper Tunic uses this Sweatshirt Fleece from Cali Fabrics which is super soft and has a great structure.  I wanted to mimic the shape of the dancing polar bears on the front cover (and inside) of the book and have a big bubble shape in white right around tunic length.

See how their lower bodies just sort of hover in a bubble shape?  I loved that look and wanted to replicate it for sure.  There are also many shades of blue throughout the book so I took a page from this (literal) page and dip dyed the fabrics once the pieces were sewn.

As you can see, the sweatshirt fleece from the jumper tunic and the microfleece I used for the top took the dye in different colors, which is exactly what I was hoping for.  They compliment each other and show a broader range of blues than I was even expecting.

The top (shown without the jumper tunic) is a mock turtleneck with puffed bell sleeves and a pussy bow in this great mustard ponte.  I really love this dreamy shade of blue and think I’ll dye some more of that microfleece to use for other pieces.

Here’s another picture with just the top so you can see how those big bell sleeves are pulled in with some elastic to mimic the polar bear bottom shape again.  That mustard color is used throughout the book and I love how it reminds me of the stars in a winter sky.  I’m clearly obsessed with the pussy bow lately cause I’ve been using it all over the place this winter.

To incorporate more of the mustard and really give homage to the ever-present moon in the story, I combined two patterns I drafted this winter into one fun hat.  The earwarmer hat is another reference to cozy and will be perfect for the snow we’re about to get here in Maryland this week.  I made it a little big since we’re HOPEFULLY done with this type of weather soon and I plan for her to use it a ton next winter.

This may be my favorite page in the book.  The umbrella shade of burnt orange/rust was a must for me to use in the final look.

I used this gusseted leggings pattern I drafted to make a comfy pair of leggings out of this rayon lycra jersey from Cali Fabrics.  It’s the perfect shade and I knew I had to use it in this look.  I always try to make gusseted leggings for my girl when I can because they seem to allow larger range of motion and hold up longer.  Plus I think the fit is better and she says they’re more comfortable which is a win.

I love seeing all of these pieces together in this look.  The colors and shapes do remind me so much of On The Night You Were Born and it was a joy to design and take this walk down memory lane.

Once again, if you haven’t voted yet then run over to Project Run & Play to vote for your favorite week 2 look!  I am hoping we make it through to next week because I really can’t wait to share my week 3 look with you all!!