NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n\n- \n\n
Kelsey Swarthout was asked by Dancing with the Stars<\/em> contestant Danielle Fishel to create a Jungle Book<\/em>-themed dress for her appearance on the show<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n- \n\n
The designer, known on Instagram as \u201cropedropdesign,\u201d walks PEOPLE through the two-week scramble to get the dress made in time for its prime time appearance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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Swarthout says she even got to visit while DWTS<\/em> was filming, seeing Fishel wearing her custom piece in person<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nKelsey Swarthout<\/a> has created hundreds of dresses. Only one of them has appeared on prime-time television.<\/p>\nOn the evening of Oct. 7, Swarthout hosted a few of her friends to watch the latest episode of ABC\u2019s Dancing with the Stars<\/em><\/a>, which honored Disneyland Resort’s 70th Celebration with a night full of Disney-themed performances. She was overjoyed when one of her handmade creations \u2014\u00a0a brightly colored dress sewn from a pair of Jungle Book<\/em><\/a>-themed bedsheets \u2014\u00a0made its debut on the silver screen, worn by contestant and Boy Meets World<\/em><\/a> actress Danielle Fishel<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cIt was just so cool to see it on TV,\u201d Swarthout tells PEOPLE. And some of her more than 300,000 Instagram followers, who tune in for her videos upcycling children\u2019s bedsheets into custom clothing items, agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost the best part of everything was people who have followed me for a while or knew about my pieces were like, \u2018I saw it and I immediately knew it was yours,\u2019 \u201d she says. \u201cTo just be able to recognize it from seeing it on the show \u2014\u00a0that made me feel really good, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\nCourtesy of Kelsey Swarthout<\/p>\n
Danielle Fishel and Kelsey Swarthout<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Swarthout\u2019s success has been years in the making.<\/p>\n
Ever since she was a middle schooler, she\u2019s had a love for sewing, first as a hobby. In college, she took up a slightly less crafty area of study, architecture,\u00a0and started a job at an architectural firm after she graduated, but she never loved the work.<\/p>\n
After Swarthout lost her job during the pandemic, she returned to sewing. She had a trip planned to Disneyland in Southern California \u2014\u00a0Disney is her second love after sewing \u2014\u00a0and happened to stumble across a vintage Mickey Mouse bedsheet on eBay. At the time, Swarthout had been hand-making Mickey Mouse ears, and she thought the sheet could be the perfect pattern for a new pair.<\/p>\n
\u201cI made the pair of ears, which were really small, and I had a ton of leftover fabric from that, so I thought that I should make a matching dress to go with the ears,\u201d she says. When she shared the finished dress on her Instagram, her page started to blow up, and she hasn\u2019t stopped making dresses since.<\/p>\n
Today, she has her niche \u2014\u00a0what she describes as \u201cbright, colorful, whimsical clothing for adults\u201d \u2014\u00a0completely cornered. Swarthout\u2019s Instagram page pops with the bold hues of Disney\u2019s most iconic characters, which adorn custom-made dresses, bags, crewnecks and jackets made mostly from vintage children\u2019s bedsheets and blankets.<\/p>\n\n![\"Courtesy](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/FGBZblAcYNEbaxnoojDV7g--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTk0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/people_218\/e6bee965f3d4871573ee1b7576d1553c\"\/)
<\/div>\n\nCourtesy of Kelsey Swarthout<\/p>\n
Kelsey Swarthout<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
On her account, she shares a combination of commissioned pieces \u2014\u00a0customers will mail in their childhood bedsheets for her to sew into a wearable item\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and projects she creates for herself to maintain her love for the art.<\/p>\n
Swarthout runs her account and business almost entirely by herself, sometimes spending the day \u201csewing from the moment I wake up to the time I go to sleep,\u201d she laughs, and others filming and editing her content, answering emails or responding to customers\u2019 messages.<\/p>\n
So when she received an Instagram DM from Fishel requesting a custom dress for the DWTS<\/em> Disney episode in the next two weeks, she wasn\u2019t even sure she\u2019d be able to finish the piece in time.<\/p>\n\u201cI saw her message and I was like, \u2018Oh my gosh,\u2019 because I knew Danielle from Boy Meets World<\/em>, so I was really excited about that,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was such a tight turnaround time, and I was about to go on a trip around the same time, so I didn’t even know if it would be able to happen \u2014\u00a0but just the fact that she thought of me and messaged me and wanted to include me in the process at all was just so sweet and genuine.\u201d<\/p>\nThe pair exchanged a few more messages: Fishel told Swarthout she had a dance planned to a song from Jungle Book<\/em> and would love a dress to honor the 1967 classic film, sent over her measurements and picked out a few of Swarthout\u2019s dress designs that she particularly liked. As soon as Swarthout got home from her trip, she started sewing.<\/p>\n\u201cIt got to her in time and she got to wear it on the show,\u201d she says. \u201cSo everything worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n![\"Courtesy](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/l1cf_J26XkGi_HgLpfy5Gg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTg4MTtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/people_218\/a5394e038eb528d4fe0490b487ee9141\"\/)
<\/div>\n\nCourtesy of Kelsey Swarthout<\/p>\n
Kelsey Swarthout<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
After the dress was delivered, the creator got an invite that made the sweet opportunity even sweeter. Fishel asked if she wanted to stop by Disneyland on the day they were filming.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018Of course I would love to come visit you guys,\u2019 \u201d she tells PEOPLE. \u201cI got to see the whole filming setup, which was really cool. I’ve never done that or seen that at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fishel even asked Swarthout if she would want to appear in an interview with her and her dance partner Pasha Pashkov<\/a> about the dress and the design process. But the most magical part was actually getting to see Fishel wear the piece in person.<\/p>\n\u201cShe just looked so good in it, first of all,\u201d says Swarthout. \u201cBut a lot of times, once I ship my clothes off, I never see them again. Sometimes I’ll see them in photos or people will tag me in, of course, but I rarely ever get to see them being worn in person. So to see that \u2014 and then it’s on her. It was just such a special moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n![\"Courtesy](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/WyYn5QcSUqJ9FUY9ZhwSBA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTg4NDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/people_218\/466fc455af050b21624d185390c2505d\"\/)
<\/div>\n\nCourtesy of Kelsey Swarthout<\/p>\n
Pasha Pashkov, Kelsey Swarthout, and Danielle Fishel<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Amid the craziness of designing Fishel\u2019s on-camera wardrobe, Swarthout is also preparing to launch her first book Sew Nostalgic!<\/em><\/a>, a guide to upcycling bedsheets with 12 unique patterns and step-by-step instructions.\u00a0She started writing the book about a year and a half ago, a process she described as “so hard,” but is now finished and “excited for it” to be shared with the world.<\/p>\nAnd as she waits in anticipation for the book\u2019s Feb. 24 release date, she plans to continue avidly watching this DWTS<\/em> season (she tells PEOPLE she sobbed through Oct. 14’s emotional dedication night<\/a> episode). And, of course, Swarthout encourages everyone to \u201cvote for Danielle \u2014\u00a0because she’s the best.\u201d<\/p>\nRead the original article on People<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Kelsey Swarthout was asked by Dancing with the Stars<\/em> contestant Danielle Fishel to create a Jungle Book<\/em>-themed dress for her appearance on the show<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n The designer, known on Instagram as \u201cropedropdesign,\u201d walks PEOPLE through the two-week scramble to get the dress made in time for its prime time appearance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Swarthout says she even got to visit while DWTS<\/em> was filming, seeing Fishel wearing her custom piece in person<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Kelsey Swarthout<\/a> has created hundreds of dresses. Only one of them has appeared on prime-time television.<\/p>\n On the evening of Oct. 7, Swarthout hosted a few of her friends to watch the latest episode of ABC\u2019s Dancing with the Stars<\/em><\/a>, which honored Disneyland Resort’s 70th Celebration with a night full of Disney-themed performances. She was overjoyed when one of her handmade creations \u2014\u00a0a brightly colored dress sewn from a pair of Jungle Book<\/em><\/a>-themed bedsheets \u2014\u00a0made its debut on the silver screen, worn by contestant and Boy Meets World<\/em><\/a> actress Danielle Fishel<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just so cool to see it on TV,\u201d Swarthout tells PEOPLE. And some of her more than 300,000 Instagram followers, who tune in for her videos upcycling children\u2019s bedsheets into custom clothing items, agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cAlmost the best part of everything was people who have followed me for a while or knew about my pieces were like, \u2018I saw it and I immediately knew it was yours,\u2019 \u201d she says. \u201cTo just be able to recognize it from seeing it on the show \u2014\u00a0that made me feel really good, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Courtesy of Kelsey Swarthout<\/p>\n Danielle Fishel and Kelsey Swarthout<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Swarthout\u2019s success has been years in the making.<\/p>\n Ever since she was a middle schooler, she\u2019s had a love for sewing, first as a hobby. In college, she took up a slightly less crafty area of study, architecture,\u00a0and started a job at an architectural firm after she graduated, but she never loved the work.<\/p>\n After Swarthout lost her job during the pandemic, she returned to sewing. She had a trip planned to Disneyland in Southern California \u2014\u00a0Disney is her second love after sewing \u2014\u00a0and happened to stumble across a vintage Mickey Mouse bedsheet on eBay. At the time, Swarthout had been hand-making Mickey Mouse ears, and she thought the sheet could be the perfect pattern for a new pair.<\/p>\n \u201cI made the pair of ears, which were really small, and I had a ton of leftover fabric from that, so I thought that I should make a matching dress to go with the ears,\u201d she says. When she shared the finished dress on her Instagram, her page started to blow up, and she hasn\u2019t stopped making dresses since.<\/p>\n Today, she has her niche \u2014\u00a0what she describes as \u201cbright, colorful, whimsical clothing for adults\u201d \u2014\u00a0completely cornered. Swarthout\u2019s Instagram page pops with the bold hues of Disney\u2019s most iconic characters, which adorn custom-made dresses, bags, crewnecks and jackets made mostly from vintage children\u2019s bedsheets and blankets.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Kelsey Swarthout<\/p>\n Kelsey Swarthout<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n On her account, she shares a combination of commissioned pieces \u2014\u00a0customers will mail in their childhood bedsheets for her to sew into a wearable item\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and projects she creates for herself to maintain her love for the art.<\/p>\n Swarthout runs her account and business almost entirely by herself, sometimes spending the day \u201csewing from the moment I wake up to the time I go to sleep,\u201d she laughs, and others filming and editing her content, answering emails or responding to customers\u2019 messages.<\/p>\n So when she received an Instagram DM from Fishel requesting a custom dress for the DWTS<\/em> Disney episode in the next two weeks, she wasn\u2019t even sure she\u2019d be able to finish the piece in time.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw her message and I was like, \u2018Oh my gosh,\u2019 because I knew Danielle from Boy Meets World<\/em>, so I was really excited about that,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was such a tight turnaround time, and I was about to go on a trip around the same time, so I didn’t even know if it would be able to happen \u2014\u00a0but just the fact that she thought of me and messaged me and wanted to include me in the process at all was just so sweet and genuine.\u201d<\/p>\n The pair exchanged a few more messages: Fishel told Swarthout she had a dance planned to a song from Jungle Book<\/em> and would love a dress to honor the 1967 classic film, sent over her measurements and picked out a few of Swarthout\u2019s dress designs that she particularly liked. As soon as Swarthout got home from her trip, she started sewing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt got to her in time and she got to wear it on the show,\u201d she says. \u201cSo everything worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n Courtesy of Kelsey Swarthout<\/p>\n Kelsey Swarthout<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n After the dress was delivered, the creator got an invite that made the sweet opportunity even sweeter. Fishel asked if she wanted to stop by Disneyland on the day they were filming.<\/p>\n \u201cI said, \u2018Of course I would love to come visit you guys,\u2019 \u201d she tells PEOPLE. \u201cI got to see the whole filming setup, which was really cool. I’ve never done that or seen that at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Fishel even asked Swarthout if she would want to appear in an interview with her and her dance partner Pasha Pashkov<\/a> about the dress and the design process. But the most magical part was actually getting to see Fishel wear the piece in person.<\/p>\n \u201cShe just looked so good in it, first of all,\u201d says Swarthout. \u201cBut a lot of times, once I ship my clothes off, I never see them again. Sometimes I’ll see them in photos or people will tag me in, of course, but I rarely ever get to see them being worn in person. So to see that \u2014 and then it’s on her. It was just such a special moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Courtesy of Kelsey Swarthout<\/p>\n Pasha Pashkov, Kelsey Swarthout, and Danielle Fishel<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Amid the craziness of designing Fishel\u2019s on-camera wardrobe, Swarthout is also preparing to launch her first book Sew Nostalgic!<\/em><\/a>, a guide to upcycling bedsheets with 12 unique patterns and step-by-step instructions.\u00a0She started writing the book about a year and a half ago, a process she described as “so hard,” but is now finished and “excited for it” to be shared with the world.<\/p>\n And as she waits in anticipation for the book\u2019s Feb. 24 release date, she plans to continue avidly watching this DWTS<\/em> season (she tells PEOPLE she sobbed through Oct. 14’s emotional dedication night<\/a> episode). And, of course, Swarthout encourages everyone to \u201cvote for Danielle \u2014\u00a0because she’s the best.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the original article on People<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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