remember this spring when Cherie, Jess, and I had a rolling tour for the new Oliver + S patterns? (here are my roller skate dress and pinwheel tunic posts, if you’re curious)
well, we were fortunate enough to be asked to preview the fall patterns too, and this time Gail is joining us! Gail and I both chose to sew the Library Dress for our little gals today, and though we chose the same pattern options, our results are quite different! here’s mine…
the Library Dress is my favorite of the new fall patterns. i love the faux wrap bodice, pleated skirt, faced waistband, the fit, the interesting shape of the collar…it drew me in immediately! i sewed a 3T with the skirt pieces lengthened to 4T (i lengthened this pattern at the top, not the hem, by extending the 3T side seam lines up to the 4T height and used a ruler to mark where the 3T pleats would go, since it was still 3T width).
the main fabric is feathers from sun print by Alison Glass. i had gone to Bolt looking to find for the perfect fabric for this dress, and a stack of this print caught my eye from across the store. i continued shopping around but kept being drawn to these feathers, over and over. it had to be.
the print is modern and graphic, interesting, but not too busy…and the colors she chose for the line are really wonderful. i could have picked ANY of them and loved the result, but i knew Em loves to wear red and thought it’d really pop, so i went with the red (“rouge” to be precise).
i wanted to add something to calm the eye, so i used robert kaufman essex yarn dyed black linen as the collar and waistband, and added a light blue piping. the pattern includes instructions for flat piping on the waistband, but i thought round piping would look nice too. i probably should have added a lightweight interfacing to the linen to make sure it held its shape, but it worked fine enough. i hand stitched the waistband facing for a perfectly clean finish.
the dress itself is a really lovely and interesting sew. it’s not super fast – there are quite a few pieces to cut and assemble – but the result is such clean and nicely finished garment that comes together like a puzzle, which is what i always love about Oliver + S. there are plenty of ways to customize, too – collar or no, short or three quarter sleeves, mixing prints/color blocking…options to make a different dress every time.
Em gave me a nod of approval when i showed her the fabric, but when i showed her the dress itself, she said “ooooooo pretty!” which was great. she is not a subtle type gal – she loves to wear bold prints and colors – so this dress was a win, even without much twirl factor! 😉
one thing i realized though – she grew out of all her ballet flats over the summer! she wears playground-friendly tennis shoes to school, but can’t model dresses without ballet flats! must remedy.
bare feet will not do once the weather cools off.
okay! head on over to probably actually to see the lovely and peaceful crane-filled dress Gail sewed up! i’m always inspired by Gail – when I was fabric shopping for this dress, I kept coming across fabric I liked and then realized Gail had already used it recently! ha!
and if you missed them on Monday, check out Cherie’s adorable striped Striped Playtime Tunic + Leggings and Jess’ HOT PINK dress version! we’ll all be back later this week previewing the Art Museum pattern (assuming Cherie hasn’t had her baby by then!). it’s always so fun collaborating with these gals. 🙂
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i was provided with the digital Library Dress pattern by Oliver + S for free in exchange for this review. my opinions, as always, are my own.
skirt as top 
This is wonderful and beautiful! I love the fabric combination and everything about it! Thanks so much for making such an adorable dress with Feathers! Alison Glass
beeeeautiful dress!! and gorgeous magic hour photos! you definitely put me over the edge on the feathers print, what a perfect choice. seriously, stunning!!
i am mesmerized by your use of light in these photos! it’s so glowing and even! and that tree! and that backlighting! gorgeous!
love the red/rouge fabric!!! very very pretty! i really love this pattern too.
Such a cute dress! I love the fabrics you chose.
sigh. perfection. I love this, the piping, the fabric choices, the sewing. really love this pattern, and you did it some serious justice.
What a sweet dress! I love the feathers, and the contrast is perfect. Also lovely photos, you caught the light at just the right time!
What a really cute dress – your choice of fabrics is perfect! This looks like a fun dress to wear, too!
she looks adorable! I love your fabrics. The print is fun and modern, and Clover loves red too so I can understand the happy reaction you got from Em! The way the collar looks in the back is really cute too. O+S patterns always come out looking so well put together and clean
this is a beautiful dress! I love the design and that red and white fabric! Love it!
gorgeous as usual! I adore the blue piping mixed with the red…definitely calms it down and compliments it perfectly!
perfect perfect. I love the barefoot posing too 🙂
What an absolutely perfect fitting dress. Superb, and I love the colours, fabrics and photos too! Lovely.
Adorable!
This is so yummy, Kristin!! You would think that the awesome red feather print would be vibrant and loud, but your pairing with the linen gives the whole dress such a soothing, calm, almost Japanese feel. Love it!! perfection, as usual.
Such a fun color combo, Kristin – I love it! I really love the Fall pattern line-up from Oliver + S, and all the variations I’m seeing are making me love it more!
Perfect fabric choices and I love the piping. Need to get me that pattern