herringbone art museum vest and trousers

September 13, 2013January 6, 201421 Comments

i’m back with the other pattern i sewed from the new Oliver + S fall line – the Art Museum Vest + Trousers! this pattern is the “boy” offering for the season and though i did sew it for my little guy, it could definitely work for a little gal too (as Cherie and Rachel clearly show!). i chose to go pretty traditional/formal with my fabric choices, which could be boring, but look how dapper he is!

herringbone art museum vest and trousers // skirt as top

like he’s ready to go to a wedding or something!

herringbone art museum vest and trousers // skirt as top

the pattern consists of a fully lined vest with front darts, welt pockets, and a back belt, as well as flat front, slimmer leg trousers with lots of professional options – slant front pockets, separate waistband, belt loops, and back welt pockets!

herringbone art museum vest and trousers // skirt as top

i believe this is the first Oliver + S pattern to include welt pockets. it’s funny because since i basically learned to sew from Oliver + S patterns, and i rely on Liesl’s patterns to teach me new techniques which I then apply to my sewing elsewhere. this time, i had already sewn welt pockets from a few other patternmakers and had a handle on how they worked, so i was very curious to see how they were tackled here, especially with the darts underneath.

herringbone art museum vest and trousers // skirt as top

gotta say – i LOVE Liesl’s method! it was different than how I’d sewn them before, and a few more steps, but MAN they result in a perfect finish. everything is so clean, the contrast pocket bag is such a fun touch, and i like that i don’t have to topstitch around the outside to make it all stay in place – the origami you do makes them stay that way!! seriously, i sewed the vest welt pockets around midnight during a marathon sewing sesh and they STILL look perfect, and i give the pattern full credit for that.

while i had no trouble, discussions with others made me think there should be some sort of companion photo walkthrough of this welt pocket process, just because of the limitations of the diagrams in the pattern and the different technique. maybe it’ll end up on the Oliver + S blog someday…i think if people get stuck that might be helpful. just read the directions completely, though, and you should be fine. full disclosure there.

i should also mention that i sewed this vest and pants in one long nighttime sew. i had the pants pieces cut out but nothing else done, and sewed it all in about 6 hours, ending at 1:30am. i don’t recommend that – but we were out of town the last two weekends and last week was short and crazy with back to school, so all of this week’s sewing and blogging has been a little bit compressed!

herringbone art museum vest and trousers // skirt as top

okay back to the Art Museum. i sewed 18-24 month size in both pieces for 2.5 year old O based on his measurements. Gail finished her pants sooner and told me they ran a bit long, so I felt okay going with the smaller size instead of the 2T like I’d originally planned. my pants are about an inch too long, but are folded under for the photos – I wanted to keep the growing room for this guy but didn’t want saggy ankles on the blog. trickery.

the fabric is from Bolt again, and the bolt said it was “Marc Jacobs Pale Herringbone,” which i couldn’t find online (…if you call Bolt i’m sure they’d sell you some!). it’s a bottom weight cotton twill. i was looking for herringbone and i think my most successful boy clothes are made with heavier fabrics, so this was perfect (plus it’s washable). it has a little stretch in it but not too much. it’s awesome stuff.

i lined the pockets, waistband, and center of vest lining with some Birch Organic elephants (by Ellie Fam) which i first used here, along with some dark brown quilting cotton for the front vest lining. i’m kinda ready for fall, can you tell?

herringbone art museum vest and trousers // skirt as top

and this guy’s ready for a monster truck rally. every pickup is a monster truck.

i agree with Rachel’s assessment that while the Library Dress was the pattern that most caught my eye, and the Playtime is a great basic set, the Art Museum is the best sewing pattern – it teaches you SO many valuable techniques, results in a super professional finish, is unisex, can go formal or informal, and fool someone into thinking it’s storebought. i look at these garments and i still can’t believe i sewed them! it’s a sewing class in a pattern. all Oliver + S patterns are that way though, and that is why i love them. I’ve never taken a formal sewing class but look what I can make just by following the directions! i dunno. it’s pretty cool.

check out Gail’s ADORABLE version of the Art Museum Trousers on her little conductor boy, and check out Cherie’s vest paired with a dress for her little gal! so ridiculously cute.

thanks so much for following along!

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i was provided with the digital Art Museum Vest and Trousers pattern by Oliver + S for free in exchange for this review.  my opinions, as always, are my own.

library dress in feathers

September 11, 2013December 2, 201317 Comments

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).

feathers library dress

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.

feathers library dress

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.

kindergarten art smock

September 4, 2013September 3, 201318 Comments

guess who started kindergarten yesterday??

this gal.

i was glad to see that her school shopping list was slightly less cleaning-supply-based and more art supply/glue stick based this year – she even got to pick out “homework folders” (thank you Target for having an elephant folder!). and one thing that was actually on last year’s list for pre-k as well as kindergarten but i somehow completely neglected to send last year was a “button up the back art smock.” of COURSE i’m not buying something like that! 😉

it seemed easier to make one from scratch than to even try to repurpose one of my husband’s old shirts, and i knew just the pattern to use – the Art Smock from Little Things to Sew (affiliate link) by Liesl Gibson! that book remains my favorite sewing project book ever. i’ve sewn six separate projects from LTTS but some (like the bucket hat) i’ve sewn multiple times. i was reminded of the art smock pattern because of Gail’s version (always so good, that Gail).

this is my first time sewing the Art Smock, and since we were out of town for Labor Day, i ended up sewing it quickly on Monday afternoon (skipping the pockets). the fabric combo was kind of difficult to figure out – i wanted it to be cute and make her happy, but not too precious to my stash since the goal is for it to catch stray paint and marker. i made the medium (size 4-6).

i ended up going with two prints from Denyse Schmidt for JoAnn – i had just the right amount for the sleeves and was just a couple inches short on the body, but you can’t really tell; it’s just slightly less a-line in the front. the date on the selvedge said 2011, so i figure after 2 years it was time for it to get used! it’s quilting cotton but not thin quilting cotton.

here’s my little kindergartner in her brand new shoes and art smock – you can see her first day skirt (sewed Monday night) a bit too – i’ll post that another time. she also had me french braid her hair the night before so it was curly the next day – crucial.

i did not make her backpack this year. she chose one on a back to school shopping trip with her grandparents, it’s covered in Disney princesses, and i’m totally fine with that.

her brother wanted to wear his backpack on our walk to school, too.

how are your kiddos doing so far this school year? Em was thrilled to be back at school – and I think I worked through all my “my baby is growing up!” emotions last year, so it was a fun and exciting morning. can’t wait to see what fun things she learns this year!

ice cream top and strawberry cord shorts

August 27, 2013August 26, 201317 Comments

this is the type of outfit i’d sew for Em if it was wholly up to me, which is usually isn’t….i keep her taste in mind quite a bit when i sew so things actually get worn. but for this outfit, i just went with my gut and sewed what made me happy. felt great.

and considering i made this outfit for my own creative pleasure, Em actually likes it, and chooses to wear it quite a bit! yay!

the top is the Olive + S ice cream blouse (view C). i had seen Gail’s fantastic version and was reminded how much i like that pattern and wanted to sew it again. i’d made multiple dress versions of the ice cream, but never the blouse, and it’d been a while since i’d sewn it anyway. such a fun one! i sewed it in a 3T with a 4T length and the fit is great on my string bean. she was more interested in climbing the tree than modeling, so here’s a taped to the wall shot.

the yoke is natural linen lined with cream batiste, and the body is storybook 2 by jay-cyn designs for birch fabrics. my pal CINO Jess sent the awesome print to me, just 1/2 yard i think, which worked out perfectly for the top! i finished it off with a little apple button that my pal Cherie sent me. she also sent me the cute little strawberry patch that was the perfect thing to add a little whimsy to the shorts! i believe the button and patch were both from Daiso.

the shorts are, once again, Dana’s fabulous Kid Shorts in a 3T. these are cut to “girl length” and have a fully gathered waistband. i made them in a charcoal gray baby wale corduroy from fabric depot that is so soft with a nice drape. baby wale is so perfect for kid clothes.

i got the idea for corduroy shorts from these awesome OP inspired ones on hungie gungie – i love them! i topstitched the serged seams down (super seam #3). i also did a double stitched hem, which i think makes them look more pro and keeps them sturdy when she’s climbing trees.

she’s a barefoot climbing girl after my own heart – i used to read books while nestled 10 feet up in a tree when i was little.

my favorite thing about this outfit was how collaborative it was. many of the supplies that make it special were given to me by friends, both of the patternmakers are also friends, and both pieces were inspired by fellow sewing bloggers. this outfit wouldn’t be possible without Liesl, Dana, Jess, Cherie, Gail, and Caroline. it feels like a total team effort, ya know?

and that’s my favorite way to sew – supported by and supporting the gals in our online community, all while making cute/practical/comfortable outfits to clothe my little ones. it just kind of all came together so nicely this time, and it makes me so happy.

be on the lookout, tomorrow i’ll be back with a fun guest post! 🙂

floral pocket nightgown

August 22, 2013August 22, 201315 Comments

when i made my first two t-shirt nightgown (and tutorial!), the goal was to recreate Em’s favorite nightie and give her more options to choose from (slash allow us to be lazier about doing laundry). and as the temperature rose and she grew, an upsized, shorter sleeved version was required.

observe the girl in her natural habitat…

nose in a book about a ballerina mouse celebrating a birthday, perched on a chair in her pink room, the girl is cozy in her floral and purple summer nightgown.

her hair is braided before bed so it’s “curly” the next day, per her request…

and she is surrounded by (and wearing) flowers of pink and purple and red.

she displays her nightgown with pride.

i actually cut the bodice for this one quite a while ago, but didn’t finish it until a recent “finish up those UFOs” spree. i wasn’t sure the floral made sense with anything, but once i added pockets, it all tied together nicely. the floral rib knit was a sale rack camisole from old navy, and the purple shirt was a men’s deep v-neck (ALSO sale rack old navy, NOT poached from the husband, hehe).

as with the original two t-shirt nightgown, the bodice and sleeves are based on Rae’s flashback skinny tee. i preserved the existing hems on both the sleeves and skirt for quick and non-wonky knit finishes. the purple shirt is really lightweight and “vintage-y” soft. this nightgown is in constant rotation.