Linen and Butterflies

I can’t believe summer is  almost over. This morning when we all got up in was only 10 degrees celsius. Brrrrr.

So I thought it would be good to clear my summer blogging queue, and make room for the fall sewing.  This is one of my last summer sewing projects – two sets of the Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress (as tops) and the Puppet Show Shorts, in sizes 4 and 7 for my bigger girls.

The Ice Cream Dress I’ve made before, twice. It’s just as cute as a top and even easier to sew. Since I was making matching shorts, I didn’t do any colour blocking this time around.

I love the way these turned out. The fabric, some quilting cotton,  was chosen by the kids. I picked this up at one of the local chain stores. I figure these will look good with jeans and they can wear them through the fall layered over t-shirts.

To go with the tops I made the Puppet Show Shorts, also by Oliver + S. This was my first time using this pattern, and I made it in one of my favourite fabrics, Cotton Linen Chambray from Robert Kaufman. I originally planned to bind the bottoms of the shorts in the linen, but working with linen on the bias is tough. The binding stretched out so much the shorts were barely gathered at the bottom. So I ripped it all out and started again. Still looks cute though.

Now, some of you Oliver + S fans may have noticed that the Puppet Show Shorts do not come in size 7. I graded these up two sizes from the largest available, size 5. I also added two inches to the length, which is a little better for my 6-year-old. It wasn’t very difficult.

I love the pockets on these shorts. Adorable.

These are the size 7, and she really did need those two extra inches. Next time I’ll make the binding a bit shorter so that it’s a bit more gathered at the bottom.

I finished the outfits on a rainy day. After the first doomed indoor photo shoot we waited for a sunny day and had much better luck. But would the two kids pose together? “Nooooooo!” So you’ll just have to trust me when I say I made two whole outfits.

This post is linked up to Make It Wear It Thursday.

Summary

Pattern Review: Ice Cream Dress (as top) and Puppet Show Shorts from Oliver + S.

Fabric:

Sunset from the Fly Away collection by Amy Schindler for Robert Kaufman.
Indigo Washed Cotton Linen Chambray from Robert Kaufman.

Sizes: 4 and 7. The dress comes in sizes 6 months – 12. The shorts come in sizes 0-5

Sewing Level: Beginner.

Modifications: None. (Shorts were graded up a size to size 7).

Results: Great. I would recommend both patterns and would make them again.