Oliver + S – Page 3 – The Finished Garment

Whale Watching

There is still snow on the ground here in Montreal, but I was in the mood for some spring sewing so I whipped up these shorts for my son.

The pattern I used was the Sandbox Pants by Oliver + S, which I’ve made before. The hat is the matching Reversible Bucket Hat that I’ve blogged about previously.

The pattern is very easy to follow. The only changes I made were to switch an elastic waistband for the drawstring waist in the pattern, and turn the pants into shorts. These fit a little large, but by the time it’s really summer, they should be just right.

Whale Sandbox Shorts Pocket. Check out that top stitching.

I love those whales! Check out those matched up pockets and that top stitching.

All the fabric was from my stash. The whale print is left over from my whale quilt. I’ve already used the pattern a few times. Even the elastic came from my stash. That brings the cost of these shorts to $0! Not bad.

For my older girls I had made spring dresses a while ago. But since I hadn’t blogged about them, I thought I would do that now. These are both the Ice Cream Dress by Oliver + S.

This pattern is really a dream to sew. There are almost no seams to finish, it’s very quick to sew, and there is a lot of room for creativity in fabric choices. My kids love these dresses!

The fabrics are Red Ladybugs and Liquorice cats by Ann Kelle.

Three spring outfits ready for the snow to melt. THis post is linked up with Make It, Wear It.

Summary 1

Pattern Review: Sandbox Pants by Oliver + S.

Fabric: Bright Whales by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).

Size: 5.

Sewing Level: Intermediate.

Modifications: I changed the waist from a drawstring to an elastic waist, and left off the buttons on the back pockets.

Results: Great. I would recommend this pattern and will definitely make it again.

Summary 2

Pattern Review: Ice Cream Dress by Oliver + S.

Fabrics:

Red Ladybugs by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).
Kona Red
Liquorice Cats by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).

Sizes: 3T, 5.

Sewing Level: Beginner.

Modifications: none.

Results: Great. I would recommend this pattern and will definitely make it again.

Spring Hats

Oliver + S Little Things to Sew: 20 Classic Accessories and Toys for Children

Spring sure feels a long way off. But in (hopeful? desperate?) preparation I’ve made up a bunch of the Oliver + S bucket hats.

The pattern is from the book Oliver + S Little Things to Sew, but you can also find the pattern online for free.

I made three, in sizes Medium and Large. They are a bit big, but in a nice way.

The pattern was very easy to follow and quick to finish.

Bucket Hats in Oliver + S Little Things to Sew

The only thing I changed was to use iron-in interfacing, instead of sew-in. I used Pellon 950F Shir-Tailor, and I really like the results: crisp, but not too crunchy.

I chose fabrics with a lot of contrast, and if you to do the same, choose your top stitching thread early. I did all the top stitching. The instructions say it’s optional but I think you need it to give the hat structure.

Bucket hat — Check out that top stitching!

If I were to make it again, the only thing I might change is the top stitching on the hat brim. It says to stitch concentric circles at 1/4″ intervals, but I think it might look nicer to sew in a continuous spiral.

The fabrics are all by Ann Kelle from her Urban Zoologie collection, and they match the lunch money cuffs I posted yesterday.

This was a great stash busting project. The yellow and whales were leftover from my Sunshine Bug Quilt and Whale Quilt. With this project and the Lunch Money Cuffs I posted yesterday, I was able to use up all my red and yellow solids, and almost all of the cute animal prints. There might be enough fabric left for a small zip bag for each kid. We’ll see. Me and Anne Kelle might need to take a little break now.

No one felt like cooperating for a photo session today, so you only get photos of hats. Maybe next time.

Summary

Pattern Review: Bucket Hats from the book Oliver + S Little Things to Sew.

Fabric:

Bright Whales by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).
Kona Corn Yellow
Red Ladybugs by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).
Kona Red
Liquorice Cats by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).
Free Spirit Designer Solid in Pink

Sewing Level: Beginner.

Modifications: None.

Results: Great. I would recommend this pattern and plan to make more.

Note: This post contains affiliate links.

Babies in Baby Cord

I have had about 5 meters of chocolate brown baby corduroy in my fabric stash just taunting me. A quick intervention was required.

Enter 4 pairs of the Oliver + S Sandbox Pants.

Sandbox Pants by Oliver and S — Three pair of Sandbox Pants by Oliver + S, sizes 5, 3T and 18m.

I know I said there were four pairs. Kid № 1 looked, touched, and immediately put them on. She then declared them officially comfortable and wore them to school. Success! (But no photos).

The fabric is a dark chocolate brown, and really quite soft. I picked it up on sale at one of the local chain stores. It’s not a very spring-like fabric, but here in Montreal spring is still a long way off. The pockets are lined with Kona quilting cotton in brown. Both fabrics were on sale.

The Sandbox Pants, like all the Oliver + S patterns I’ve tried, are a dream to make. The instructions are great. I bought the paper version of this pattern, in both size ranges (I need all the sizes), on Etsy from Plum Project Studio. I think I bought it right after the paper version was discontinued. You can still get the digital version online and print it out at home.

Oliver and S Sandbox Pants — Oliver + S Sandbox Pants sewing pattern.

I made these in sizes 18m, 3T, 5 and 6. Making that many pairs in that many sizes requires a lot of tracing paper! On the other hand, you get pretty quick at them with that much practice. It’s like an intense pattern testing setup here.

I made a couple of small changes to the pattern. I left off the buttons on the back pockets. I also made the waistband out of corduroy (the pattern calls for coordinating quilting cotton). I had tried this pattern once before with a super heavy twill, and the cotton was just too flimsy for the pants fabric. Even though the baby corduroy is much lighter weight that the twill, I think the pants work better with a slightly heavier fabric in the waistband. I still used quilting cotton for the pocket linings though. I also switched the drawstring waist for a flat front pant with wider elastic in the back. I think it looks a bit nicer that way with the corduroy.

I plan to make this pattern again. I’ve already had a request for these as shorts in a brighter colour from Kid № 1. Again, success!

The other thing about making so many pairs of pants, is that you can really use the fabric very efficiently. I still had enough to make Colette Pattern‘s Ginger skirt. Hopefully I can get that hemmed and show you tomorrow. I’m pretty excited about it. And there’s even enough fabric left to make a skirt for one lucky kid, as soon as I get to it.

You can also find this in the Make It Wear It Thursday linkup.

Summary

Pattern Review: Sandbox Pants by Oliver + S.

Fabric: baby corduroy, with Kona quilting cotton in brown for the pocket lining. Both were on sale.

Sizes: 18m, 3T, 5, and 6.

Sewing Level: Intermediate.

Modifications: I made the waistband in corduroy, not quilting cotton, changed the waist from a drawstring to a flat front, and left off the buttons on the back pockets.

Results: Great. I would recommend this pattern and will definitely make it again.

Valentine’s Day Pyjamas!

Valentine’s day pyjamas! They were supposed to be Christmas pyjamas, but life intervened. Oh well. It’s probably better this way, since the pyjamas aren’t competing for attention with Christmas gifts.

These are the Oliver + S Bedtime Story Pajamas. I made them four times, once for each kid, hence the delay. I used a digital pattern (a PDF download) and it worked quite well. The pattern itself is great. The only thing that is unusual is that each pattern piece is separately taped together, instead of having them all in a giant sheet. I copied each pattern piece onto tracing paper, so I had quite a few pieces of paper to keep track of. On the other hand, it means you can print out just the pieces you want, which is handy if you just want pyjama pants. I’m not sure which way is better. As always with Oliver + S patterns, the directions are excellent. I don’t have a single complaint.

I sewed a different type of ribbon into the neck and pants of each pair so that the kids can tell them apart.

This is the second time I’ve made the pants, but the first time I’ve made the jackets. I made sizes 18 months, 3, 4 and 5. I made the larger sizes with ties, but put in snaps for the baby sized once – otherwise, kid No 4 will just chew the ties.

I also started with snaps for the older kids. I wanted them to be able to dress themselves. But small snaps are a bit of a small target, even for little hands. I tried larger coat snaps, but then the kids couldn’t get out of them at all because it took too much strength to open the snaps. In the end I took out the snaps and put in the ties. Everyone seems to like this better.

Bedtime Story Pyjamas — Oliver +S Bedtime Story Pajamas in flannel, size 18m.

The first time I made this pattern, I made just the pants in sizes 12 months, 2, 4, and 5, also in flannel, in a monster print. I think I’ve tried most of the sizes now. The only one I had a problem with was the 12 month size (not shown), which fit a bit tight in the waist and hips.

When I made just the pants, instead of binding the hem, I just lengthened the pant legs and folded them over twice to hem. Then I appliquéd a big monster onto store-bought t-shirts. These were also a big hit with the kids.

Summary

Pattern Review: Bedtime Story Pajamas by Oliver + S.

Fabric: flannel.

Sizes: 12m, 18m, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Sewing Level: intermediate (beginner, if just the pants).

Modifications:

I replaced the ties with snaps on the baby-sized jacket. When I made just the pants, I lengthened the pant leg and folded twice to hem, instead of binding the leg hem.

Results: Excellent! I would highly recommend this pattern.

These are also part of the Stashbusting Sewalong Challenge. I made these for February’s ‘Love’ challenge where the goal is to sew something for someone you love.