Ashley and Emily from Frances Suzanne are back visiting today. They are two sisters who sew for their youngest sister’s three daughters. Last time they were here they talked about customizing the Croquet Dress. Today it’s all about one of their favorite patterns.
Hello, Oliver + S avid fans, supporters, and sewists alike! When we were asked to share our favorite Oliver + S pattern, brainstorming commenced, and a list was made. But, how in the world could we pick just one? So, we visited our Oliver + S gallery to see what “jumped out” to us as a favorite.
We tend to overanalyze in situations like this, and discovered some interesting things about our love of Oliver + S patterns! We were introduced to Oliver + S patterns three years ago while visiting our Jedi Master, and completely fell in love with them! It wasn’t until several months later that we sewed our first one, a Class Picnic Blouse. Currently, we own 32 patterns (excluding Little Things to Sew), and have sewn 29 of them in some shape, form, or fashion in the past two years. Now, to get those others from our pattern stash sewn.
In the end, our indecisive selves decided on…drum roll please…the Puppet Show Dress, Tunic, and Shorts.
Okay, we are :those people” who scoff at the sewists that sew a pattern over and over and over again. I mean, seriously, who sews a pattern 10 times (or more, by now), or 20 for that matter?!? Our motto has been, “There’s so many terrific patterns out there! Why in the world would you sew one particular pattern so many times?”
We, now, officially hang our heads in shame! Because, unbeknownst to us, we had become “repeater sewists,” sewing the Puppet Show Dress, Tunic, + Shorts more often than we even knew before signing up for it as our favorite pattern.
As of today, we have sewn some form and combination of the Puppet Show Dress, Tunic, and Shorts nine times: four dresses, three tunic and shorts sets, and two stand-alone shorts.
So, obviously, we love it. But, then we asked ourselves: Why? Why do we love it so much?
1. Options! Yep…you get a lot of bang for your buck with this one–options, options, options. Sew a dress. Sew a tunic. Sew some cute shorts. Or do a combination of these options!
2. Finishing Details! This pattern has got the details. They are practically “hidden,” blending into the general look of the garment. Gathers, cuffs, darts, curved yoke, hem facing, top-stitching, a Peter Pan collar, and lots of opportunities for mixing of fabrics and / or adding piping (our favorite thing to do!).
3. Various sewing techniques are utilized! To continue on the “details theme,” this pattern gives detailed instructions on a variety of sewing techniques, adding to one’s sewing knowledge along the way. We feel as if we improve each and every time we sew this pattern. Technically, this may have been the first time we’ve sewn the hem facing correctly :)! #slowlearners
4. And…those shorts! We die…cuteness overload. Seriously. Such a precious look for a young girl, and one we want to take advantage of as often as possible since this pattern only goes to a size 5.
Our latest creation was inspired by this pin. We might have become a tad obsessed with Liberty fabric after using it as the accent fabric on the dress. Too bad our pocketbooks aren’t any larger or we’d create a “Liberty Stash” (wouldn’t that be awesome??)! Truth be told, we foresee a “splurge” for some more in the near future. We’ve been bitten by the “Liberty Bug!”
Since we couldn’t stop with this combination, we created another look, using the Puppet Show Shorts and another Oliver + S pattern. We are sharing that look today on our blog….and would love for you to hop over there and check it out as well!
As for future Puppet Show Dress, Tunic, + Shorts? Well, since we’ve yet to sew a “winterized version” of the shorts, we plan to make our Puppet Show Dress, Tunic, + Shorts creations an “even ten” this Fall / Winter by sewing a pair. The big question, though, is what to pair with it? Ideas? Suggestions? What pattern would you pair with a winterized version of these shorts, and how would you style them accordingly?