author archive

I recently saw this photo in the Oliver + S Flickr group and loved how Cindy modified the 2 + 2 blouse for a completely different look. I asked her if she would share her method with those of you …

More than 100 years ago, a cultural movement swept the United States in which people would travel to a sort of a summer camp where they would take classes, attend lectures and concerts, and enjoy the surrounding beauty of nature. …

Quite some time ago, I saw the most interesting dress show up in the Oliver + S Flickr group. Jan had used Kona cottons and the Oliver + S Puppet Show pattern to create her daughter a one-of-a-kind Snow White …

When I first saw Vivian’s After-School Shirt pop up in our Flickr group, I knew she would be the perfect person to do a tutorial on piping. And sure enough, she jumped right into the project and did a bang-up …

We had a little brainstorm last year. It turned into a new brand, as our brainstorms sometimes do. We need to stop brainstorming. We wanted to make some sewing patterns for little, fun projects. Projects that wouldn’t take a lot …

If you’re around next Monday at 4:00 Eastern time, I’ll be chatting with Pat Sloan on American Patchwork and Quilting Radio. We’ll be talking about Oliver + S, fabric design, quilting, and our new brand, Straight Stitch Society, which will …

Every so often my dear friend Brooke, who designed our logo and packaging , weighs in with a special pattern request. She probably thinks I just nod my head and go back to doing whatever I want to do, completely …

We haven’t introduced a pattern for a sleeveless summer top for a very long time, and I thought it was about time for another one. Plus, a lot of you have been requesting a skort. And Brooke asked for a …

I can’t recall how or why I decided we needed to make a trench coat pattern. It’s probably not the first clothing item you consider when you’re thinking about your child’s wardrobe. But once we started to develop this style, …

Saturday was a great day for a sewing party. The weather held up so it wasn’t so nice outside that we all wanted to go the park but not so awful that everyone wanted to stay home. And lots of …

It’s always challenging for me to introduce a new collection of sewing patterns. I nurture these styles for months before they are printed and delivered, and they’re my babies. I was sorting through our spring development samples the other day, …

Not long after we launched Oliver + S,  I started noticing an adorable little girl who kept popping up in our Flickr group. She had enormous eyes, the sweetest face, and she was always wearing the cutest ensembles. (Her mother …