[madebymum]

Hi I have been happily sewing some of the beginner patterns this summer and have well and truly caught the bug. I would like to sew some jogging type clothes for my eldest and have seen the Ottobre Magazine has a design that would be perfect. My question is that considering my limited experience is this realistic or would I be out of my depth. I am nervous about using a different pattern designer because Oliver and S patterns are so comprehensive and easy to follow I don’t want to dent my confidence but I would like to sew the Ottobre design. So have any of you super talented sewers got any experience with Ottobre and if so give me all your tips and advice. Thanks

[sayiamyou]

I haven’t tried anything from Ottobre yet, but I can absolutely say that O and S patterns are so much more clear than the big 4 commercial pattern companies instructions. And the styles are way better to boot! When I started sewing I bought a couple Simplicity patterns for infants and the Tea Party sundress. I made each, but never looked back after the Tea Party! O and S teaches skills, where the others assumed you knew a lot about technique and sewing. It was frustrating as a real beginner. Good luck if you try the Ottobre and let the rest of us who haven’t tried them yet know how it goes!

[claireabel]

Ottobre has some lovely patterns, but… you have to add your own seam allowance to the pattern; there are no diagrams in the instructions and the instructions are super brief. As Maraya said you don’t learn anything, there is a lot of assumed knowledge.

I’ve recently started my Ottobre subscription and they do have some nice things. If you have been sewing with O+S then you will have picked up some skills that you can use for sewing Ottobre patterns. And if the worst happens and you dent your confidence, come back to an O+S pattern for a pick-me-up!

[April Henry]

>>come back to an O+S pattern for a pick-me-up!

I still have to do this nearly every time I tackle an Ottobre. O+S is like a nice tall glass of lemon-aid with lime wedges and crushed ice on a hot day!

[violetvata]

I love Ottobre and I was recently featured on their blog. I found them a year ago and make almost all of the clothes for my three boys and myself now…I admit the instructions can be hard to follow, but I would just start simple and work your way up, just like oliver + s. There is a great yahoo group called ottobre-english (the sewers are great when it comes to pattern help!) and a flickr group as well for ottobre. Here is a link to the blog post which includes links to my photostream for the past year! Katja

http://ottobredesign.blogspot.com/2010/07/ottobre-sewing-stories-katja-m.html

[sewinginthecity]

I just started using Ottobre patterns for knits. So far they have been turning out nicely. I find the patterns easy to trace, and I like the wide selection. Since I’m doing basic t-shirts, I find the instructions adequate, but I consider myself an intermediate level sewer. I can’t wait to see what knit patterns come out at O+S.

[Rebecca W]

I have seen a lot about Ottobre patterns online and stuff- are they just available in the magazines? Or where do you get them?

[April Henry]

You can order them issue by issue directly from Ottobre; or you can order a subscription. If ordering them by issue you can first peruse what’s inside to see if it has a good selection for what you’d like.

Be prepared, however, the patterns are all achieved by first tracing – you have to pick the line color associated with the pattern instructions and trace being careful not to mix it up with the other lines all over the page AND add seam allowances.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j0P4Pnr38aU/SrwnaHil6VI/AAAAAAAABxQ/0qQ2NaWgjmk/s320/tracing+patterns+002.jpg

[madebymum]

Thanks for all your help and suggestions. You have confirmed in my mind what I already thought . That Oliver + S are the most comprehensive sewing patterns available. I think they will always be my staple. I am going to give Ottobre a try as my eldest is keen I will let you know how I do.

[Rebecca W]

WOW!! That pattern tracing sheet does look intimidating! I don’t know if I am ready to branch out yet. 🙂

[April Henry]

Yes – it reminds me of flight maps for airplanes.

Ottobre is a really great sewing source for older children, I think.

[Sarvi]

I bought two issues of Ottobre but haven’t made anything yet because some of the details are not quite to my taste, and I’m not sure how to delete them. For example a lot of the shirts seem to have ‘bell-bottom’ sleeves (not sure what the name is for that) or things that seem to be meant to make the clothes look more fancy or unique like little pleats at the edges of pockets, and I find those are the things that make them look homemade instead of handmade (or whichever it is that’s the bad one). I think somebody who really knows what they’re doing could easily make changes to make the clothes more simple but I am not that somebody.

[Rebecca W]

Well, I will wait until my kids are older then. I think that I may remain and O+S loyalist for a while. I sewed a baby sleep sack from Anna Maria Horner’s new book, and while I LOVED how it turned out- it was very challenging for me, due to the directions not being as clear as I am used to! I also did make a few changes to make it a little more finished than the directions appeared to tell me to do. I feel spoiled with all of the finishing touches that are put into the O+S patterns that really make for clean and polished garments! Especially now that I know how to do french seams!

[Sarvi]

Yeah, exactly, those little polished-looking things are so gratifying and addictive. Not saying this is a reason to never try something new, or that Ottobre stuff isn’t good. Just that at my skill level O + S gives me a lot of confidence. I didn’t use my sewing machine for 5 years or so because I just couldn’t make anything good with other patterns.

[Nicole]

Craftalittle, that sleeping bag was gorgeous! ( was it patchwork?)

I am a fairly experienced sewer, but I swear by these patterns, I can sew on ‘auto pilot’ after disturbed sleep and things work !