[sayiamyou]

The pattern tissue is sturdy. And, every single time I get a pattern out, I can always fold it back nicely and neatly.

Sure, my daughter got into my bag and had her way with one or two of the pattern packages (she was excited about the girl on the front is all I can figure). And sure, I just last night overheard my husband exclaim, ‘Oh $&@*!’, knowing he was standing over my sewing table with coffee in hand (I am still too tender about this to discuss the coffee stain on my sailboat pattern- ahem). I know… savages.

But by golly, I can get those patterns back in my package all snug and pretty. And I love that.

[janimal]

He spilled COFFEE on your PATTERNS!

HORRORS!

I hope he grovelled properly and to me that seems worth at least a foot massage.

[Anonymous]

I agree – a foot massage and perhaps a pattern from the spring collection as a peace offering. LOL

And I agree – I can always fold mine back up neatly and the tissue doesn’t tear. I also love that it is white instead of brown. I can see the lines SO MUCH more easily for tracing!

Ugh – I have to trace a McCall’s pattern next. Yick.

[Justine J]

Yes to both the suggestions above! & maybe some chocolate to eat while he massages your feet!!

I too love being able to refold my O+S patterns perfectly – was dismayed when I drafted the Liverpool Tunic – what am I supposed to do with the pattern now??? Disaster! lol!

[Anonymous]

justmejay – not to get too off topic, but just curious….how did you like the Liverpool Tunic? I’ve had my eye on it, but haven’t splurged! just wondering how others like it!

[Justine J]

Hi Whitfieldsx5 – I’ve found the Liverpool Tunic to be really quite easy – the directions and pattern are not O+S (nothing is!) but if you’ve made O+S patterns like the jumprope dress and the sketchbook shirt, then you really shouldn’t have any probs with it. The sizing did shock me (I had to make the XL for my bust!!) and it takes a fair amount of fabric (2.6m, or 3yds)but construction-wise it’s pretty straightforward. I’m just about finished mine – going to go and sew the side seams up in a minute – there’s some pics in my photostream of it as a work in progress:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52151674@N08/5341895879/

If you are keen on making one, a few of us have started a very informal sewalong – flickr mail me if you’d like to join!

Justine

[Anonymous]

Thanks Justmejay! I just may have to give it a try. Yours looks great! And thanks for the invite to the sewalong. It will probably be a while before I do it though….not only do I have SO many projects I want to finish up, but I’m a few weeks away from having #4, so it wouldn’t fit me right now anyway! And while O+S patterns and instructions are the best I’ve seen, I have found Amy Butler to be decent for adults – at least compared to what you can get in “regular” fabric stores! I can’t even fathom sewing with some of the patterns out there now….of course, as I gain more experience, maybe that will change too. I just know that now I have become a pattern “snob” and have written off certain ones with O+S being at the top of my “love” list!

[Justine J]

whitfieldsx5 – it is ever so informal with not start or end dates, so feel free to join! We’re planning on doing some other adult patterns too – I find I need the extra push that a sewalong gives me, particularly when sewing for myself. I think O+S is fab for giving confidence and skills to tackle other patterns

Congrats on no. 4 – hope all goes well – make sure you keep us posted!!

[E1izabeth]

I like the sturdier pattern paper that you get with O+S patterns – I trace them over and over and always get them to fold back along the original lines – so neat and tidy! When I’m sewing for myself I have a love/hate relationship with the tissue that they use for the big 4 patterns. I like the tissue because it is easier to do tissue fittings in my opinion. However I hate the tissue when it comes time to try to get it back in the envelope. And I hate it when I pin it to my fabric and it tears through the pins. Ugh.

[Sarvi]

Hold on now, let’s not gloss over this chocolate + foot massage business so quickly …

But seriously, my favorite thing, and why I keep buying O + S patterns even though I would have to live to be 100 to use all the ones I have already, is the instructions. One way to look at them is as patterns with great instructions, but another way to look at them is as fantastic explanations of technique, which just happen to have sample projects with full-size patterns attached to give you practice with each one. The non-O + S patterns I use are not written in languages I can read, so I am using O + S purchases even when I sew from other patterns. I feel like I keep repeating this point, sorry if it’s getting boring, but it keeps happening! Just learned how to put in a pocket from the School Photo dress instructions, even though I haven’t made that dress (yet).

Stuff I’ve learned from O+S:

How to sew a tricky curve: Tea Party

How to make & apply bias tape: Popover

How to hem with a ribbon: Lazy Days

How to add in a facing, how to topstitch: Sailboat

How to attach a hood to a lined coat: School Days

How to do pleats: Music Box

How to do gathers, how to do that thing you do when you attach the yoke to the next section down, which technique I wound up using to attach collars to shirts elsewhere: Ice Cream

I remember organizing all my patterns by scissor number, and trying to guess when I would be able to move up to the next class … but then there was some point, I think it was with the Ice Cream, where I passed a confidence threshold of some kind … now I feel I can make anything, if I just have enough time.

[sayiamyou]

Right on, Sarvi! I’m with you on all points. The patterns are totally worth it, even if you only ever just read the instructions!

Re: the husband…he is sad to note that he has ‘lost cool points’, but wants the record to show that it was I who turned him on to coffee. Pfft.

[Justine J]

BAH! Poor excuse!!!!!! 🙂 – no getting out of the foot rub!!!!

[sayiamyou]

Right, Justine!? He has promised an ‘in house’ Ghirardelli hot chocolate date this Friday night. Suppose he’s shying away from the coffee pot? 🙂

[janimal]

Sarvi: “…..but then there was some point, I think it was with the Ice Cream, where I passed a confidence threshold of some kind … now I feel I can make anything, if I just have enough time.”

I feel EXACTLY the same way! The instructions are so clear, I feel like I could tackle any of the O&S patterns. But patterns from other companies with similiar design elements, no way. I just got some silk to sew the school photo dress. I can’t imagine playing with silk, an invisible zipper, and those sweet pockets without Liesl’s instructions.

When I buy an O&S pattern or talk to someone about a garment I made from one, people are sometimes taken aback by the price of the patterns compared to those from the big 4. I try to explain how they aren’t just patterns, they are skill building lessons.

But I confess that I just started a dress by McCalls. Simple, cute, but the instructions are awful. And now that I have cut it and am almost finished, I think I will change the construction of it. I like the dress, but I don’t like the seam finishes – so I find myself thinking “What would Liesl do?!” Of course I already followed O&S instructions for the bottom hem. For the next version, I will use the original pattern to make a decent facing. It still won’t meet the standard of an O&S pattern, but the quality if the garment will be greatly improved by the lessons learned from them.

If I had been making my daughter’s clothes from patterns like this all along, I don’t think I would be as excited about making her clothes!

I just ordered more O&S patterns in the sale. Yay!!!

[Rpankow]

Jan and Sarvi:

I’m in the same boat as you gals!! No matter what the pattern is of O&S, if I love it, I go for it. I’ve gotten some other patterns recently, mostly for knits and pjs, that I look at the instructions and scratch my head. Liesl’s, not so. I would never think of tackling a rain coat, or a winter coat with any other pattern company. It’s also because of O&S that I have started to venture onto Ottobre patterns slowly. They have given me the confidence to consider something without much visual instruction.

Jan, I agree with you, that if I didn’t have O&S patterns to sew from, I don’t think I’d be sewing my daughter’s clothes as much. There is something about the way O&S patterns look that is so professional and not “homemade”. There is something about the construction and the styles that make the garments look great!

I just couldn’t believe that the other day my husband had actually asked me if we could sell the garments I’ve made for my daughter on a garage sale, wondering if people would buy hand made clothing. I didn’t know if it was a compliment, saying they were good enough to sell, or if he just wanted me to sell off my “babies”. I hate to tell him but I feel connected to each piece that I’ve made, hand selecting patterns, fabrics, etc, and that they are not leaving the house. To me they are pieces of art and an extension of me.