[Jennifer1568]

I want to make those shorts, too. I have made the Sketchbook shorts shorter without the pleats but the waist is high. Yesterday I cut off my daughters After School pants and hemmed them making a 4 inch leg and they are really cute. The waist is lower. The After School pants have the yoke and no fly. I want to make the chinos shorts with a low waist, a flat front, a fly, and belt loops. The Field Trip pants have a high waist, as well. Do you think a workable modification would be to take an inch off the top of the pants front and back to make a lower waist? You would have to take an inch off the top of the pocket, too. Would that mess up the fit and the way the pockets lay?

[with love Heidi]

Yes Cindy, Teen sized patterns!! I just subscribed to Ottrobe as one of the boys I sew for is nearly out of the Oliver and S size 12 and I noted that Ottrobe goes to 170cm. But Oliver and S Teen clothes would be amazing! We may have to wait until S is there though 🙂

[violetvata]

I second the Ottobre notion, I’ve subscribed for years and it is the best stuff (aside from Oliver + s) for boys out there, the sizes go up to euro size 170 cm, for example, my oldest is in size 12 US, wears a 146 Euro, and the sizes go up every 6cm, such as 152, 158, 164, 170…so we still have a ways to go before he outgrows it. Chino shorts pattern in this summer’s issue (Issue 3/2013- # refers to season) for older boys and a great one for girls from last years. you can look at the whole mag one their website http://www.ottobredesign.com/

and clicking on one of the little magazines, inside there you can look through each page (it is tiny but you can get the feel) or click on the link for the pdf so you can see which style comes in which size range (the range for each item varies, but typically it is either baby, toddler or school age sizing). There is also a “In english” button to look for if the finnish on the website stumps you! The magazines come in english, so no worries! They also have an etsy shop that is much easier to navigate but does not have ALLLLL the back issues like their regular site does. My photostream in flickr has tons of ottobre for older boys in it. Katja

[Tamara]

A teen line would be fantastic! My daughter is squeezing into her size 12’s but I have to lengthen as she is so tall and am now enlarging due to development. She really should be a 14. But the thing is she still adores the patterns so what am I to do? I’m not ready to stop sewing Oliver and s for her either. She is actually in between 152 and 158 cm if I did Ottobre design patterns which makes her out of the Oliver and s sizing ball park.

Tamara

[pippi]

I like the idea of a teen (maybe starting at preteen?) line not only for sizing but for styles that are good for older kids. I have realized as my daughter gets older, sometimes when i try to size up smaller patterns I realize that even if I can get the dress to technically fit, the style might not suit her (both her preferences and her body shape).

[Liesl Gibson]

I’d love to add pre-teen sizes to our range. But I have to be honest; it’s very unlikely that we can do this. Here’s the reason why:

It takes a lot of time and energy to develop a sewing pattern, and it costs us quite a bit to do it when you factor in all our fixed costs like rent, insurance, utilities, etc. and our variable costs like supplies to develop a pattern, payments to freelancers and testers who work with us on the project, and printing and warehousing. In order for us to make any money at all on a pattern we develop, we need to be able to sell a lot of copies. And to be honest, the volume of Oliver + S patterns we sell allows us to do only slightly better than break even. That’s the honest truth. We don’t make enough of a profit on Oliver + S patterns to be able to support a family. That’s why we’ve had to diversify our business over the last few years.

If we were to develop a pre-teen line, the market for those patterns would be even smaller than the market for the Oliver + S patterns. It’s just a fact. Fewer pre-teens are willing to wear home-sewn clothing, it’s harder to appeal to the taste level in this age bracket, and there are fewer sizes (and thus, fewer sales opportunities) within this range. So it would cost us just as much to develop a pattern as it does to develop an Oliver + S style, and we’d sell far fewer patterns. We’d end up losing money developing pre-teen patterns. A lot of money.

So as much as I’d love to do it, I’m afraid the likelihood is very slim. I’m sorry to disappoint!

I’ll continue to give this some thought to see if I can’t find you some solutions, however!

[beachmom]

Thank you for listening to us, Liesl! It means a lot to me (and I’m sure to everyone else who loves Oliver + S) that you take the time to respond to our requests and explain why a request isn’t feasible.

I figured it wasn’t too likely as a developing body of a teenager is a lot harder to fit than a child’s and the market for such patterns is not as widespread. I guess we’re lucky that we still have older children who are willing to wear the clothes we sew for them.:)

Perhaps you could do a blog series on some tricks to size up and/or alter patterns to make them more pre-teen/teen friendly? Or even a Creativebug workshop? Thanks again for all that you do!

Cindy

[Sewnsew]

Aww. Too bad. But I understand. It would be nice like the pp said if you could please do a blog series on sewing for the preteen.

Liesl, thank you for even thinking about it. Your hard work that goes into your patterns is so appreciated!!

[pippi]

Ahhh. That all makes sense. A blog post about it would be great! I assume there are some general rules that might be helpful in altering patterns for older kids? Maybe not, I don’t know. Also I know you had a series on fabric selection, but I have also noticed as my daughter gets bigger it seems the prints, patterns, and fabric choices really matter more just because there is so much more fabric involved. A print can more easily become overwhelming in the larger sizes and it seems fabric type and drape plays more of a role too. I would guess that at some point in the near future my daughter won’t want me to sew for her anymore anyway so I do see how teen patterns aren’t so popular. Thanks for explaining and thanks for sticking with the O+S brand even though it is not making you a millionaire… yet! 😉

[Tamara]

Oh well, I sort of figured this would be the answer because I think we asked before. Sizing up it is then for the time being.

[with love Heidi]

Thanks for responding Liesl! and listening so well.

[mkhs]

I would love to see dress-up/costume box ideas using existing O+S patterns. Not so much Halloween costumes, but well made, long lasting pieces for imaginative play. I’ve seen some great things in the flickr pool, and the LTTS book is full of possibilities, but I’d love to see what else could be done. I’d pay for costume “add ons” or for a digital magazine type thing.

[mrskanuckles]

I would love a Tory Burch style tunic… It would be adorable as a swim cover up.. or with capris (sailboat pants) and a cami… I hardly want to pay 75.00 for one from Tory.

I guess I could mash up a ton of patterns to get one… but I would rather see a perfect rendition from O&S.

Pretty please.. 🙂

Here are some examples..

This one has nice wide sleeves for a swim cover up.

http://www.toryburch.com/PEARL-TUNIC/11132953,default,pd.html?dwvar_11132953_size=XS&dwvar_11132953_color=448&start=27&cgid=clothing-tunics

This one has narrower sleeves, maybe for jeans…

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tory-Burch-Shirt-Size-Small-Girls-/140727964566?pt=US_Childrens_Clothing_Girls&hash=item20c40a5396

Fab

http://www.toryburch.com/TORY-TUNIC/10131103,default,pd.html?dwvar_10131103_size=0&dwvar_10131103_color=411&start=17&cgid=clothing-tunics

[Jane]

I would love a classic a-line jumper. Something that would work for spring and summer alone or fall and winter as a layered look. Clean and classic.

Jane

[Sarvi]

Have you tried the View B Music Box? So versatile and I think that if you wanted a more pronounced A-line look it would be easy to achieve…

http://oliverands.com/oliver-and-s-patterns-dresses/OLV-OS021MB.html