skirt as top

You can do it Nicole!
My Christmas gift sewing so far: a couple of bags and a wallet using Kraft-Tex washable paper, one for my mum and the others are teacher gifts – that stuff is great fun!
I’m sewing a stencilled school bus t-shirt for my nephew and an All Day Shirt for my husband.
On the rope craft front I’ve made a dreamcatcher (shudder) for…[Read more]

When will the new patterns arrive?
I need some more to survive.
A proper mens shirt!

I have a few tutorials for some of the older patterns and always happy to help, if I can.

Some of the photos are pretty cheesy, as is the text and I appear to have had a thing for coloured font…

You absolutely can Florence!

May I suggest hand basting so things don’t slip around whilst sewing.

What are you sewing… for Christmas?

I have decided to sew a garment for each family member. We have cut way back on purchases this year and upped our donation to our state children’s hospital but the ‘under-the-tree’ is looking a bit bare.

Sooo… Japanese lawn shirt for Jed- vintage Butterick pattern as it is quite full, for his belly (I…[Read more]

That does seem a little odd to me.

I’ve checked, and the source file is spot on. I’ve just looked at it in our design software, and the box is set to be exactly 1 inch by 1 inch. And I printed the same page you have, and mine measures exactly to spec. I’m not sure why you’re having the issue you are seeing. It could be due to the printer and/or…[Read more]

You only interface ONE of the collar pieces.
For View A this will become the outer collar. The inner collar, the one that shows more when the collar is turned down as worn, is not interfaced.
For View B’s Mandarin collar it is reversed – the interfaced collar piece is on the inside.

The last picture is a wrong way go back 🙂 don’t do that.
The raw edges should be aligned. Raw edge of collar band facing, shirt, then collar band.
The dots (1/2″ in from ends) should align with the edges of the finished plackets. Pin those ends first. Then pin the centre notches, then side notches then keep bisecting each section with pins until…[Read more]

Hmmm, not sure quite what you mean. The flat pattern piece is only shown once in the instructions and that’s on the first page where the pattern pieces are shown numbered and named.
The only pattern piece you need for the pants is number 12: Leggings.
It is quite wide as there’s only the one piece to fully around the leg with the single seam at…[Read more]

Oh, good question @lightningmcstitch! I’ve sewn the size 10 myself, so I know the collar fits correctly. When I say pin on the seamline I mean don’t pin at the edges but pin where you’ll be sewing. You’ve already staystitched the neckline, so that’s a good guide. I hope that helps! We’ve got lots of photos on the sew-along, so maybe that is a good…[Read more]

I don’t have the pattern to hand, but is there any chance you’re trying to attach the collar band upside down?

Can you tell me what size you’re making? It’s late here, but I can double-check it in the morning. In the meantime, make sure you’re pinning on the seamline and not on the cut line. The smaller sizes will require more clipping than the larger sizes, but if you need to clip don’t hold back. Some fabrics require more clipping than others. I hope that helps!

This definitely sounds like a job for a professional, Erin! I wouldn’t know where to begin, but any sewing machine repair place can probably help. Good luck!

Hi Erin,

It looks like your photos were too big up load, but if the pockets are showing below the hem the best thing to do it probably to make them shorter. It must be because of the knit! I hope that helps.

I’m glad you found one! At this point we don’t have plans to release more men’s patterns, but if the existing patterns sell well I’ll be happy to entertain any suggestions. We need to be able to justify the cost and time to develop a pattern, and men’s/boy’s patterns just don’t sell very well. We do them occasionally anyway, but I think men’s…[Read more]

Hi Rose, congratulations on your soon-to-be-new-baby. A good place to start would be to download one of the free Oliver + S pattern like the Popover Sundress (link: https://oliverands.com/free-patterns/popover-sundress/ ). The size starts at Size 2, but it will be a good beginner project and the perfect way to introduce yourself to the fabulous…[Read more]

I would love to write that book and hope to have the chance someday! A Building Block Dress book for women would be amazing, I think.

I do write occasional tutorials or blog posts showing how I altered one of our patterns for myself. Here is one:

liesl + co. bistro dress shift, sleeveless

Many of the techniques from the Building Block Dress book would be useful for altering women’s patterns as well. The book might help you to…[Read more]