Liesl Gibson

Does this help? If not, I’ll go back and look when I have a few minutes, shortly…

https://oliverands.com/shop/library-dress-sewing-pattern.html#tab-errata

Just a lightweight muslin would work fine. Most good fabric shops will carry multiple weights of muslin for different purposes. I usually keep several weights on hand–right now I’m developing trousers and using a heavier weight than I would use for blouses. But @lightningmcstitch is right–if you have a voile or batiste that would be fine too.…[Read more]

That will be so pretty! I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Florence, given the opening at the shoulder/neckline, I can’t see any way to include sleeves without some serious innovations. But if you can figure out how to do it I’d love to see what you do!

I haven’t done it, but it would be similar to the process of sewing View B of the Sleepover Pajamas with the ruffles. Not difficult at all, just decide where you want the ruffles and make your ruffles about twice as long as the area where you want to add them.

Sure, you could easily swap the buttons for snaps, no problem. I don’t know how you’d add sleeves, however. I’d suggest wearing a long-sleeved shirt underneath instead.

I was just admiring the fabrics at The Draper’s Daughter yesterday. Karen has a great eye and only selects really beautiful prints and patterns. It’s all very high quality, too. https://drapersdaughter.com/

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]

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]

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]

Hi Jes,

I know what you’re saying! All sizes need support. You have the opposite problem that we have at our house, but ironically the fix is similar. On pages 12-13 of the book there is a section on lengthening and shortening a pattern. Where I usually need to lengthen a smaller size, you’ll be shortening a larger size. Also, on pages 9-11 there…[Read more]

Hey there! Yes, I can see that the sleeves have drag lines that are coming more from the shoulder than the top of the sleeve. This is probably partly a function of the kimono sleeve, which doesn’t really allow for a true sleeve cap. Based on the photos, I’m thinking you might need a larger size because you have a wider shoulder. As a result, right…[Read more]

Apologies for the silence! I’m back from multiple trips (finally) and recovering from a cold, so I’ve been absent more than usual.

Anyway, excellent question! It’s been so long since we released this pattern, I haven’t given it much thought in a while. But I just went back and glanced at the pieces. We released them as full pattern pieces because…[Read more]

Hi there! From the pattern envelope:

Sweatpants: Light- to medium-weight knit fabrics like jersey, cotton fleece, and French terry.

I’ve never seen a French terry without stretch, but maybe it exists? Yes, the pattern is designed for knits with some stretch. It doesn’t need a ton of stretch, but they might be quite slim without it.

I hope…[Read more]

I didn’t really intend the pattern with long sleeves, but I suppose there’s no reason you couldn’t adopt the armholes and sleeves from the Metro Tee if you were so inclined…

Great tip, @mima!