Oliver + S

where I’ve been for weeks now, in spirit

Here we are in Portland, Oregon, preparing for the spring International Quilt Market, which begins this Friday. Market is an enormous trade show for quilt and fabric stores, where new products like fabrics and patterns are shown and available for …

sort of like this

A seersucker Tea Party Playsuit with feedsack piping and lining and vintage buttons, hanging from a vintage-inspired rack. A fun way to display the finished garment at a shop or at home, right? The Playsuit has gotten short shrift in …

showing off

So you’ve finished sewing an Oliver + S pattern and want to show off your work? Well first of all, post it to the Flickr group! But here’s another idea for displaying finished garment (aside from on a child, that …

puppet show tunic: little details

The Puppet Show Tunic has lots of little details that make it different from most children’s clothing you see in stores. At first, this pattern had a gathered skirt. But as I pushed the design a bit (nothing like the …

puppet show shorts

This may very well be my favorite piece in our first collection. I designed these shorts for Tsia (aka “S”) last year, and she wore the prototype all summer long. They looked so cute that I knew they had to …

pressing things

What? You mean that you don’t take your ironing board outside on nice spring days? I don’t usually either, but I’ve really been tempted with all this lovely weather we’re having. Really, I just wanted to show you a few …

fresh orange

This awesome twosome was sewn by Aimee (of Betsy Ross Patterns fame) for the new Spool shop in Philadelphia, and I love everything about them. Aimee clearly understands the Oliver + S “look.” Her choice of colors (neutrals with a …

I’m actually much older than I look

Apparently, unbeknownst to me, Oliver + S has been publishing patterns for a really long time. I mean, look at this: Uncanny, right? The hair, the shoes, the outfit. My Mom clipped this from the newspaper and sent it to …

people say the nicest things

I’m thrilled to share some recent online reviews of our patterns with you: Sew Mama Sew is an web-based fabric shop based in Oregon, with a wonderful selection of sewing patterns and fabrics. Rachael reviewed the Tea Party sundress pattern …

in miniature

Remember that paper doll we were handing out at Quilt Market last October? Well, how cute are these? Miniature versions of the paper doll, in postcard form! We’re sending these to shops who book our trunk shows as a promotional …

esprit de tete?

When I worked as a designer at Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger we spent loads of time putting together “rigs,” or inspiration boards, every season. These were never simple tear sheets pinned to a wall; they were elaborate combinations of …

sssupermodels: touring the country!

As much as we love our own illustrated paper doll packaging at Oliver + S, we think it’s also nice to see how the actual garments will look when finished. To that end, I’ve just created a Flickr group where …