{"id":61791,"date":"2017-06-28T10:14:21","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T14:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/?p=61791"},"modified":"2017-06-27T04:23:51","modified_gmt":"2017-06-27T08:23:51","slug":"building-block-dresses-sewn-by-frances-suzanne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2017\/06\/building-block-dresses-sewn-by-frances-suzanne.html","title":{"rendered":"building block dresses sewn by frances suzanne"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>We are delighted to welcome Ashley and Emily from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.francessuzanne.com\/blog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Frances Suzanne<\/a> back to the blog. They have stopped by in the past to share their two favorite patterns (the <a href=\"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2014\/08\/my-favorite-oliver-s-pattern-ashley-and-emily-from-frances-suzanne.html\">Puppet Show<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2014\/12\/my-favorite-oliver-s-pattern-emily-and-ashley-from-frances-suzanne.html\">Music Class<\/a>), to talk all about <a href=\"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2015\/03\/heirloom-techniques-tucks.html\">tucks<\/a>, and to share their <a href=\"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2016\/07\/sewing-for-disney.html\">sewing for a trip to Disney<\/a>. Now they have a post all about the Building Block Dresses they&#8217;ve sewn for their nieces. Here they are.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Hi all! It&#8217;s good to be back sharing with the Oliver + S community today! Summer sewing for us often includes grand plans, with the potential for having more time to sew. Building Block Dresses always enter the picture when discussing what to sew next. It seems we have become quite the picky &#8220;pattern customers.&#8221; You see, we like <strong>a lot<\/strong> of patterns&#8230;. Yet, more often than not, we find one minor thing we would &#8220;do differently&#8221; if we were to sew the said pattern.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, Liesl&#8217;s book <a href=\"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/shop\/oliver-s-building-block-dress.html\">Building Block Dress: A Sewing Pattern Alteration Guide<\/a> walks us through those visions with clarity, ease, and with a much greater pace than if we were left to our own devices&#8211;not to mention, the success rate of the finished garment is exponentially increased when &#8220;going by the book&#8221; rather than by our mere brainpower.<\/p>\n<p>To date, we have sewn <a href=\"http:\/\/www.francessuzanne.com\/category\/building-block-dress\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">six Building Block dresses<\/a>&#8211;each differently styled by design elements or fabric choices. We would like to think it isn&#8217;t obvious the same pattern was used to begin all of these projects.<\/p>\n<p>Our oldest niece, EA, has been the recipient of three Building Block Dresses.<\/p>\n<p>1. A <a href=\"http:\/\/www.francessuzanne.com\/2016\/10\/oliver-s-another-building-block-dress.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">casual, empire-waist dress<\/a> with Peter Pan collar and notched, short sleeves.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/BBDbyfrancesT.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-61809\" src=\"\/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/BBDbyfrancesT-760x1142.jpg\" alt=\"Oliver + S Building Block Dress\" width=\"760\" height=\"1142\" srcset=\"\/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/BBDbyfrancesT-760x1142.jpg 760w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/BBDbyfrancesT-500x751.jpg 500w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/BBDbyfrancesT-768x1154.jpg 768w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/BBDbyfrancesT-1240x649.jpg 1240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>2. A <a href=\"http:\/\/www.francessuzanne.com\/2016\/09\/building-block-dress-book-tour.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">princess-seamed navy dress<\/a> with capped sleeves, a tie collar, pleated circle skirt, and fun pockets.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/2NavyandOrange.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-61793\" src=\"\/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/2NavyandOrange-760x1131.jpg\" alt=\"Oliver + S Building Block Dress\" width=\"760\" height=\"1131\" srcset=\"\/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/2NavyandOrange-760x1131.jpg 760w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/2NavyandOrange-500x744.jpg 500w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/2NavyandOrange-768x1143.jpg 768w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/2NavyandOrange-1200x649.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>(If in doubt, this is the post that gives our most complete and comprehensive review of the book.)<\/p>\n<p>3. An <a href=\"http:\/\/www.francessuzanne.com\/2017\/04\/an-heirloom-easter-dress.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">heirloom Easter dress<\/a> with lace, lace, and more lace. We also made a slip, using the building block dress pattern as a guide.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/3HeirloomEasterDress.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-61794\" src=\"\/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/3HeirloomEasterDress-760x597.jpg\" alt=\"Oliver + S Building Block Dress\" width=\"760\" height=\"597\" srcset=\"\/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/3HeirloomEasterDress-760x597.jpg 760w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/3HeirloomEasterDress-500x393.jpg 500w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/3HeirloomEasterDress-768x604.jpg 768w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/3HeirloomEasterDress-1200x649.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>CL, the middle child of the nieces, has also been the recipient of three Building Block Dresses.<\/p>\n<p>1. A <a href=\"http:\/\/www.francessuzanne.com\/2016\/09\/oliver-s-building-block-dress.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sleeveless, striped dress<\/a> with pleated circle skirt using upholstery fabric.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/4StripedDress.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-61795\" src=\"\/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/4StripedDress-760x1228.jpg\" alt=\"Oliver + S Building Block Dress\" width=\"760\" height=\"1228\" srcset=\"\/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/4StripedDress-760x1228.jpg 760w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/4StripedDress-500x808.jpg 500w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/4StripedDress-768x1241.jpg 768w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/4StripedDress-1200x649.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>2. A <a href=\"http:\/\/www.francessuzanne.com\/2017\/06\/a-building-block-dress-in-bloom.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">princess-seamed floral dress<\/a> with capped sleeves, a shaped collar, pleated circle skirt, and fun pockets.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/5OrangeCollar.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-61796\" src=\"\/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/5OrangeCollar-760x1120.jpg\" alt=\"Oliver + S Building Block Dress\" width=\"760\" height=\"1120\" srcset=\"\/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/5OrangeCollar-760x1120.jpg 760w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/5OrangeCollar-500x737.jpg 500w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/5OrangeCollar-768x1132.jpg 768w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/5OrangeCollar-1200x649.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This dress actually used all the drafted pieces from EA&#8217;s princess seamed, navy dress <em>except for<\/em> the collar. We perused the Building Block Dresses on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/explore\/tags\/buildingblockdress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a> and on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/groups\/oliverands\/pool\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Flickr<\/a>, but did not find another sewn version of a shaped collar, as shown in &#8220;dress variation F&#8221; and featured on page 111 of the book.<\/p>\n<p>That just would not do! So, we decided to rectify that . . . and make one of our own. Disclaimer: there probably <strong>has<\/strong> been a Building Block Dress made with this type of shaped collar since the release of the book; we just did not find it in our searching.<\/p>\n<p>3. A sleeveless, knit nightgown (using the slip pattern from EA&#8217;s heirloom Building Block Dress).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/6BuildingBlockNightgown.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-61801\" src=\"\/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/6BuildingBlockNightgown-760x1279.jpg\" alt=\"Oliver + S Building Block Dress made into a nightgown\" width=\"760\" height=\"1279\" srcset=\"\/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/6BuildingBlockNightgown-760x1279.jpg 760w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/6BuildingBlockNightgown-500x842.jpg 500w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/6BuildingBlockNightgown-768x1293.jpg 768w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/6BuildingBlockNightgown-1200x649.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2016\/12\/sewing-the-building-block-dress-with-knit-fabrics.html\">Shelley&#8217;s post<\/a> about sewing the Building Block Dress with knits was extremely helpful!<\/p>\n<p>We are thrilled to have &#8220;alteration knowledge&#8221; when we want to change a particular styling detail. It gives us the freedom to take any pattern and use the alteration methods in the book to create a different variation. And, once you draft certain elements\/pattern pieces in a size range, you can use them <strong>for multiple garments!!!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That is what we did with EA and CL&#8217;s dresses <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.francessuzanne.com\/2016\/09\/building-block-dress-book-tour.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.francessuzanne.com\/2017\/06\/a-building-block-dress-in-bloom.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a><\/strong>. Same pattern pieces, same size . . . the only change was the collar and fabric selection.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/7Comparison.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-61797\" src=\"\/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/7Comparison-760x599.jpg\" alt=\"Oliver + S Building Block Dresses\" width=\"760\" height=\"599\" srcset=\"\/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/7Comparison-760x599.jpg 760w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/7Comparison-500x394.jpg 500w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/7Comparison-768x605.jpg 768w, \/\/o.osimg.net\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/7Comparison-1200x649.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Or, when we used EA&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.francessuzanne.com\/2017\/04\/an-heirloom-easter-dress.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">heirloom slip pattern<\/a> to make CL&#8217;s knit nightgown. You cannot get much different than those two garments!<\/p>\n<p>LG, niece #3, has not been the recipient of a building block dress . . . <strong>yet<\/strong>. Her time is coming though, especially since several variations of pattern pieces have been drafted in sizes 4 and 5. And you better believe we are going to put them to use when she hits that size range! The work is done at that stage. The sewing fun can commence!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ashley and Emily are stopping by to share their Oliver + S Building Block dresses that they&#8217;ve made their nieces over the past year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7455,"featured_media":61810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20687],"tags":[20736],"class_list":["post-61791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-building-block-dress"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/BBDbyfrancesF.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5jZS5-g4D","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":57473,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2016\/09\/building-block-dress-book-tour-frances-suzanne.html","url_meta":{"origin":61791,"position":0},"title":"building block dress book tour: frances suzanne","author":"Rachel Le Grand","date":"September 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Next up on the Building Block Dress book tour we have Ashley and Emily from Frances Suzanne. Check out what they sewed from the book.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;general post&quot;","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/BBDtour_FrancesSuzanneF.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":72840,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2019\/10\/oliver-s-patterns-sewn-by-frances-suzanne.html","url_meta":{"origin":61791,"position":1},"title":"oliver + s patterns sewn by frances suzanne","author":"Rachel Le Grand","date":"October 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Ashley and Emily from Frances Suzanne are stopping by to share their Oliver + S makes that they've made over the past year or so.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;general post&quot;","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/francesF.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12056,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2014\/08\/my-favorite-oliver-s-pattern-ashley-and-emily-from-frances-suzanne.html","url_meta":{"origin":61791,"position":2},"title":"my favorite oliver + s pattern: ashley and emily from frances suzanne","author":"Rachel Le Grand","date":"August 19, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Ashley and Emily are here today to tell us about one of their favorite Oliver + S patterns, the Puppet Show Tunic, Dress, + Shorts.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;general post&quot;","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/OliverSPuppetShowDress2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":57993,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2016\/10\/more-cute-building-block-dresses.html","url_meta":{"origin":61791,"position":3},"title":"more cute building block dresses","author":"Liesl Gibson","date":"October 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"It's about time for a big dose of Building Block Dress inspiration! Here are six gorgeous dresses, all very different, created recently from the Building Block Dress.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;general post&quot;","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/dresses-banner.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":56721,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2016\/07\/sewing-for-disney.html","url_meta":{"origin":61791,"position":4},"title":"sewing for disney","author":"Rachel Le Grand","date":"July 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Are you planning a visit to Disney, or are you just interested in sewing some Disney-inspired outfits? If so, check out these wonderful Oliver + S Disney outfits sewn by the ladies from Frances Suzanne for inspiration.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;general post&quot;","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/FeaturedImage1Belle.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":40683,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2014\/12\/my-favorite-oliver-s-pattern-emily-and-ashley-from-frances-suzanne.html","url_meta":{"origin":61791,"position":5},"title":"my favorite oliver + s pattern: emily and ashley from frances suzanne","author":"Rachel Le Grand","date":"December 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Emily and Ashley from Frances Suzanne visit the blog today to talk about one of their favorite Oliver + S sewing patterns, the Music Class Blouse + Skirt.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;general post&quot;","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/MusicClassTITLE.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7455"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61791"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61821,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61791\/revisions\/61821"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}