In my last post I introduced the School Days raincoat. In this post I’ll to highlight the versatility of this pattern’s features and how you can use them to make a true three-season, cold-weather jacket.

The multi-season versatility comes from the jacket’s innovative, removable insulated lining. The jacket itself, remember, is lined. Sewing a version with a wool melton or a more luxurious cashmere and lining it with a quilting-weight cotton will make a perfect coat for cold fall afternoons and spring mornings. (And here’s a thought. Do you have, hanging in your closet, an old, out-of-style wool coat that you probably won’t wear again but that’s too nice to send to Goodwill? Why not cut it down to make a child’s duffle coat using this pattern?)

But what about those winter days when the temperature falls below freezing? To add additional warmth, we’ve provided pattern pieces for an insulated lining that you can make either with or without sleeves. Here’s a view of the sleeveless vest version of the liner.

The lining is designed to be flexible. In addition to the vest or full-sleeve version, you can select from a variety of fabrics and insulation. Quilters who are sewing for children in more temperate climates might want to use quilting cottons and batting to create a quilted lining. Those of you living in areas where the thermometer doesn’t edge above freezing for months at a time may want to use a thicker, warmer fabric and a more contemporary (and warmer) insulation material. The choice is yours.

The lining attaches to the jacket with little elastic loops that are sewn into the binding and that attach to buttons sewn onto the coat. This makes it easy to insert and remove the lining quickly. It’s not complicated to make at all.

The coat can be finished with either the duffle toggles or with button tabs. This post features a toggle version of the coat. We’ll show a cute little version made using the button tabs next week.

There’s one other element of the coat that I want to highlight. In addition to the button tabs or toggles, the coat features two hidden snaps to secure the coat and ensure that it stays closed against the elements. I’ve designed the coat with only two snaps, instead of the more obvious three, because many kids like to wear their coats gaping at the neck.

The two snaps allow the coat to be left open at the neck and still look clean and finished.

Many of you have asked for a classic, cold-weather jacket and coat pattern. I think you’ll be happy with this design, and I’m looking forward to seeing your creations start showing up in the Flickr group.

Our new School Days Jacket and Coat can be made in multiple ways: as a lined raincoat, as a fall jacket, and as an insulated winter coat with a removable quilted lining. The lining even has options. You can make it either with or without quilted sleeves.

You also have a choice in closure details. You can use either a traditional duffle toggle or a button tab. You may be happy to hear that as a courtesy for our website customers we’ve kitted up a few sets of the duffle toggles, snaps, and leather cording. We’re thinking that some of you who will want to use this hardware may have trouble sourcing it locally.

This post features the raincoat option of the pattern. One reason we decided to do a raincoat is that there are a lot of interesting new laminated fabrics coming on the market in the next season or two. We’ll do a separate post about some of these laminate options soon. Stay tuned for that.

The pattern cover features a laminated print from Michael Miller’s Dumb Dot line, which I like because it’s classic but fun. We used the leather cording and duffle closures on this version.

I especially like some of the details on this pattern: the big patch pockets that are positioned over the side seams (they’re more accessible, I think), the hood (which fits really well, by the way), and the duffle-style details. Since laminates can be rather uncomfortable against the skin, I thought it was important to line this jacket. And of course the lining is half the fun when you’re fabric shopping because you can pick something that either complements the outside fabric or is a complete surprise. In the sample shown in the photo above, we chose a printed quilting cotton that matches the blue dots of the laminate and has an interesting scissors print (I like how that scissors print looks a lot like the Oliver + S logo, too!). Quilting cottons work very well as coat linings since they’re soft and absorbent and come in all sorts of terrific colors and prints.

Here is another version of the coat I made for S using an Anna Maria Horner for Free Spirit laminate. (Sorry, this particular fabric isn’t available anymore, but more on that topic soon.) You might notice that on this jacket I skipped the leather cords in favor of cording made from pink cotton fabric, which adds another opportunity for a little pop of color.

What else shall I tell you about this jacket? We decided this should be rated three scissors (out of four), not because it’s difficult but because it’s a more time-consuming project. The set-in sleeves may be a greater challenge in a laminate, and the lining requires some hand stitching to finish it. But, as always, I walk you through the steps gently and methodically. And I know you’ll love the result.

Stay tuned for a post next week on the winter coat version of this pattern and, also later on, a separate post on laminates.

In my last post, I previewed View A of the Jump Rope Dress. Now it’s time for the second version of the pattern, View B.

This version is a simple, clean A-line dress with a hem that hits at or slightly above the knee for a more casual look.

The long sleeves are slim, but not tight, and I added gathered patch pockets for a fun detail. You’ve seen these pockets before on the Puppet Show Tunic. I liked them there and thought they would be a nice touch for this pattern as well.

This dress makes use of the same innovative placket construction as View A. I’m really excited about this because plackets are a notoriously tricky detail that many sewers want to do but are afraid to try.

This placket, though, is easily achievable by any intermediate seamstress who is able to follow my very thorough instructions closely. I know you’ll thrill yourself with the result you’ll be able to achieve when you sew this dress.

As a matter of fact, one of our pattern testers had been trying, without success, to copy a top with a placket that she bought for herself. After sewing this dress she understood how to construct and sew a placket and was able to finish her own top using the same technique.

This pattern provides additional room for customization by allowing you to mix and match elements from the two views. Why not try a short-sleeve version of View B for warmer weather? Or how about using the View B pockets on View A?

I’ve provided you with lots of options in this pattern, and I’m eager to see what you do with them when the pattern is released on September 8.

Our in-house model is outside enjoying the sprinklers at the playground, so Pedal (as S has named her, presumably because she has a pedal to raise her up and down) has stepped in to help introduce View A of the Jump Rope Dress.

(A quick aside before I start. A couple of weeks ago my hero, Bill Cunningham, who reports on fashion for The New York Times, did a wonderful audio slide show on shirtwaist dresses. It’s a great piece, and I highly recommend it. I had to chuckle when I saw it because I thought as I was designing this style that I was doing something unique. But it seems that the shirtwaist dress is in the air this season in New York.)

As I mentioned when we announced the new patterns last week, this dress comes in two quite different styles. This is View A–the one that’s shown on the cover of the pattern envelope. I’ll introduce you to View B next week.

I adore softly tailored clothing with subtle feminine details, and I wanted to design a dress with several of those features. This is more tailored than some of our other styles, in part because autumn feels more tailored to me. I think tailored clothing is versatile and practical, but it can also be a lot of fun.

I designed this dress so that you can dress it up or down depending on the fabrics and options you select. The samples I’m showing here are dressier. In fact, S may wear the fuchsia silk plaid sample to my sister’s wedding this fall. But imagine how it would look in chambray or a simple stripe as a school dress or a play dress. (OK, you don’t have to imagine; here’s a photo of both in very different sizes to help you visualize the results.)

This dress fits a bit slimmer than some of our other patterns. It also has a higher armhole, which is especially flattering and means it will layer well with sweaters and jackets when the weather turns cooler. View A has a slightly dropped waist with a self sash, which you could also lengthen if you want a bigger bow. The patch pockets are positioned over the side seams and have little button flaps.

The short sleeves have a tiny cuff with a button tab that matches the front placket. (And here I’m switching to photos of another sample garment.)

But my favorite part about the dress is the collar, which stands up around the neck like a shirt collar rather than the typical Peter Pan collar you might expect from a home sewing pattern. This collar is a one-piece collar with enough roll to it so that it looks like a shirt collar. But (and this is what I know you want to hear) it is much easier to sew than a traditional collar with a collar stand. I’m rather proud of this collar because I haven’t ever seen another pattern designed like this, and I think you’re going to love sewing it.

We rated this pattern as three out of four scissors because it involves more of a time commitment than some of our other patterns. There are many details in this pattern (the placket, collar, belt loops, pockets, etc.) that you won’t find in any other children’s sewing pattern. But if you know your way around a sewing machine and are willing to go slowly, be patient and diligent, and follow instructions carefully, you’ll be able to sew this dress with aplomb.

Of course the instructions are very detailed and thorough, so you won’t be left adrift while you’re sewing it. I walk you through the steps very carefully. So if you’ve always wanted to sew a partial placket like this, you don’t have to be afraid anymore. Once you understand the technique, you’ll be amazed at how straightforward it really is.

I’ll end with a quick note about the fabrics because I know you’ll ask about those, too. The pink plaid is the fuchsia silk taffeta from Della Q fabrics. (Remember that if you’re matching plaids you should always purchase more than the suggested yardage so you won’t run into trouble in your cutting. We used a little over two yards for the size 4 shown.) The black and white check is an Italian shirting I bought in the garment district here in New York last spring. It’s no longer available, but Della Q has a very similar silk gingham.

I can’t wait to see what you make with this pattern. And I can’t wait to show you View B which I’ll blog about next week. Stay tuned!

Due to a scheduled server migration, the Oliver + S website will be unavailable for between 12 and 24 hours starting at approximately 8:00PM ET on Tuesday, August 25.

Update 08/27/2009, 7:00AM ET: The website is back up, but the shopping bag is not yet working. We hope to have that fixed shortly. Thank you for your patience.

Update 08/27/2009, 9:15PM ET: Issues continue into tonight. It appears that the shopping bag is taking orders now but that no transactions can be completed. If you click the button to submit your order on the final screen in the checkout process and you receive an error message, it means that your order was not completed and you will not be charged. We hope that this issue will be corrected shortly so that orders can be accepted. Also, please note that in-bound email is arriving sporadically, but we are not able to send email out at this time. Please bear with us if you have sent an email in the last two days but have not received a reply yet. We will respond as soon as we are able.

Update 08/28/2009, 7:00AM ET: All technical issues seem to be resolved as of this morning. The website is taking orders and email appears to be working again. If you encounter any problems, please email information@oliverand.com. Thank you.

We initially developed the Popover Sundress for Issue 6 of Sew Hip, the British sewing magazine. Now you can download it for free!

Great for pursuing all sorts of naturalist adventures, or just spending a lazy summer day enjoying the sun, this loose-fitting A-line sundress has a contrast yoke with bias ties at the shoulder.

The Popover Sundress makes an excellent first project for a new seamstress–or a quick project that provides almost instant gratification for someone with a bit more experience.

The pattern comes in sizes 2-8 and provides many opportunities for customization. One early sewer even discovered that it can easily be made into a fully reversible dress.

Download a copy of the pattern today and make a little girl very happy with a new dress for the last days of summer.

Printing instructions: the pattern is provided as a PDF file sized specifically for 8.5 x 11 inch paper. Pages 1-3 should print in portrait mode while pages 4-11 should print in landscape. To provide accurate sizing of the pattern when printing the file, ensure that the option for Page Scaling in Acrobat Reader’s print dialogue box is set to “None.”

Updated, August 2010: we’ve now released a version of this pattern suitable for an 18 inch doll. You may download that pattern as well to make matching dresses for a little girl and her favorite doll.

It’s finally time to take the wraps off what we’ve been working on in the studio for the last several months and give you a preview of our new fall patterns.

This season we’re releasing a cute little shirtwaist dress and a jacket that can be made up in several different ways—as a lightweight fall jacket, as a raincoat, or as a winter coat that comes complete with a removable quilted lining. Both patterns have been designed to be very versatile, and both include many different options.

The Jump Rope Dress pattern is a shirtwaist dress featuring a rounded collar and front placket detail. The pattern includes two styles. The short sleeve style (shown above) features a folded cuff with sleeve tab, slightly dropped waist, gathered skirt, and a self-sash with belt loops. The long sleeve style features A-line shaping and bias trimmed gathered patch pockets.

The School Days Jacket & Coat pattern can handle the elements as either a hooded raincoat or a winter jacket for both boys and girls. The pattern features patch pockets and choice of duffle or button tab closure details. The pattern also comes with instructions for making an optional removable quilted lining that can be created with or without sleeves for additional warmth.

Both patterns will be released in our two size ranges: 6 months through 3T and sizes 4 through 8. They will be available on our website and at select quilt shops starting Tuesday, September 8.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be posting more in-depth descriptions of both patterns, complete with photos of the variations and interesting details on each.

August, people say, is usually a slow month. Not so at Oliver + S.

Here’s a preview of what will be showing up here over the next few weeks:

• More posts in the principles of fabric selection series
• A special summer sale
• A new free, downloadable pattern (yes, we said “free pattern”!)
• Introduction of a new paper doll friend for Oliver and S
• Announcement of our new Fall 2009 patterns

Stay tuned. The fun starts next week!