Thanks to everyone who participated in our recent Thanksgiving Donors Choose promotion.

During the last week, Oliver + S set aside 15% of all retail website purchases to support needy classrooms across America. Today we matched this 15%, to double your contributions, and made donations to classrooms in 10 states.You can see the projects supported on our Public Page at Donors Choose.

We selected projects 1) that will have a positive impact on children and 2) that were close to being fully funded. If you didn’t purchase last week, we encourage you to view these projects and make a small donation to help them reach their full funding levels.

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you enjoy sewing for children, or for dolls, or for children and their dolls, you’ll be fascinated by the work of Charles LeDray.

I wrote about LeDray’s show, workworkworkworkwork, at the Whitney Museum, over on disdressed. If you have a chance to see the show, it’s definitely worthwhile.

Is a fabric designer allowed to have a favorite print from a collection? Or is that too much like a mother who has a favorite child?

If it’s ok to admit it, this is my favorite print from City Weekend. I like the colors, and I think the print is useful for many applications. In fact, I’m thinking about making myself something from it.

And now my secret isn’t so secret anymore.

In celebration of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, Oliver + S is joining with Donors Choose to help support needy classrooms across the United States.

Here’s how you can help. Buy one or more Oliver + S patterns at retail price from our website between now and November 24, 2010, and we will donate 15% of the total purchase price (excluding shipping and tax) to a classroom in your state.

At the end of the week, we will calculate total sales by state and will make a donation to one Donors Choose project in each state where orders were shipped. All orders shipping outside the United States will support one or more classes in the New York City Public Schools, the home school district for Oliver + S.

Help us help teachers in underprivileged schools provide new and enriching learning experiences for their students by making your purchase today.

Please share this offer with friends and family who may be interested. And, if you make a purchase, feel free to leave a link to a Donors Choose project in your state as a comment on this post. We can’t guarantee that each will be funded, but your recommendations will provide us with a place to start when it comes time to make the donations.

From a 1928 Singer sewing guide published in Great Britain.

DO NOT OVERTRIM
The keynote of children’s dress should be simplicity, and as a guide for trimming a girl’s frock, if the bodice is embroidered or trimmed with lace, let the skirt be plain, beyond perhaps a few tucks above the hem.  A pleated skirt should have a plain little bodice, with only neck and edge of sleeve bindings for trimmings.  Flower designs and printed fabrics need very little trimming and if a bias binding be used it should be of a plain coloured material to match the ground or one prominent colour in the design.

Some ideas never change. (Thanks to April for sharing this.)

In case you weren’t lucky enough to win one of the City Weekend fabric kits that the Martha Stewart Craft Blog gave away yesterday, here’s a second chance.

Leave a comment telling us how you plan to use your bag, and you’ll be entered to win one of four additional City Weekend fabric kits for making the bag that we’re giving away.

Comments will be taken until Friday, November 12, 2010 at 9:00AM ET. We’ll draw our winners then and will announce them in a final comment on this post. Good luck!