When we released our first pajama pattern, early in the life of Oliver + S, we had no idea how popular it would be. I wasn’t familiar with the tradition of making and giving pajamas for Christmas. But it makes a lot of sense: not only do pajamas make a thoughtful and cozy gift , but they look great for gift-opening photos on Christmas morning.

The Sleepover Pajamas are our newest pajama pattern, designed in response to your requests for larger sizes (now that all our patterns go up to size 12) and because many of you wanted button or snap fastenings. And hey, it just seemed like time for another pajama pattern! I’ve made countless numbers of the Bedtime Story Pajamas for S, and we were both ready for a new style.

As always, the details are what make them so fun. The style itself was inspired by vintage baseball jerseys. The pattern features  a contrast fabric external facing that forms the button placket which is very easy to make and finishes the neckline all in one go. Many of you will be happy to see that there are no fiddly collars for this style.

The pockets match the styling, with a contrast hem at the top edge.

The pants feature contrast fabric at the waistband and at the hem, and once again we’ve eliminated the side seam for extra comfort. (I wish my pajama pants were this comfortable.)

You’ll notice that the sleeves and the pants both have cuffs that are designed to be unfolded so the pajamas can be worn longer. The old adage that children grow up before they grow out certainly seems to hold true, so you’ll get extended wear out of the pajamas this way.

I’ve been showing you version B of this pattern, with all the feminine little ruffle details. This view takes longer to sew (ruffles, while sweet, also command a little extra effort to make), but the payoff is really high.You could also use ruffled trim here instead of making the ruffles yourself. I’ll talk more about ruffled trims very soon.

View A, without the ruffles, is appropriate for both boys and for girls.

This pattern, along with our other new styles, will be available here and at our retailers beginning in early September. Watch the blog for an announcement about when the patterns are available.

Here are some photos of the After-School Shirt + Pants made by our testers. I know you like to see lots of versions of the patterns to help you get fabric ideas for your own sewing, so thanks again, testers!

Jeanne made her daughter the shirt using fabric from Modern Workshop.

The red buttons are perfect with this print.

And then Jeanne just kept going (I guess she likes the pattern?) and made another shirt using fabric from Annela Hooey’s popular collection, Sherbet Pips.

She chose a yarn-dyed stripe for the pants.  This is View A from the pattern, with no ruffle, and it would be great for boys as well.

I love how she changed the direction of the stripes at the lower side panel instead of using a second fabric.

She changed the stripe direction for the back pockets, too. Cute, yes?

And here is the entire outfit made by Karen. I love how it looks on the little, little ones. And coordinating the View A ruffles with the shirt makes a nice ensemble. The print is from Denyse Schmidt’s collection for DS Quilts.

So do you know what fabrics you’re going to use yet?

We’ve done a lot of patterns for dresses over the years, but not a lot of pants for girls. I was thinking specifically of the girls when I designed this style, but some of you have correctly pointed out that it can work for the boys as well. So don’t let me stop you. I think you’re right!

The shirt is a pull-on style with asymmetrical buttons at the front and back. This is a loose-fitting silhouette with long sleeves and a little bit of flare in the shaping, just for the fun of it. You could have a lot of fun with the yoke here, using a contrast fabric, adding piping or trim to the yoke seam, or playing with contrast topstitching. And of course you can always play with the buttons themselves and select something unique or exciting for a little added interest. In the first photo below, I chose green buttons to coordinate with the green in this print. In the second photo I chose yellow buttons to highlight the bits of yellow in the print. Both prints are from our Cape Ann collection, which will be in stores this October.

The pants are rather unique and allow for lots of customization. I really can’t wait to see what you do with this pattern because I think you’ll find all sort of ways to play with it. The pattern includes a separate side panel with a lower piece near the hem that is designed to be cut from a second fabric–a contrast or complimentary print, perhaps.

The pants have front and back pockets, a shaped yoke that makes a little “V” in the back (somewhat reminiscent of blue jeans) and an elasticized waistband. Easy to sew, but with lots of great details that I think you’ll enjoy customizing.

Building on the subtle ruffle theme of our fall patterns, View B (which is shown in all the photos in this post) includes the little ruffles on the front pockets and along the side panel at the back. They’re cute and girly without being too frilly or over-the-top. But if you’d rather make them without the ruffles, View A is the version for you.

I’d love to see some piping on these pants, or some color blocking (maybe a different color for the entire side panel?). Like I said, I think you’re going to have a lot of fun with this pattern.

This pattern will be available on our website and at Oliver + S retailers worldwide beginning the first full week of September.

I know many of you love getting to see our sewing patterns made up in different fabrics to help you imagine which fabrics you’ll choose for your sewing projects. So here are some additional views of the Apple-Picking Dress made by our testers. Thanks, testers!

This little dress was sewn by Melani using Moda’s New of Jewels fabric, which is a lovely cross-dyed fabric that is no longer available. Melanie accurately describes it as heavier than a quilting cotton, more like a mid-weight linen, and said it sewed up beautifully. I love the color, and it’s awfully sweet on this little honey.

Aprli (you know April, right? She writes the nicest posts for us.) made this gorgeous version for her daughter using linen. She combined the long sleeves from View B with the second ruffle from View A and lengthened the skirts a bit so they end just below the knee.

And Jan made a polka dotted version for her little one. I think they’re both awfully cute (the dress and her daughter).

All these photos show the double-ruffled skirt from View A, and I know many of you are clamoring to see View B with the single ruffle. I’ll try to dig up some photos to show you soon!

The Associate Press just put out a lovely piece about Little Things to Sew. The article was written by Holly Ramer and includes this cute photo of a little girl wearing the Reversible Bucket Hat. Your local newspaper may have picked up the story, or you might see it sometime in the next week.

(Associated Press/Holly Ramer)

Included in the article is a link to a free download of the bucket hat pattern and instructions, so if you haven’t purchased the book yet you can try the pattern for yourself.

Here is a link to the article in The Washington Post. Have you seen it in your local paper yet?

Like many of our patterns, this dress has been wandering around in the back of my mind and on the pages of my sketchbooks for quite a while. This season it finally makes its debut.

I love the look of a drop-waisted dress. It’s sweet and feminine while also being a relaxed style that’s easy to wear. It’s also a very versatile style, and this dress will take on very different personalities depending on your fabric choices. I’d love to see it in a dressy fabric like silk dupioni for special occasions, but it will also be a terrific play dress this fall made up in a fine-wale corduroy or in our new brushed cotton, which feels soft and cozy like flannel. And of course it looks really cute in quilting cottons and in shirtings as well. I’m a sucker for a good yarn-dyed stripe.

The styling is a little bit vintage but still very contemporary. The wide front placket looks double-breasted (it’s not, however, because that would put too many layers of fabric all the way down the front of the dress, which would make it stiff and uncomfortable to wear), and the tie at the collar is cut on the bias so it drapes nicely and makes a soft bow.

You can choose from 3/4-length sleeves or long sleeves, and you’ll get two completely different looks with the double ruffle at the hem or the single ruffle. And if you really get carried away,you could also make a cute tunic using just the shorter of the two ruffles, which would look really cute with leggings or jeans.

I personally like this style best when made up in a solid color or a simple, subtle print or texture. The pattern works very nicely with the toile from our upcoming Cape Ann collection, as shown in these photos, and would also look great in the ticking stripe or in the smaller prints from that collection. It could be a lot of fun in the right big, colorful print, too. And what about using two different prints for the two ruffles? See, I know you’re going to make some interesting and unique dresses from this pattern.

This pattern, as well as all our other fall styles, will be available during the first week in September.