By the time we’ve finished developing each collection of sewing patterns, we always have a large stack of toiles (or muslins) to show for our efforts in addition to the nice finished samples we photograph and display.

Toiles are the rough drafts of a pattern. After a paper pattern is drafted, we make a toile to adjust the fit, revise design details, and work out the construction of the garment. It’s not uncommon to make three or four toiles before we’re really pleased with the results and are ready to start writing instructions and making finished samples.

We also test the fit of the full size range to be sure we’re happy with the grading. Most styles need to be tweaked a bit before they’re ready, and the simplest way to check the fit is to make a muslin.

I like to use muslin for toiles because we can draw or write directly onto the fabric, the fabric is inexpensive, and the print or appearance of the fabric doesn’t interfere with the design itself (although sometimes the muslin can make a garment look a bit stark–designs always look better when made in actual fabric).

Now that the spring collection is finished and shipped, I thought you might enjoy seeing a few of the toiles in all their wrinkled, messy glory.

Here are a large size and a small size Sketchbook Short, side by side:

Sometimes we need to test the fit or drape on just the collar:

or just the cuff:

Other times when we test the fit of a size, we merely indicate details so we can check placement during a fitting without taking the time to actually construct the details (again). For this size 10 Ice  Cream Dress we marked the placement and size of the pockets and seams so we didn’t need to take the time to sew them:

My favorite toiles are for patterns that have multiple views. We often save time and materials by including  several options in one muslin when we make up fit samples. The models always get a kick out of wearing one short sleeve and one long sleeve:

So there they are, before I unceremoniously dump them to clear out space for the next stack, which is already quite high. We’re hard at work on fall development!

Probably not. And that’s good because we tried to keep things looking familiar.

Over the weekend we gutted and rebuilt the Oliver + S blog and upgraded the forums. Boring tech stuff, mostly, but there are some nice new features you might want to take advantage of:

• If you have logged into the forums and you jump over to the blog, you’ll already be logged in for leaving comments.
• All individual post pages now have a section in the sidebar suggesting “similar posts.” If you like a post, follow the links under this heading to read similar items from the archives.
• If you leave a comment on a post, you can choose to be notified by email when follow up comments are left.
• We’re using a new and improved method for verifying that comments are left by real readers. (My new favorite time waster is clicking on the audio icon in the box under the comment field and listening to the little snippets of old-time radio broadcasts that play.)

If you experience any issues as a result of these changes, please let us know by leaving a comment or emailing us at information@oliverands.com.

While we’ve been preparing to make these changes, we’ve held back new blog posts. We’ll have some good ones, including a tutorial on lengthening and shortening patterns, appearing here later this week.

During the month of January, we’re giving you the opportunity to ask Oliver + S a question. Any question.

Since we opened up our Formspring page for questions, we’ve fielded over 30 excellent inquiries on topics ranging from how to make specific types of alterations to what music is playing at the studio on a typical day.

We’ll continue answering your questions here for the next couple weeks, so think of that issue that you have always wondered about and ask away.

Live in the Twin Cities area? Chances are that you’re already a customer of one of our favorite independent fabric shops–Treadle Yard Goods.

Treadle is currently hosting a special Oliver + S trunk show featuring eight outfits from our line as well as some other surprises.

If you’re in St. Paul, MN, stop by during this final weekend of the show to pay a visit and receive a 10% discount on your Oliver + S purchase. The show moves on next Monday.

Address: Treadle Yard Goods, 1338 Grand Ave. St Paul, MN 55101. Phone: (651) 698-9690.

Have you ever been curious about how Oliver + S got its start or what Liesl did before launching the company?

Liesl recently had a nice chat with Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood of the CraftSanity podcast. Their edited conversation, which answers those questions and many more, is now available for all to hear at CraftSanity.

Pay a visit to learn about some totally random stuff–like the nine-digit checks Liesl used to hand-write for a former employer. You may even learn a thing or two about the ins-and-outs of designing sewing patterns for children’s clothing.

(Oh, and in case you’re wondering, no one at Oliver + S writes nine digit checks anymore. Ever.)

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.