Alabama Tea Party

A few months ago, I wrote a post about Natalie Chanin's Alabama Stitch Book on my personal blog. I adore Natalie's work, her book, and her sustainable approach to clothing and design.

Following my post, I received a very kind email from Natalie, which started a lengthy series of conversations via email and phone. It's been a pleasure to get to know her, and we've started to collaborate on a few ideas which I'll tell you about when the time is right.


In the meantime, I was thrilled to open this month's issue of Cookie magazine and discover a feature article about Natalie, her family, and her company. And there was an additional little surprise in the article: a Tea Party sundress, made using Natalie's own fabric and construction techniques.

You can see another photo of the dress (and her adorable daughter) and read more about it on Natalie's blog. Thanks, Natalie!

in the mail

We got fan mail!

as seen in New York

Boutique sewers, here's your chance to use those labels! We've lined up two shops here in Manhattan, two sweet little boutiques that want to carry Oliver + S handmade clothing.


If you'd like to lay claim to selling your sewn garments in New York City, drop us a line at information@oliverands.com. We're assembling a list of interested craftspeople and will pass along that list to both shop owners. The shop owners can then contact you to negotiate terms for a small collection of Oliver + S clothing styles in their shops.


Please note that Oliver + S won't be part of these business arrangements; we're merely making introductions so you can start discussions and hopefully work together to assemble a collection that will be unique to each shop. The specifics are up to you and the shop owners to work out.

Good luck, and happy sewing!

P.S. Regarding the photos: I love that word, "purveyor". Makes me wish we had used it in our branding. I mean, "Oliver + S: purveyors of quality sewing patterns for children's clothing" is a bit long, but it has such a nice sound to it, doesn't it?

the boutique sewer program launches at last!

During the three years that I've written a blog, I've really come to love the crafting community. There are so many wonderfully creative people out there with so many ideas and skills, and they all seem to be the nicest, most friendly and warm people I've ever met. I've made friends all over the world through my blog and have had some terrific conversations with other sewers and crafters about all sorts of topics. I've even had the pleasure of meeting some of my on-line friends in person!


One of the topics that frequently surfaces in the blogging world (and in the general crafting world as well) is one of copyright and fair use. The creator of a design or a pattern invests a great deal of thought and energy (and sometimes money) into his or her work. Some designers attempt to control their work by imposing stringent "do not"s and "cannot"s around it. Others essentially let go of their work and any control over it.

It seemed to me that there must be a middle path here--a way to allow others to use a design as a starting point or an inspiration and to take it in their own direction while still maintaining ownership of the original idea and being able to financially support the continued production of new ideas.

Essentially, it boils down to this: as the holder of the copyright for my patterns, I need to maintain control over those patterns and how they are used to be able to continue to create more work. But I also want to permit individual sewers to make and sell garments based on my patterns, and I want to enable people who don't sew to purchase garments based on the patterns (because I certainly can't sew all those clothes myself!). So I wanted a way in which I could protect my copyright and the investment I've made in this company while allowing sewers to use my work to make garments that they can sell.

It look a long time, but we've come up with a solution that we're launching today, and we hope you'll like it! We're calling it the Boutique Sewer Program.

The idea is simple. Through the program individual sewers can purchase licenses to make and sell garments from Oliver + S patterns. Each license comes with a label that must be sewn into the finished garment before it is offered for sale. The presence of the label indicates that the garment has been created from an Oliver + S pattern and is being sold with the permission of the design's copyright holder.

By purchasing a license, the sewer agrees to abide the terms of the program, which you can read here (be sure to read the FAQ and Terms pages). Sewers may purchase more than one license at a time and can make more than one garment for sale, but each item must be unique and handmade (in other words, not made in a factory or in large quantities).

The cost for one license is $6.00, and the license can be purchased only via our website (so that we're able to keep track of all the licenses that are sold). You, in exchange, can market the garment as being made from an Oliver + S pattern. And as the program grows (which we hope it will), we plan to add additional features. We'll be highlighting some of our favorite licensed items on the blog and in our newsletters, and eventually we would like to add some additional functionality to Boutique Sewer Program section of the Oliver + S website.

So if you've been wanting to make and sell something based on one of our patterns, please try it out. The licenses are available for purchase starting today. Shipping is included in the cost of the license, and we can't wait to hear what you think of the program!

fall preview

Meet Oliver.


We needed a boy around here, didn't we? This fall when the evenings start to cool down, Oliver and his friend, S, will both be sporting easy-to-sew, kimono-inspired pajamas.


During the day, Oliver and S can both wear their favorite Sandbox Pants to the playground, along with freezer-paper-template starfish painted on their t-shirts.


Meanwhile, S ...


... has a few daytime options of her own. For playing paper dolls with friends, she might wear her Playdate dress.


If she's headed off to school, perhaps it's the 2 Plus 2 pleated skirt with gathered-front tunic blouse.


On weekends, her Sunday Brunch jacket and skirt look great at the neighborhood creperie, where she goes with her parents (with Nutella crepes for dessert!).


No matter what the occasion, we think they'll both be suitably dressed.

All patterns will be available in August, with an expanded size range from 6 months through 8 years. And for the next two weeks, all website orders for Spring collection patterns will include a fall preview paper doll set, featuring both Oliver + S and their new fall outfits. Enjoy!

where I've been for weeks now, in spirit

Here we are in Portland, Oregon, preparing for the spring International Quilt Market, which begins this Friday. Market is an enormous trade show for quilt and fabric stores, where new products like fabrics and patterns are shown and available for wholesale orders. We'll be previewing our fall collection, which will be available for purchase in August.


And here is our booth before setup. Lovely and inspiring, yes? Ah, but just wait; I'll post the After photos very soon. The booth itself hasn't changed much since last time, but maybe I can give you a quick glimpse of the new collection!

Tomorrow we finish setup, prepare for our first Sample Spree (ask Gina for details), and then survive the infamous Spree and its aftermath (as well as packing up anything left over--please let there be no leftovers!) before collapsing into bed at the end of the day, probably sometime around midnight. Glamorous and exciting would describe it. Oh, yes!


I'll be back soon with tales to tell, I'm sure. Hopefully they'll be positive tales of heroism related to the US post office and my three missing samples.

puppet show tunic: little details

The Puppet Show Tunic has lots of little details that make it different from most children's clothing you see in stores.



At first, this pattern had a gathered skirt. But as I pushed the design a bit (nothing like the stress of a deadline to add inspiration to a design, hmmm?), I changed it to a curved seam with two little darts in the skirt. The darts add fullness, making the skirt stand out a little from the body without being too flouncy or frilly. I like the way it curves over the rounded belly of a toddler, too, so that it doesn't constrict or prevent movement.


The cuffs are easy to sew; when they're open, they're a simple rectangle of fabric with a space between the ends.


When buttoned, the gap forms a little pleat that adds volume and dimension to the sleeve. This detail is actually much easier to sew than the more traditional sleeve placket, and it looks cute, too!

puppet show shorts

This may very well be my favorite piece in our first collection. I designed these shorts for Tsia (aka "S") last year, and she wore the prototype all summer long. They looked so cute that I knew they had to be included in the line.

Initially we called these the "bloomer shorts," but we were afraid the name might be a bit confusing and too long (there are only so many words you can fit comfortably on the pattern envelope, after all). Still, the combined name really is an excellent description of the design; they're more shorts than bloomers, but they have a little bit of gathering at the leg openings that hints at bloomers without being too old-fashioned. In fact, I think they're downright modern. I've seen several high-fashion grown-up versions of shorts like these on the runway over the past few seasons, and they're adorable, although perhaps not quite as adorable on me as on those chopstick-legged models. Or on little girls.

The shorts are also very simple to make. One of the downsides to combining our patterns into outfits is that one difficulty rating applies to the entire outfit. Thus, the puppet show outfit is ranked a "three scissors" difficulty. (In truth, however, it's not really a difficult style; it just takes a bit more time and patience because of the sleeves and cuffs.) The shorts by themselves would probably be rated a one- or two-scissors difficulty level. They're quite simple to make and come together very quickly.

Here they are in action last summer. (The tunic isn't my design.)

Please note that there is one correction to the pattern: before attaching the bias binding at the leg opening, be sure to trim one end of the binding by 1 1/2" to allow for the gathering and bloomer effect.

See our errata page for a diagram of the correction and for updates and revisions to the other patterns.

We're already breaking out the bloomer shorts at our house; today it's supposed to be in the high 70's!