Tula Pink meets Oliver and S for Kids Clothes Week

In the next late-blog post that should have been written last week....

Here is an ADORABLE skirt that has already been worn twice since I made it -

This skirt - the Oliver + S Hula Hoop Skirt.  It's reversible.  It's girly, but not frilly.  It has a drop waist, and a flounce that shows off the underside accent fabric.  Enough said?

Once I figured out where the notches go, it took me no time whatsoever to put this together.  Since I made this one, I slapped together another one that is waiting patiently to get photographed....

The fabric is quilting cotton from Tula Pink's Elizabeth line from my shop.  I love using a bold print for a skirt; it doesn't overpower the kid and you can be as funky as you like.  And, I seriously love some funky prints....obviously!!

And, yes, you can dance in it!!

First up for Kid's Clothes Week Spring 2015....

This is how blogging during Kid's Clothes Week ends up - a back burner to the actual sewing and photographing.

This dress was made probably in 5 minute spurts; lots of them.  This was actually how I used to sew in the "old days" when my 3 older kids were little.  I would just leave a project out on the sewing table, and every time I walked by, I'd sew a teeny bit.  Things actually did get made that way.

This dress started because we got a bunch of really nice linen in the shop.  Now, when I was a kid, and I would shop with my mom, she would always tell me never to get linen because it wrinkles too much.  Since learning more about fibers, and kids clothes, I think that linen is perfect for kids clothes.  Yes, it wrinkles.  Yes, you can both wash and machine dry it.  You can iron it.  It's super durable.  So, if you can stand an imperfect slightly wrinkled look on your kid (which I actually like) then linen is for you.

This pattern is the Little Ellie dress from Peach Patterns (formerly Wink Designs).  It's a really sweet pattern - what I absolutely love is the round yoke.  The directions are excellent, and the yoke kind of goes together like a magic trick with no exposed seams anywhere. 

So, the red linen is a great dress weight.  My child likes breezy dresses, and this is what she gets.  The print fabric is a quilting cotton - a very large scale print by Jane Sassaman's Wild Child collection.  I'm a huge lover of large scale prints, but probably not on an entire dress.  When you cut it up as an accent, it's pretty much perfect.

See the butterfly?  So, it works for Kids Clothes Week theme of Wild Things, right??

Oliver + S - All The Skirts (by me!)

Have you been following along with the ladies' at Skirt Fixation and their quest to sew All The Skirts?

Well, they asked me to round up the Oliver + S skirts I had sewn - it was quite a little trip down my sewing-memory-lane...

The absolute first pattern I bought and garment I sewed using an Oliver + S pattern was the Sailboat skirt - I combined it the Hopscotch top for an adorable outfit for my then 18 month old:

When girls are still little, they have a combination of diaper butt and protruding gut that makes skirt wearing (in my opinion!) a bit of a style challenge.  But, not to be deterred, I made another:

I have made a few of the Lazy Days skirts - a FREE, and totally simple skirt with an ingenious hem finish:

Another pattern that I've made multiples of is the Hopscotch Skirt - I made a denim version with no pockets, and a linen/cotton one with pockets.  For both, I didn't do buttons down the front; I just sewed the buttons on through all layers.  The skirt pulled on easily, so for my kid's shape, functioning buttons were not necessary.

Another super cute pattern that I need to re-visit is the skirt from the Sunday Brunch pattern...

I have an idea to make this in a knit - I think my daughter would really love it in a comfy fabric.  It's a great pattern!

I've also sewed multiples of the 2+2 skirt - a great pleated skirt pattern - can't go wrong with a pleated skirt!

It seems as if I rarely pair the skirt/top from the same pattern - which really shows you that the Oliver + S patterns are very versatile and can be paired up any way you like.  My daughter wore the skirt from the Clippers outfit to death - she really liked it!

Last, but not least, was a kind of bold-colored corduroy Music Class skirt - another ingenious pattern that I need to re-visit!

So, I've not made all the Oliver + S skirts - I don't own the Badminton Skort pattern (no clue why!).  I took advantage of the discount code offered to buy a Hula Hoop skirt pattern.  And, I own, but have never made, the Swing Set skirt (although I've made the top). 

So, pop back over to the Skirt Fixation blog, and enter to win Oliver + S patterns and gift certificates to the Fat Quarter Shop!  And don't forget the discount code for the Oliver + S site - I know I didn't!