I rarely pay attention to children's sewing patterns, but Oliver + S have nudged their way into my periphery with their adorable paper doll envelope art and popular online presence. This is classically cute stuff, people. Like shrunken grownup clothes, with empire waist lines.
For my niece's 2nd birthday gift, I decided to give the company a try. I obviously love sewing from indie sewing patterns and it's fun to try new ones, especially when it's a baby pattern that allows you to make a full jacket from one tiny yard of fabric. I thought a jacket might be appropriate for her late September birthday, so I went with the Sunday Brunch Jacket pattern.
The name of this pattern cracks me up, because it makes me think of a table full of babies drinking Mimosas on the patio of some trendy brunch joint that serves things like lemon ricotta pancakes. Mmm, brunch.
This is a PDF pattern that was easy to align and tape together because there are one-inch grid lines printed on all the pages. Hey, it's the simple things that win my heart. This jacket was so fun to sew, and even though I didn't originally plan to blog about it, the result was so stinking cute I just had to.
The pattern size range is 6 months to a size 8 (does that mean 8 years old? Good thing my clothing size isn't associated with my age anymore). I sewed a size 2T since my niece just turned two and is within the weight range for that size. Since I don't have kids of my own or know how kiddo sizing works in store-bought clothing, I can't say how an Oliver + S size 2T compares to an off-the-rack size 2T.
Edit: Baby's mama has since told me that the jacket fits well in the shoulders and arms but is a bit short in the torso. She apparently already wears some 3Ts in ready-to-wear.
For the jacket shell I used a stretch denim in a rich teal color. The inside is supposed to be finished with facings and decorative bias tape, but I went for a full lining. The lining here is a quilting cotton with colorful peacocks.
I admit I was making it up on the fly when I was drafting the lining, and I actually cut the front lining pieces far too narrow at first. I didn't realize this until after I had sewed on the whole lining, clipped all my seam allowances, turned everything right sides out and tried to hem the damn thing. The bottom edges were misaligned by several inches. I nearly drove all the way out to JoAnn's again to buy more fabric and start from scratch because I hate, hate, hate reversing my work and unpicking the daylights out of some serged seams. Though frustrating, I chose to fix my error and move on. I guess I can say the lining is "bagged" but I'm not gonna claim expertise on that.
Hey, sassy peacock, I see you.
The pattern doesn't call for covered buttons, but how could I resist? They fit perfectly with this style.
I cuffed the jacket sleeves, rolling them up twice to reveal the lining but hide the raw edges, and slip-stitched them secure.
I unfortunately don't live in the same place as this babe, so I don't have any clear photos of her actually wearing it. But I do think the parents approved! The baby likely showed a substantial amount of genuine disinterest. Lemme show you these cheeks anyway:
Happy birthday, sweet cowgirl.
Love,
Your weird aunt who will forever send you handmade clothes on your birthday instead of money. xoxo
Who else has made an Oliver + S pattern? Did the end result melt your heart?
