Oliver and S time! After School Pants and Top.

In a non-normal world, I would get a chance to sew most days of the week, but it seems that lately, I get the chance to have a spurt of sewing and finish a sewing project once every week and a half or so.  I HAVE discovered that Camden is able to entertain herself for an hour or two these days while I get the chance to sew during daytime hours, which is what we call AWESOME.  Sewing always used to be a nighttime thing, but with el bebe coming, I find I better be one of those responsible folk and make sure to get enough sleep, so, I stick with knitting at night.  Sewing is one of those tricky hobbies that will keep me up until 2 in the morning...no bueno.

Happily, I was able to finish my second-ever Oliver and S After School pants and top, this time in a size 4.  I'm not sure what my reasons were for skipping from a size 2 to a size 4, but my child surely could have used size 3 pants.  She has a round little belly (which, according to her, is carrying a baby girl) that demands I size up or lengthen shirts, but her leg inseam is just over 13 inches, so, lengthening pants is just NOT necessary, for the most part.  Camden is, I think, slowly moving from average-sized to small, as she gets older.  She would just call herself a big girl and have done with it, naturally.  Anyway, my bad in choosing to do a size 4, but hey - they'll last a LONG time, aha!

I have worked with Oliver and S patterns many times, and for the most part, I find the directions great, though I like to throw myself off here and there.  There is definitely errata one would want to check out on their site, for each pattern, before beginning - or if you are way stuck and pretty sure something isn't right. I have found some of the patterns needed more careful editing, but that's my critical editing eye coming out in me.  Also, one thing I find myself doing with Oliver and S pattern sheets:  Chippity-chopping them UP, son!  I know that may be pure blasphemy to some, but those suckers are sooooo big that I can't stand wielding them while trying to trace, so, I rotary cut them down to size to make tracing easier, and hey - they still fold up all nice and pretty.

Speaking, too, of paper patterns, I am crazy and prefer to use a pencil when tracing, though some are definitely more comfortable with a pen.  I find I would just have to fix too many things to WANT to use a pen, so, that doesn't work for me.  But check out which SUPER COOL pencils I DO use:  stacking point pencils (and WHO knew that was the proper name?! I will never call them that, neva'.  I will stick with my fancy "changeable lead pencil.")  And I know they're a waste.  Don't hate.  It's a childhood memory or some such.

Lastly, I have to give a shout-out to the tracing paper I love to use, as it's so great and sturdy and see-through (duh) and iron-able.  I don't know what I pay for it locally (I buy it at Modern Domestic - best place ever - great ladies, classes and sewing machines!!), but this Swedish tracing paper is available on Amazon, too.  You can sew with it and even make a quick muslin, if you need to.

As for the After School pattern, I loved it the first time I did it - it's pretty stinkin' easy.  Just keep track of those front and back yokes, as there are four separate pieces.  As I said above, because of my little girl's belly, I usually like to lengthen shirts, especially with Oliver and S.  I don't know if that means the shirts run shorter, or if it's really just her belly.  I forgot this time, so, I'm glad I did the size 4, as it fits nicely right now.  If I'd done the size 3, which would have fit her a bit better, I definitely would have needed to lengthen it.  When I first came across this issue with the patten, I just added a band to the bottom, no biggie.

Gosh, that was so long ago!!!

As for her the size 4 pants I just made, I hemmed them on the longer side, but then I blind hemmed them up another 2.5 inches, as they were so long.  They are at the perfect length.  As you can see below, I used the same fabric, but in a different colorway.  Hey - keeps my life easy, and I planned it that way, LOL!  I got fancy and top-stitched in a contrast to match the reddish-orange leaves, but I didn't get any crazier than that.  With the ruffles it already has, I didn't want to go overboard.

Let me know if you have any questions on construction.  The size 4 pants would easily fit your child in length if she has a 15-15.5 inch inseam.  Sometimes, you have to play with hemming things shorter or longer, so, always remember that.  With my blind hem, I can take that out later, easy cheese cream pie!