Today I am posting the black and white Stylo outfit, which is all Oliver + S patterns (donated by them for the magazine contributors).
I used the following patterns:
- Black and silver stripe top – O & S Sailboat Top
- Metallic black and white shorts – O & S Sketchbook Short
- Fur Jacket – O & S Firefly Jacket
As I posted yesterday, keeping to the patterns was difficult for me. I kept to them mainly for the blush/gold look, but changed them a bit for Oliver + S. I will let you know how I modified the patterns, and will have post up on their blog in a week or so with more details.
Black and white stripe top – O & S Sailboat Top
The fabric for this top is actually black and silver, and tends towards being itchy if you have the wrong side/right side mixed up. While metallic knits tend to look very neat…your kids will complain if the rough side touches their skin. Let me tell ya…THEY WILL COMPLAIN. They are used to soft cottons and you throw them in something mildly uncomfortable – they will not wear it. The reason I used this knit was, basically, because I had it and it fit our parameters for the black and white. I am fairly sure you can find a non-metallic knit that will sub in nicely for this itchier version.
The only modifications I made was to use a knit for this woven pattern, and I used snaps instead of buttons. This pattern goes up to a size 8, so I added an extra 1.5″ to the sleeves for my long kid who is nine. The length was about what I wanted for this, but a normal shirt I would have added more.
Metallic black and white shorts – O & S Sketchbook Short
Okay, so this bad boy…I did a bit of modification. I wanted a pair of shorts that had a cuff, and could not find any, so as a sewist (the reason why we sew!), I modified the pattern. Here is what I changed:
- Added a zip fly. The link is to an O & S tutorials on how to add a zip fly, so my contribution is to just say the only extra I cut was the fly shield and some extra length on the waist piece for the overlap. If you haven’t done a fly zipper before…it is not that hard. At this point I try to do them more often than not. My kids are at that age where they need to have clothes that have real zippers.
- Cut off 3″ from the length and added a cuff. I measured where I wanted the cuff, cut enough where I would have a little hem underneath, and cuffed at the length I needed. I sewed a seam on the bottom of the cuff, and attached at the side seams to keep the cuff from folding down.
- Added a 1″ pleat to the front. Just make sure it is even on each side. I wanted a pair of shorts with a pleat and I knew this would be wide on her. Most things are, as she is fairly thin. This brought the front in enough that I didn’t need to add any elastic to the front.
Fur Jacket – O & S Firefly Jacket
I love the pattern piece for this jacket, where it has the front and back in one piece, joined in the middle back. Unfortunately…that doesn’t work with fabric that has a nap. Like fur. I had to cut the pattern piece up, and cut it so the nap went the same way for the front and back.
If I had it to do again…I would take out that back pleat with this thick fur fabric. It is just too much for extra for this Wookie-like fur coat. I love the plushness of it, though. It just pops out a bit in the back with that extra pleat. Yes…I should probably do some seam ripping. *sigh*
The fur fabric came from Michael Levine, who generously gave us contributors a $40 gift card (Lucky you! You can use the coupon code ‘Stylo10’, which will expire 12-15-14. It is good for 10% off your entire purchase).
So, there you have it! This was a lot of fun, creatively, for me, which is why it did it. I don’t know that she will wear these often, as they are dressier pieces, but she was thrilled to have them. And to model.
Can you tell she is a camera ham??
No running away from the camera for this one!
Oh, she is one trendy your lady, love the look and the fabrics, great job as always. Kids complain about itching? Oh,ya, I would have to iron on tricot interfacing to the inside of shirts if I did any embroidery
Thanks, Lori! 🙂
Oh Lord, I hear ya, on the itching! I can’t put anything in the shoulder seams on knits to stabilize them because she thinks “it’s itchy!” She has worn this iteration of the shirt at least, and hasn’t complained too much. I used this knit for a shirt two years ago and she wore it once I think. I did make a mistake and not watch which side was itchy, so one of the sleeves went on the wrong way. I made SURE this time to pay attention!
Oh that fur jacket!!! You amaze me.
It was messy, but totally worth it! She loves the fluffy jacket. 🙂
Your photo on page four is really something. The way it is mirrored, it looks like a black and white striped feather which matches the black and white striped feathers in her fur jacket!!
I did get a chance to hold this fur jacket during the photo shoot and I can tell everyone that the fur is super soft, also that you lined it to make it nice and cozy. I bet it is warm and perfect for our fall and winter weather.
It’s always nice to be able to use fabrics from your stash for a project. I didn’t use any stash fabric for my looks, but I didn’t mind going fabric shopping 😉
There is for sure a cool vibe going on here with the pieces, the poses, & the photography! Definitely up to STYLO standards!
With the holidays coming up she is all set for dressy occasions to go out in style, do you have any tickets to any holiday shows yet?
I’m wondering if the Firefly Jacket could be sewn with sequins, not the fish scale type, but super small micro disc type. I think it could be doable since there are no buttonholes. It wouldn’t be reversible of course.
This is another great outfit you sewed, it was fun to see some older girls in this issue of STYLO.
It is so funny that you mentioned that she is a camera ham because I pretty much mentioned the exact opposite about my girl & posing on my Grey Zone post!
It was very cool how they mirrored that picture. Apparently, they liked it since they used it for the sneak peak, too. 🙂
I was glad I didn’t have to fork over the cash for all the fabrics and was able to use my stash for about half of it. The shopping was fun, though!
I know these aren’t necessarily wearable every day type of pieces full of the kids favorite character prints, but that isn’t really the point of Stylo (I saw that criticism on it in GOMI). It is for dressy and fresh ideas for kids. Who would want to look at a mag full of jeans and t-shirts?
She is definitely ready for the holidays with her new dressy clothes.
I totally think the firefly jacket would work in sequins, BUT you would need to put a collar on it or else the neckline would be up against their skin and it could be scratchy/irritating. Maybe do a satin bias bound neckline for a simple fix for that issue.
Not to worry, Rachel, your girl will eventually become a tweenager and think she is the Next Top Model. A was camera shy for a little bit and now she is making up for it LOL!
Oh that jacket is to DIE for! The whole look is super cool and looks amazing in the spread. I knew that girl had ‘model’ written all OVER her :-D!!
Thank you! Yes, she certainly likes to be a model. 🙂
I’ve been meaning to stop by and comment ever since I saw this look…amazing! Love it and I love the whole fashion shoot for this part of the spread. Looks like you guys had fun!
Thanks, Sally! Yes, it was a lot of fun to do. 🙂