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The sewing community is abuzz with excitement!
The Oliver + S, Building Block Dress is FINALLY here!!
And the sewing, designing, and creative community collectively rejoices . . .
As for us?
We enjoy sewing and creating unique clothes for our nieces.
With a pattern . . . and directions. Errr, make that GOOD directions!
Pure and simple. . .
While we wish {and aspire} to be one of THOSE sewists . . .you know the ones . . .the ones that have a vision / see a creation and miraculously sew a creation based on the “said vision” WITHOUT the use of any pattern . . .
We are a FAR, FAR CRY from making that a reality.
We use Pinterest like many of you – to pin beautiful creations, and then scour the internet to find a similar pattern. Needless to say, frustration ensues when you can’t find the pattern you need to recreate the pinned item.
Or, as luck would have it, finding the perfect vintage pattern, only to have it available in one size – a size that isn’t even close to what you are needing to sew AND priced as a rarity.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Liesl for giving us the directions to become successful in recreating Pinterest pins and/or vintage patterns . . . based on our vision / design!! We may, or may not, have been some of the SAGA attendees referenced in the acknowledgement section who “provided enthusiastic feedback on the concept.”
No more frustration.
No more scouring the internet {except for researching a design – not a pattern, or to purchase some navy hideez (affiliate link)}.
That said, if we can design / create a garment based on the meticulous Building Block Dress directions, ANYONE {that’s us screaming at the top of our lungs} . . . ANYONE . . .can! SERIOUSLY!
We began simple with our first garment, using the techniques gleaned from Liesl’s SAGA workshop – two years ago. Then, we sewed a 2nd creation {sorry, friends . . . you are just going to have to wait on that one} . . . again, keeping it simple and checking the fit / sizing for EA.
Yet, for the Building Block Book Tour, we wanted to “step it up a notch” and test the waters on HOW GOOD this book really is {ie: Could we truly build a “new dress” using only Liesl’s Building Block pattern pieces and directions?}.
You may have heard the adage – “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Well, Liesl’s book has 642 photos and illustrations, making the book 642,000 words longer than actually written {per the adage}. Just imagine, if you will, the WEALTH of knowledge within the 152 actual pages of the book.
When we first received the book, we spent countless hours . . . well, days . . .pouring over those photos and illustrations.
GAWKING might have been a truer statement.
And then, the realization set in.
Okay, okay . . . we have known it all along. We are INDECISIVE!! Flat. Out. Indecisive. Goodness, we can’t even decide where to eat when visiting our sister and nieces for the weekend.
And now, we had 60,481 design possibilities at our fingertips.
Ummmmm. . . *insert crickets chirping here*.
Our favorite pages of the book quickly became the two pages of contents! These are GENIUS!!
Each design element has been photographed, labeled, and page referenced with thumbnail images. Yet, again – a picture is worth a thousand words!!
After familiarizing ourselves with the layout of The Building Block Dress, we reviewed our Pinterest Children’s Sewing Inspiration Board, and opted to make a variation of the Antoinette – a dress we had wanted to sew for YEARS, long before EA fell into the size range available.
Obviously, it was a loose interpretation of the dress, yet it kept a key feature – THOSE POCKETS!! Swooooooooonnnnn.
Using Liesl’s worksheet {provided in the book, as well as a downloadable version for your convenience}, we decided on the following design and features for EA’s dress:
The “dress making worksheet” is a phenomenal resource to help you stay organized!! Given the options available for design, it is a wonderful tool to guide you toward the outcome desired.
Of course, we used our fair share of post-it notes as well . . . marking various reference pages throughout the book!
While this dress appears to be a classy, simple, and sophisticated design, it is the subtle details that we might be most proud of . . .
Such as the piped, lined sleeves and hem facing – continuing the theme of the contrasting fabric of the collar and pockets.
We were shocked at how much both of these showed while EA was wearing her new dress . . . especially the hem facing! It REALLY added to the features of the dress.
The princess seams were another detail added to the provided Building Block bodice pattern. These were used to accent the lines of the pattern, AND continue the “said lines” into the curve of the pockets as well as line up with the inverted pleats on the back skirt.
Please note: the princess seams were not used to create a more fitted dress {although Liesl provides step by step instructions on how to do just that} – again, it was just for the lines!
If you have followed our sewing adventures for any length of time, you know we LOVE to add piping!! For this creation, however, we used a thicker cording to accentuate the piped areas even more!
Wow . . . we may have to use thicker cording for some upcoming creations!
Speaking of upcoming creations . . . two things:
1. Once you’ve gone to the effort of altering the Building Block Dress to “fit your design / inspiration”, make sure you utilize those alterations. In other words, make more dresses for your lucky recipient – using different combinations of fabrics, etc. – before she outgrows that size range. That is what we plan to do!! So, reader: BEWARE!! There will be more . . .
2. We have our hearts set on sewing a Building Block Dress for the youngest niece as well! Imagine: an a-line dress, with an external facing at neckline and inverted pleat in the center. Lovely, right?? That, or we might try our hands at a sailor-style garment!
So, there you have it – a creation . . . .as well as big dreams for other ones to come!
This book, and the subsequent inspiration / creations from many of you, is sure to lead to sleepless nights of visions and sewing plans!!
Yet, THANK YOU, Liesl . . . THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts! We couldn’t have chosen a better way to be inspired and guided in the design process!!
**Please note: The Building Block Dress was given to us, but as always everything written is our honest opinions.
If you would like to read more about The Building Block Dress, be sure to check out Liesl’s introductory posts {HERE and HERE} that give a GREAT overview of the book’s features!! Or, take it a step further, and sign up for one of her workshops. While the Building Block Dress provides you with everything you need to be successful, it’s always fun to get together with other sewing enthusiasts, as well as talk to / learn from Liesl herself!
Also, if you choose to order your book HERE by Saturday, September 24 at 11:59 PM, EST, you will receive 10% off {no coupon necessary} and an invitation to an exclusive Building Block Dress Facebook page.
Your dress and photos are phenomenal! Last week I signed up for her class in Nashville. So excited!!!
Awww, thanks!! We tossed around trying to make the Nashville class too . . . it’s that good, we’d go for a 2nd round. You are going to love it! Maybe we can make it up for the “book signing”.
Needless to say I ordered and am trying to figure out how to get to one of Liesl’s workshops!! So love the dress featured on EA too.
YEA Liza!! The book is EXTREMELY thorough if a workshop doesn’t work out . . .
Perfection! Love everything about this dress! Yes, now we can all make our Pinterest pins!
Absolutely . . . watch out pinterest!! Some of these inspirations might make it to reality now :).
I love the colors, piping, and fun pockets! The contrast hem facing is myour favorite though! I can’t believe how big EA is getting! Gorgeous girl and pictures. Love the review too. I hope my copy comes today!
Thanks, Emily!! You are going to have FUN with this book . . . Here’s to a full weekend of sewing, maybe?!?!
This dress is just lovely! Do you know if it is possible to tailor the pattern for knit fabric as well?
Allison, Liesl has a post that answers that question on the Oliver + S blog today. https://oliverands.com/community/blog/2016/09/building-block-dress-for-knits-and-a-few-other-things.html
What will these poor children do when they grow up and go shopping? Nothing will be made with the quality or love that you include. Maybe you could start a formal or two for the future!
We have laughed thinking about what EA might do if we took her shopping . . . for real . . .{not just to a fabric store}!! She might not wear anything we made her again.
I don’t think it’s possible to say how truly lovely that dress is and how adorable your model is! Thank you for doing such beautiful work with Liesl’s new book and for your kind words about it.
Todd! You are quite welcome . . . it all started with Liesl’s vision, and a nudge / push to get us going on making alterations. Oliver + S has given us the confidence to tackle projects we never thought were feasible. Thank you for believing in the creative minds of sewists, and investing the time, energy, and effort to make this book a reality!
Todd’s right, there are now words for how pretty this is.
Love the colour combinations and the restrained use of the print. It’s perfect!!
The Ashley Suzanne unstoppable dress creating force will be a joy to watch. Pass the popcorn!
Thanks, Shelley! We’ve got one more to share . . . and then we’ll be dreaming about designs while we work through some fabric destashing :).
Oh, this is beautiful!! I love the tie collar… and the details like the hem facing and princess seams really add to the effect! The fullness of the skirt is really pretty too.
Also… do I see ‘Fall fabric’? 😉
Thank you, Charity!! YES!!! It’s our “fall fabric” outfit for the year – well, technically, we have another one for EA. This one just kind of “happened”.