We’re pleased to have two new Lisette patterns, Lisette for Butterick B6901 and Lisette for Butterick 6902, to introduce today. This style will be great for late summer and the transition into fall. It’s this cute menswear-inspired vest and pleated trousers or short.
You probably already know I adore tailored clothing, and I designed this set to be especially chic. And it comes in two size ranges, which always makes me so happy.
The vest is fully lined and includes menswear-inspired tailored styling like buttons down the front, front and back darts for shaping, front welt faux pockets (if you’re feeling ambitious you could certainly make these into real welt pockets by adapting the welt pockets from one of our Liesl + Co patterns like the Lisboa Walking Shorts), and a self-tie back belt together with a center-back notch because I love that detail.
The pleated-front shorts and trousers have front pockets, an invisible side zipper, back darts for shaping, and belt loops at the waist.
This vest can easily work its way into your wardrobe for sleeveless late-summer styling as well as worn layered with a shirt or sweater this fall and winter. And the trousers are so classic. You can sew these pieces as a set by making them from the same fabric or sew them as separates from coordinating fabrics for mix-and-match wardrobe pieces.
You’ve got a wide variety of fabric options for this style. The pattern suggests gabardine, poplin, denim, crepe, and tropical wool. I’d be inclined to try linen, cotton twill, or a beautiful herringbone of linen or wool. And you might want to consider dressy fabrics, too, like a red satin version version. What an unexpected pop of color under a jacket that could be, or with fancy trousers for a night out? Neutrals colors will go far and work well into most wardrobes, but brighter or soft pastels would also be amazing.
I hope you’ll give this style a try. I’d love to see! You can see some styling ideas in my Lisette for Butterick B6901 B6902 Pinterest board. We hope you’ll also tag us with #sewlisette, #B6901, and #B6902.
I’m happy to be able to introduce you to our newest Lisette pattern. So let’s welcome the new Lisette for Butterick B6823.
Now that we’re starting to resume life as normal after the virus, I’m eager to dress up again. Are you, too? In fact, I’m already finding excuses to wear the skirts and dresses and heels that have been tucked away for so long. But I’m especially eager for festive events that call for extra-special clothes! A wedding, a fancy performance, a garden party or cocktail party…. Anything for an excuse to get dressed up!
It was with those occasions in mind that I designed this dress. For this style you’ll want a drapey fabric; rayon or crepe or georgette would be perfect. This is an all-season dress, so feel free to add a cardigan or a jacket and some tights when it gets cold and you’ll be all set.
The style itself is quite feminine: a shaped yoke with delicate shirring above the bust and at the front waist. A keyhole opening at the front, and a button keyhole opening with invisible zipper at the back. Fitted at the waist, with darts for shaping through the skirt, and a fun flounce that runs down the front of the skirt and around the hem for some movement when you walk (or dance?). I may have been a little influenced by Spanish flamenco dresses and their flounces here. All this time living in Spain seems to be rubbing off on me a bit.
You can choose from the short flutter sleeve or a longer sleeve with elastic at the wrist. Either way, it’s a delicate style that looks great with strappy sandals or with boots in cool weather.
I always like to see the technical illustrations for the details. Do you, too?
You can find a number of inspirational photos in my Lisette for Butterick B6823 Pinterest folder.
Pick up your own copy of Lisette for Butterick B6823 right here from the Oliver + S shop or wherever Butterick patterns are available. I hope you’ll have lots of fun sewing and wearing this one! And tag us with #sewlisette and #B6823 so we can see what you make, will you?
Today I’d like to introduce my first collaborative pattern with S, who has become quite opinionated about fashion and style. Last summer in New York, we were doing a little shopping and she fell in love with a little dress similar to this. It was pricier than something I would usually buy for a 14-year-old, but I could see why she liked the style so much.
So we’ve adapted it a bit, added an option for shorts, and we’re both quite pleased with how it turned out! Now it feels like a style that could be worn by S and her friends, but that I would also feel very comfortable wearing.
This style is a different take on the wrap dress or romper because the wrap happens in the back and ties in the front! This gives you more security, and of course it’s adjustable because of the ties. Plus, pockets!
Both views have a fully-lined bodice with princess seams to help you get a good fit, as well as a center-back zipper on the skirt and shorts to make it easy to get in and out. (And did I mention the pockets?) I’ll probably shorten the skirt and/or shorts a bit for S, but they’re both a good length for me and for anyone else who prefers to show a little less leg.
In terms of fabrics, I prefer something with a little weight and drape for this style, like crepe or a heavier rayon. But you can also use linen, cotton and cotton blends. And I’d definitely use a cotton lining for this one. Anything else just sounds too hot to me, but obviously it depends on where you’ll be wearing this. I think both styles could easily be layered with a jacket for a business environment, too.
I hope you have fun with this style, and I can’t wait to see what you do with it! You can pick up your copy of Lisette for Butterick B6760 from the shop at Oliver + S (and everywhere else Butterick patterns are sold). Don’t forget to tag us #sewlisette, #B6760 and #butterick so we can see what you make and how you wear it!
If you like color blocking as much as I do, we have a perfect new sewing pattern for you!
Here’s the new Lisette for Butterick B6708 sewing pattern. I feel like there aren’t really many asymmetrical patterns out there, and since I often find myself admiring color combinations (here are some color ideas from Pinterest if you need a little inspiration for yourself), I thought it might be nice to have a pattern in which you can combine two or more colors. Or two textures. Or you can sew the entire dress in one color as well, if you prefer. Maybe you want to play with a little flat piping instead of color? Lots of options.
The dress itself is quite simple. It’s basically a not-too-fitted sheath dress with seaming that’s a fun play on traditional princess seams. It also includes simple bust darts so you can easily make adjustments to get a good fit. But what’s really cool–to me, anyway–is that although I designed it for woven fabrics like crepe, you can also use a stable knit like ponte. So it will be really comfortable, too. I would imagine it would be quite cozy for fall and winter. And even if you sew it from one color, the style lines will keep it interesting, like a little surprise. I’m sure you’ve seen someone wearing an item of clothing that seems really basic until you look more closely and discover that it’s more complex than meets the eye. Imagine this dress sewn in charcoal heather and you’ll understand what I mean.
The back has princess lines from the shoulder, which makes it easy to fit. There’s nothing to keep you from color blocking back here, too.
I think these “lifestyle” photos are supposed to help you imagine the dress at home or at work, although that wall below looks a little flat to me. (On the other hand, I love the floor. And I’d wear those shoes All. The Time. I feel like they’re calling my name.)
I wasn’t able to find many photos on Pinterest to inspire you for this style. What I wanted to show you, however, is that in addition to color blocking you might want to think about combining a solid with a print or a texture. I love the idea of a lace overlay or a floral or a geometric for one section. My Pinterest folder for this style can be found right here.
What do you think? If you sew this pattern I hope you’ll tag us on Instagram #sewlisette and #B6708. You can pick up a copy of the pattern for yourself right now or anywhere Butterick patterns are available very soon. Have fun with it, and show us what you make!
It’s finally time to introduce you to our newest Lisette for Butterick pattern, B6681.
I get so excited about these patterns, I can hardly wait until they’re available so I can share them with you! And I love this one because it’s going to be so fun for summer.
This is a dress that looks like separates, which is why I think you’re going to have so much fun with it. I’m really glad when we can offer both short-sleeve and sleeveless views for the same pattern, too, since with sleeves this style is more wearable for work and a lot of you often prefer sleeves.
The top is an overlay, with a more fitted dress underneath. The cropped hem of the top has a fun little notch and a wide hem in addition to buttons up the back, which actually cover a back zipper for the dress itself. And you can’t see it very well in the photos, but the shoulders of the blouse have a cute triangular-shaped yoke to give it that interesting square neckline.
The skirt, meanwhile, features gentle pleats for soft fullness. You could switch to gathers instead of pleats if you want. The skirt also has a wide hem to mimic the hem of the top. Plus, pockets!
For fabrics, you can make this as dressy or casual as you like! For casual, poplin, linen, or sateen would be great. If you want to get fancy, think about lace (as an overlay on the top it would be amazing!), brocade, or eyelet. And don’t forget that you could also sew this dress so it looks like separates!
You can see a set of inspirational images on my Lisette for Butterick B6681 Pinterest board if you’d like.
I’m planning to have a lot of fun with this pattern and I hope you will too. You can pick up your copy of Lisette for Butterick B6681 right here (and everywhere else Butterick patterns are sold.) Don’t forget to tag us #sewlisette, #B6681, and #butterick so we can see what you’re doing with this one!
Wow, I’m so pleased to finally introduce you to my newest Lisette pattern, Lisette B6661 for Butterick! It’s something I’ve been working on for a long time now, mostly because I’ve been trying to decide the best way to develop it. I’ll tell you a little bit about it and why it took so long to work out the details.
I’ve been thinking about sundresses for a few years, loving the idea of criss-crossed straps and playing with stripes in the princess seams. Princess seams are so helpful for letting you get a good fit, but they can also be used to get a chevron effect when you’re working with stripes, so that’s an added benefit of this style. But the style details of a sundress like this can be tricky for anyone who needs to wear a bra. Which is probably most of us, right?
I had a sundress sort of like this when I was in high school, and my mom made me wear a shirt under it because the sides were too open. (So funny, now S would be the one to make me wear something under it!) This design, however, actually shows only a little skin even though it gives the effect of being breezy and open and carefree. So, in effect, it actually is carefree because you don’t need to worry about showing too much–or more than you intended to show. The open back is quite deceptive, actually.
A couple of summers ago we were visiting friends in Barcelona, and we were talking about sundresses while walking around, people watching. I mentioned that I was thinking about this style and my concerns about not being able to wear a bra with it. I told them I was thinking about adding a shelf bra to the construction, and after a little discussion about how it would work we agreed that it would be helpful.
A shelf bra might not sound like enough support, especially if you’re full busted. But hear me out: First of all, you might be surprised about the amount of coverage in this style because of the way the straps get wider as they reach the sides of the dress.
Plus, remember that you can always add cup liners to a shelf bra, much like with swimwear. In fact, we had a long discussion about this when I stopped in at the Butterick offices for a development meeting this past summer. (That’s when we review the details, discuss which fabrics to use for the photos, etc. ) Between the wide straps and the shelf bra with cups, I think you’ll feel surprisingly secure and legitimately carefree in this style.
The skirt comes in two lengths (of course you can sew it any length you want, but it’s all ready for you in two different lengths when you open the pattern), and I think this sundress will look great in solid-colored fabrics as well. In fact, I’ve got some salmon-colored linen waiting for my copy of the pattern to arrive one of these days. But first I have to finish some of the other things that have been waiting for me to sew them. And it will take a while to get through customs anyway.
I think it would be fun to sew this pattern in an oversized gingham or a pretty floral, but a solid would be fantastic as well! And what about an eyelet (broderie anglaise)? And of course stripes would be wonderful.
Need some inspiration for this one? Here we go. You can see more photos and ideas in my B6661 Lisette for Butterick Pinterest folder.
I hope you’ll have loads of fun sewing and wearing this dress! You can purchase the pattern right here. And please share your photos on Instagram with the hashtags #sewlisette and #B6661 so we can see how it turns out!
← Older posts
