sailboat top | oliversfancy

Since the general consensus after Oliver’s sailboat top was that Eliot needed a coordinating one, I decided to use kcw as an excuse to make him one. First off, I needed a palate cleanser (thank you Kristin for inspiring me with that phrase!) after working on Halloween costumes (more on that Saturday) for 3 days straight and secondly, how could I not participate in the storybook theme?! The book lover in me just couldn’t resist.

Stripes and primary colors always remind me of Dr. Seuss- specifically Red Fish, Blue Fish (which is one of Eliot’s favorite books). This outfit may not scream Dr. Seuss to you, but it gives me that same fun vibe I get from his illustrations. I love anything Dr Seuss, and in fact have a small hoard of the Kaufman fabric line of his characters- you can see some of that way back here in Oliver’s toddler backpack. However I didn’t want to just make a shirt out of that fabric because it seemed a little too obvious. I kinda like the subtle nod to Seuss that I give in this top.

The fabric is the same as Oliver’s version just inverse colors (both from Mill End in Portland). I made this sailboat top in the 18-24 month size. Eliot measured into the 12-18 month size but he grows so quickly these days that I made it a size up to give him plenty of room. It’s a wee big- you can see that I rolled up the sleeves but it’s not ridiculously huge. I think it’s the perfect size to carry him through the winter.

I mentioned this in Oliver’s version but I want to say it again. I do think this top runs a bit on the short side so if your child is tall or on the upper end of a size, you may want to add a bit of length to the hem. Other than that, I have no complaints with this top. I’m not normally a facings fan, but I love how they turn out in this version. Typical Oliver+S style- everything is so professional-looking.

Love that I could make this top from pattern tracing to final buttonhole in one nap time. Granted I was pushing it as I was sewing on the buttons as Oliver was coming out of his room, but I made it! And Eliot just looks adorable, if I do say so myself. He’s still got that great toddler chub and I just love to squeeze it!

I also love that so far, both my boys are huge book worms. They would be so happy for me to sit and read them book after book! I’ll leave you with these final two pictures taken after the sun started to go down and we caught just a bit of the “golden light” time. So ethereal looking!

You know those days where you have to-do lists a mile long, but you just wanna blow them off and do something completely different? That was me earlier this week. I’ve had this Oliver+S sailboat pattern for oh, about 2 years and I have just never gotten around to making it. I just realized that my copy only goes up to a size 3T and Oliver is wearing 3T, occasionally 4, so he’s about to size out of this pattern.

This was no where on my list, but I just decided to have some fun and go for it. After all, I couldn’t let him size out of a pattern before I’d even made him something from it, could I? I pulled out this great heavyweight striped knit that I got at Mill End in Portland (why, oh why did I not buy more knits while I was in fabric mecca?) and got to work.

This top was seriously so quick to whip up! The reason I’d been putting it off so long is that I was afraid it would be long and complicated, and I just didn’t have time to put into it. Yeah, it was so much faster than I’d anticipated and very straightforward. It really only took me a couple of hours from start to finish- including tracing the pattern and cutting out the fabric. I love that this knit is a heavier weight so it feel more like a sweater- which is what Oliver needs more of for this fall. I also love the swingy shape of the top and the contrast buttons. I started out using an orange contrast thread for the facings but didn’t like the look it gave the top so I ripped it out and used an off-white instead. This way the orange buttons really pop.

My only complaint is that it’s just a wee bit too short so it won’t be too long before he grows out of it. It shouldn’t be too big of a deal this winter though because he will probably be layering another shirt underneath this one. However, If I make him another one, I will add a few inches to the bottom hem to make the top last a little longer.

Every time I use an Oliver+S pattern, I fall in love with them a little bit more. The instructions are just so well written and you end up with such a professional finish. Bonus part is this was a paper pattern so a nice break from all the printing and taping I’ve been doing for pdf patterns recently!

I have another yard of this same knit in a coordinating color way- with blue being the main stripe and off-white the smaller one and am debating on making Eliot a sailboat top from that. Too match-matchy? Hmmm…Feel free to weigh in your opinion in the comments! I don’t dress them alike too often but they get a kick out of it right now so it’s fun to do it every now and then…

FYI his jeans are the small fry skinnies I made him for vintage may. I think they are one of the most-worn items of clothing I have made him and he gets compliments on them all the time. Definitely worth the time I put into them!