The Olivia Top {CINO Pattern Tour}

 So the fabulously talented Jess from Craftiness Is Not Optional has been making the cutest clothing for her little girls for years now. Every single one is drool worthy, seriously. Now she is making patterns! Her first The June Bug which is a favorite and I made a version from her tutorial way back when. She was also one of the designers from the 5&10 designs, which I made her version from that pattern HERE. Well she released a new one the Olivia Dress. I was thrilled to be able to be a part of her pattern tour one because I got to make not one but two cute tops for my girls and because Jess is one of the nicest bloggers out there. We even got to meet once and she is just as sweet in person.

 So I made one top for Penny because the pattern goes down to a size 6-12m and that’s awesome. Penny is pretty petit so it’s pretty large on her (a little more than intended) but she is a baby and babies grow rapidly so it will fit her for awhile and I am good with that.

 I also decided to make one for Abbey because the picture of Jess’s girls all decked out in Olivia tops/dresses made me really want them to match without being overly matchy 🙂 Abbey is a little challenging size wise to make stuff for, she is tall and thin, but her height is all in the bodice. Making the Olivia custom to fit her needs was super easy, and the pattern size chart is really clear so we did a size 2T bodice and size 6 length. It was perfect, because of the roomy design it should fit her for awhile as well, and if it starts to get short I can just add another band of fabric at the bottom.

 So I did make a few very minor changes to the pattern. I made the short sleeve version but I skipped the elastic in the sleeve and opted for a slightly larger hem. Abbey’s is gathered like the pattern but for Penny’s I did an inverted box pleat at the top of each sleeve.

I really love the way they coordinate without being over the top. I used the same blue chambray stretch linen (yep you read that right, Chambray stretch linen yum)  that I picked up from Michael Levine for both tops. I added white stretch poplin from Joanns for the contrast and then I cut strips and turned the edges under and top stitched them on to add the stripes. The bottom is a band that I cut and added. Penny’s contrast fabric is a sheet set from target. I LOVE the print and the sheet set was on clearance for like 5 bucks so it was a total steal and this just used the pillow case 🙂

So you should hop over and pick up the Olivia Top/Dress pattern now so you can make up a million. They have top and dress lengths and 3 different sleeve options so there is a ton that you can do with it, and Jess knocks it out of the park with her clear instructions and great pattern.

Also you can check out the whole pattern tour (it’s pretty great)