So last year around this time I made Lila an honorary back-to-school dress and lamented the fact that she didn’t have anywhere to wear it. But she started preschool yesterday, so this is the real deal. Her very first first-day-of-school dress, an Oliver + S Jump Rope dress.
I made this version of the dress last June – I loved it on Lila and hated watching her grow out of it! The smaller-sized pattern only goes up to 3T, and it’s a slim fit, so this was my chance to make another.
It feels a bit blasphemous to pick favorites when it comes to Oliver + S patterns, but I think this one might be it for me.
There are so many great details and I love the professional-looking end results. I have pored through the Oliver + S flickr pool and the Jumprope Sewalong pool studying the dresses made from this pattern, and my favorites are the simplest ones – small prints, subtle dots and stripes, and almost solids – those seem to highlight the dress’s details and are always the one that stand out to me.
This polka dot fabric (Lucy’s Crabshack by Moda) was Jump Rope-worthy to me, and the candy-colored dots on the navy/grayish background seemed like the right combination of summer and fall to be a good back-to-school dress.
Lila is not much for dresses, and I doubt I’ll convince her to wear this one more than a few times. But she wore it on her first day of school, so I’m satisfied. The dress got lots of compliments at school, and no one asked if I made it, which always make me feel like I’ve done at least a decent job.
This is definitely one of the more labor intensive Oliver + S patterns (second only to the School Days coat in my experience), but absolutely worth the effort, and the stellar directions will walk you through every step. The pattern is out of print but available as a digital download. I will most definitely be investing in the larger sized pattern for this one. Like it or not, Lila, there will be many versions of this dress in your future.
Thanks so much for everyone’s well wishes for Lila’s first day of school. She was beaming from ear to ear when I picked her up, and has agreed to go back next week (as long as I drop her off and don’t stay, she says!) which is all I could ask for. When I dropped her off yesterday I didn’t even make it down the front steps of the school before I started crying, but it didn’t last long. Plus, I’m pregnant, so it hardly even counts.
And here she is with her new lunch bag, which was ridiculously fun to pack.
I really wanted her to be surprised when she opened it, but she begged for a peek before we left for school, and in the end I’m glad I didn’t miss out on seeing her face when she looked inside, because it was awfully sweet. Everything but the fruit came home uneaten, but all she ever eats is fruit so it was no big shock. And I had no trouble finishing the remainder when she got home.
And last, here are the couple photos I took with my phone when I dropped her off yesterday.
Already hard at work within the first three minutes of arrival:
A nice sunny reading corner:
And check out this display of preschool intimacy!
That’s her BFF, Norman. They didn’t just meet that morning, I promise…
I honestly wouldn’t think it was homemade either. The finish is very well done.
She looked adorable in it!
The dress looks great. That’s totally my favorite O and S pattern, too.
The dress looks perfect for back-to-school. I just finished view B of the same dress last night after having made view A in the spring. I really like the look of this dress, but it does take a little time to complete. I’m glad to hear that I’m not the only one who found it to be a challenge. Very do-able, but more challenging than other patterns.
Love the dress!! and those shoes too are fantastic! 🙂
I love the Jump Rope dress and this version is perfect! Glad that she had fun at preschool.:)
gorgeous dress. And I’m glad that Lila had a good day. It’s also really great that she is with Norman. Those 2 are so funny together.
So, so adorable. I think I have to invest in this one, thanks for the inspiration!
beautifully done as always, gail! i am not a cryer, but during pregnancy i became one, even over the cheesiest of things.
That fabric is just perfect! The candy dots are a sure bet to delight any preschooler:) Lila’s dress is beautiful, and I hope for you that you will get more wear out of it than you anticipate. I made this dress once – in grey pinwale corduroy – and loved it. But you’re right – it certainly is a labor of love!
Love the last photo – a real keeper:)
Love this pattern. I have made the other view for my 7yo, she wears it tunic style over leggings.
Absolutely gorgeous. I love this pattern but don’t have a girl to sew it for, it’s definitely my favourite Oliver + S dress pattern.
so so adorable!!! i love that when you (or your kids) are wearing something you made and you get compliments on it (and no one asks if you made it) Lila looks like she had a great time!
Gorgeous!! And Lila looks like she had a great day at school, I’m so glad it went great!
Thanks for your review of this pattern. I’ve had it for a while and have been meaning to sew it for my girls, but was always daunted by the three scissor rating 😉 yours looks absolutely amazing. Love!!
lovely, You inspire me to be a better mom!!!!!!!!!!
Adorable!! I need to give that pattern a go, it looks fantastic.
This is hands down one of the cutest dresses I’ve seen. Impeccable! I’m so with you on the emotional preschool drop off…. It’s a tear jerker. 🙂
to me, this is the PERFECT little gal dress. i should show it to Em and see if she’d go for it. and seriously, is lila suddenly looking so grown up or is it just me? also, i LOVE your bento box lunch! keep those photos coming, you’re an inspiration! 🙂
what a lovely little dress.
Much nicer than lots of school dressed and as with all your things, it looks like it has been beautifully made!!
I LOVE your blog and love to see all of the cute clothes you have made your little one. I have one question–where do you get all of the cute shoes that she has?? I have a little girl due next month and want her to have cute shoes. Any help would be great!
thank you! i love livie and luca (the pink ones in this post and the red ones in the header are from there). expensive, but so well made and comfy and cute!
The dress is just wonderful. I agree – simple fabrics are best for this dress, with all of its lovely details. This has always been one of my favorite o+s dresses, I might need to make one for little Maggie!! This is one where I think it is cute on little girls, but grown-up enough for older girls. Such a classic look.
The dress is great. The fabric is very cute and first day of school appropriate. Awesome job.
I love her little bento box. Did you buy it locally or online? (I’m in Portland too.)
thank you! i ordered the bento box from amazon, they have lots of cute options! here’s a link to mine: http://www.amazon.com/Koktobuki-2-Tiered-Bento-Green-Frog/dp/B003I4EAO2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1347913302&sr=8-2&keywords=frog+bento
what a cute dress :)!!!
I’m in a back-to-school frame of mind (already!) and saw this and just had to say it is so perfect! I love it.
[…] Lila started preschool five years ago, I wanted to make her a special dress for her first day. And when it comes to […]