OTTOBRE design® KIDS Spring 1/2022
OTTOBRE is renowned for its straightforward patterns for beautiful and colorful children’s clothes as well as for its happy, child-centered approach. For over two decades, we have been publishing four children’s pattern magazines annually, each focusing on one of the seasons of the year. Each magazine offers lots of items to sew for babies, toddlers and schoolchildren alike. Here in the north, the changes between the seasons are very tangible – there’s snow and it’s dark in winter, whereas it’s fairly warm and extremely light in summer. The seasons are distinctively different from each other and this also applies to seasonal clothing.
Each year, we eagerly look forward to the arrival of spring and the long daylight hours. In early spring, Finnish children can still have fun with winter activities such as skiing, ice skating and frolicking in the snow. That’s why indoor clothes that are made from soft materials, and that can be worn under snowsuits, are practical. We go for bright colors and bold prints to cheer us up before the snow thaws and spring comes into bloom. We hope to share that joy of colors through our clothes also with readers in warmer parts of the globe.
We designed lots of indoor playwear for this magazine issue. To this end, we consulted our little experts in playing, in other words our lovely child models, and their parents. They gave us many useful hints! The three-year-old wanted to have pants that she could put on and take off by herself, so we left zippers out from the pants and used elasticated waists. Even though the three-year-old’s favorite colors keep changing as she learns to identify new colors, her current number-one-color is lilac. Since frills were also on the wish list, we added them here and there. Our four-year-old model loves dresses and leggings, all in pink, so she got cheerful versions of these.
One six-year-old wished for a short hoodie and was able to describe in great detail the diamond motif that she wanted on it. The diamond was then appliquéd on the hoodie front. Another six-year-old wanted a golden jacket-and-jean outfit as well as a black or grey hoodie. Golden fabric was too hard to find, but fortunately the child was happy with green, and the grey hoodie turned out to be a big hit for him. It’s worth listening to children’s wishes; after all they are the ones who wear the clothes that we sew for them. Even very young children are capable of expressing their wishes and preferences. We’ve been told that many children enjoy browsing through OTTOBRE magazines and independently choose the designs they would like to have.
You might guess that the classic jacket and jeans are the editor-in-chief’s favorite outfit too! Indeed, I used to wear a beige version for school quite a few decades ago. Also, the bright orange Ban-Lon rib knit top that I had under the jacket resembles the rib knit top designed for this magazine. I had been shopping with my mom and had been allowed to choose the clothes all by myself for the first time. I still remember the wild feeling! Shall we play some Beatles hits again…
Looking forward to the buzz of spring,
Tuula
designer - editor-in-chief