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Montlake Swing Dress

Montlake is a workhorse in my wardrobe, I am constantly finding new ways to remix it.  It wasn’t until I saw a picture of my Magnolia dress a couple months ago that I remembered how much I love the swing in the hem.  I figured I could use the same idea on my Montlake for a  more spring appropriate dress for Seattle weather.

Normally when you lengthen a shirt you do that on the lengthen line in the pattern.  But since this was a matter of making the tee into a dress I lengthened it from the bottom hem.  This allows for the dress to still fit you through the bust, waist, and hips since you haven’t changed those measurement.

Remix the Stitch – Peplum Montlake

When I celebrated my first businessiversary in 2015 I compiled a HUGE blog tour highlighting some pretty fantastic bloggers.  If you weren’t around then, I highly recommend going back and checking it out.  So much inspiration. Full Collections of Posts Here

The theme of the blog tour was Remix the Stitch, where the bloggers took one of my patterns and remixed it any way they wanted.  The end result was a huge collection of pattern hacks, so many I never would have thought of.

Sew the Year May

I have been DEEP in pattern testing Eastlake this week, learning more about full bust adjustments and waist darts than I ever realized possible, and totally forgot to post about my Sew the Year May plans.  So I am remedying that today.

May is bogged down with Me Made May and this pattern test so I am going to focus on basics for myself, something I don’t sew nearly enough.  

It is no secret that my life is a funny combination of pattern designer and momming.  Basically I am all over the map and need basics I can grab for when I am running out the door to dance/gymnastics/preschool or just doing work on the computer.

Cold Shoulder Montlake

Somehow I became the 30 something mom who sees a trend but by the time I get around to it all the ‘cool kids’ have moved onto something new.  I am pretty sure that is exactly the case with this cold shoulder Montlake.

I had no real interest in making one for myself but then I went and saw this cold shoulder Bellevue remix by Becca of Free Notion and just had to give it a try with my Montlake.

A photo posted by Becca DuVal (@beccaduvalphoto) on

Two New Paper Patterns in the Shop

There are two new paper patterns in the shop!

Two New Paper Patterns - Straight Stitch Designs

It is equal parts exciting and nerve wracking when I get the copies of my paper patterns from the printer.  Even though I pour over the drafts multiple times I am always worried there is going to be some glaring mistake and then I will have a huge box of really expensive scrap paper.  Thankfully when the copies came back from the printer for Montlake and Wedgwood everything was correct, or at least no mistakes I can find right now.

Montlake Neckline Alternative

The neckline binding on my Greenwood pattern is still one of my favourite finishes for knit, I use it any chance I get.  I love how clean it looks and definitely has the RTW look that many sewists want out of their handmade garments.  As I was putting together the paper pattern for my Montlake pattern I realized I needed to add a couple pages so that I wasn’t forced to have blank pages within the pattern booklet.  So not only are the people who buy the paper pattern going to get this information but I also wanted to show all of you a Montlake neckline alternative.  This seemed like the perfect opportunity to sew up my favourite tee with my favourite neckline finish.

Maternity Montlake

Okay all you ladies with a baby belly I have a really fun post for you today.  There are no more babies joining the Paynes so I had to enlist the help of a new sewing friend, Holly, who has the cutest baby belly.  I met Holly only a few short weeks ago when she was helping me test the Montlake pattern and I knew instantly we would be great friends.  She graciously agreed to help me show all of you how you can easily modify the Montlake tee to be maternity friendly.

Montlake Tester Call

Okay ladies I am going to stop taunting you with Instagram pictures and finally throw out some proper pictures of my newest pattern ready for testing.  Montlake is a relaxed fit tee with a very low scoop neck.  The pattern includes two neckband finishing options as well as 4 sleeve lengths.  As with my other patterns, this pattern is available in sizes 0-24 which accomidates a bust size of 32″ – 50.5″.  Montlake is sure to be the ultimate tee that’s a quick sew and very flattering for all body types with a slight swing to the bottom of the shirt.

montlake_test-1