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Pattern Swap with Melly Sews | Austin Tee

When Melissa of Melly Sews/ Blank Slate Patterns reached out to me about doing a pattern swap I was on board immediately.  I have been a long-time follower of Melissa and love everything she comes up with whether it be the patterns she designs or the clothes she sews.  Melissa decided to work with my Leschi top as a base for her planned hack, and I immediately went with her Austin tee.

I loved the split neck of the pattern and immediately envisioned it cropped and paired with one of my high waisted skirts, either Wedgwood or Madrona.  My exact plan though was still undecided until our weather changed drastically a few weeks ago and we had entered fall.

Long Sleeve Leschi

I have a closet full of Leschi tops and dresses.  For awhile there it is all I was sewing because every fabric just seemed to go perfectly with the pattern.  Usually I either lengthen it into a dress or tunic or leave the sleeves off, but this time I wanted to try remixing it into a long sleeve dress.  I had this picture in my head of a simple elastic through the wrist to give the sleeves a bit of volume and the end result is exactly like I pictured.

 

Remix the Stitch Contest

Four years ago, almost to the date, I released my first sewing pattern.  I had no idea where this business would take me but I have to say it has far exceeded my expectations.

What started as one pattern has grown to a collection of 15 sewing patterns, an online course, and now teaching sewing workshops.  I have also travelled to teach at Craftcation in Ventura, Ca and been featured in and written articles for Sew News Magazine.  None of this would be possible without all of you!  So let’s celebrate with a contest/giveaway…

Every sewing pattern is just a starting place for all of the things you can do with it. The Leschi blouse pattern has the lines that are perfect for a sleeveless dress. Just a couple changes and you are left with a completely new look.

Sleeveless Leschi Dress

Spring is here and I can finally share with you the sleeveless Leschi dress I made a few weeks ago.  I had been planning a sleeveless version since I released the pattern in October, so I thought why not go for not only sleeveless but also a dress.  This is the ultimate spring/summer dress! 

The fabric I chose really chose me while I was working the Style Maker Fabrics booth at Sew Expo last month, I was the perfect weight and drape for my vision.  Unfortunately they are all sold out, but check out these other rayons you can choose from, I especially love this floral rayon challis.

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.

Knit View Ridge

Shortly after I released the View Ridge pattern last year I sewed up one in knit.  It was everything I had hoped it would be, but then I never shared it with all of you.  I wear it often and thought I would finally sew one up for you for March Sew the Year and share.  Make sure to read all the way through because I have a fun pattern bundle to share as well.

Colette Myrtle Dress

This dress has a story that I want to share with all of you.  If you have been reading my blog long you probably recognize this black and white fabric.  You see, I made a maxi dress like 3 years ago out of it.  And I wanted to love it at the time but you know what, I never ever wore it.  So a couple years ago I hacked off the sleeves and I had a renewed love of it.  But that love has faded over the years.  The reality is that I never ever grab for it, so it needed a new life.

Bryant Dress Remix

Believe it or not the cuffed sleeves was a last minute addition to the Bryant pattern right before testing started.  So what was just a quick addition turned into one of my favourite elements of the pattern.

Right after I decided to add the cuffs I realized that lengthened slightly this pattern would be perfect as a dress.  Not to toot my own horn, but I was totally right about the dress.

My husband pointed out when I put this on today that I have been on a grey kick lately.  Maybe it’s the never ending rain here that is getting to me.  

Maxi Wedgwood

Making a maxi Wedgwood skirt has been on my radar since I designed the pattern last year.  The lines of the pattern paired with a flowy rayon seem like the perfect combination for a maxi skirt.

I got this amazing rayon challis from Indiesew almost exactly a year ago, right when I decided to make this skirt, ha!  You can see how badly I needed Sew the Year to finally tackle projects that have been laying around forever.  

I decided to pair the fun retro floral pattern of the skirt with my beloved chambray Cheyenne.  It’s a fun way to make a lightweight skirt work during the winter without being too heavy.