Joining in the Blank Slate Pattern Tour with Cool Cardigans and Coastal Cargos

***We are proud to be an affiliate of Blank Slate Patterns - this post contains affiliate links***

I am so thrilled to be a part of the FIRST EVER Blank Slate Pattern Tour!!!  I hope that Melissa decides to do one ever year, or every season, .... or every month (hmmmm, maybe too much).  But you can never have too much Blank Slate!

I'm going to blubber for just a second here (so if all you want is to see the cuteness, just scroll down to where the pictures start)... I can count on one hand the bloggers who made me start blogging.  I was pregnant with baby girl when I started reading sewing blogs.  The boys were getting close to a year old and I hadn't sewn anything for them or even really thought about it, but the notion of having a GIRL made me remember that I owned a sewing machine.  As I began to troll blog land I first stumbled upon some of the BIG blogs... I enjoyed (and still enjoy) reading them, but they intimidated me with their grandeur, advertising, and daily posts.  As I kept reading and adding new blogs to my list, I discovered Melly Sews.  There was no Blank Slate yet... just Melly - and her amazing tutorials, and her adorable BOYS, and her witty sense of humor.  I soon discovered that we share a background in costuming, and I felt inspired to share my own creativity through blogging, but more importantly my eyes were opened to sewing for my BOYS.  Melissa soon launched Blank Slate Patterns - and I was thrilled to see the first line up of patterns dominated by unisex or male patterns.  Blank Slate Patterns has quickly become a highly recognized pattern company and is known for having amazing designs that are as educational as they are stylish.  Thank you Melissa for your encouragement, and for sharing your passion for creativity thus inspiring the same in others!!!

OK -on to the patterns!!!!

I picked the Cool Cardigan (and the Coastal Cargos) to feature in today's post.  I have sewn up the Coastal Cargo's before for my son 'B' (the bigger) and know that they fit him well with their more relaxed styling - so I decided to switch them up a bit a make some funky jeans.

Now my 'bias' strip is wider that what is called for in the pattern - but I wanted this width to capture the stripes from my fabric.  That also means that I cut straight strips rather than cutting them on the diagonal, so well just call them binding strips mmm'kay?  But dude, they are cool, right!!!

The Cool Cardigan was what I had my eye on and jumped at the chance to make.  I love the look of cardigans on little boys - the 'cool little man' look - LOVE.  So I decided to do a cardigan for each of my boys.  The trick with them is that although they are twins, their builds are vastly different.  I never know whether the same size in a pattern will fit them both well.  You can decide- but I love it equally on both of them!

A's Cardigan is the classic design (only omitting the buttons on the pockets).  I used a very thin knit that I got at Joanns when they had their red tag fabrics at an extra 50% off.  SCORE.  Both the stripe and solid grey are a 95/5 cotton/lycra blend with stretch in only one direction.  This cardigan is lightweight and perfect for layering... the best thing is that A loves it and cried when I made him take it off for lunch because I didn't want him spilling tomato soup all over it.

B's is a bit more of a re-imagining.  This is an upcycled version made from a women's wool sweater.  I wanted to keep the original cuffs, waist band, and button band intact - so I have to so careful and creative cutting to make it all work.  I was also able to fit the original pockets into my front pieces.  The awesome thing about making an upcycle is that it took me literally 15 minutes or less to sew.  The wool also snapped 3 'jean' needles between the serger and sewing machine in that 15 minutes - but all worth it for an adorable cardigan.

The original buttons extended up further than the curve, but I love the little extra detail they bring in!

So Handsome....

Make sure you head over to Blank Slate Patterns to check out these patterns and many more... you will have a list of 'must haves' instantly.  And this week (10/7-10/11) Melissa is donating 50% of all proceeds to the Komen Foundation to fight Breast Cancer in honor of her Grandmother.

Showing off the Tee Times Three by Blank Slate Patterns: An Affiliate Feature

We are so happy to have Blank Slate Patterns as one of our affiliates!!!  Melissa is a talented designer with a heart for boy's fashion.  Each of her patterns is a sewing lesson unto itself, and I always come away having learned a new technique or trick.  Her patterns range from beginner to more advanced-intermediate, but because of how well written they are, anyone can try any of her patterns.

Have you been wanting to learn how to do an awesome button hole placket?  Check out her Hipster Henley.  Melissa also offers tons of free things on her Blog Melly Sews - like a tutorial for adding a Henley Placket onto a T shirt pattern you already love.

I actually used her free tutorial on adding a Henley placket found HERE for this shirt.

Dying to make use of more bias tape?  Take a look at the Coastal Cargos, Big Island Board Shorts, Retro Romper, and Tuxedo Pants (hmmm I think Melissa likes bias tape!)

Want to tackle a Blazer?!?!?  You know you do!  Check out the Blank Slate Blazer - this is the pattern that made me fall head over heals for Blank Slate.  And see how ADORABLE it is all sewn up!

Today we are taking a look at one of her more basic patterns, the Tee Times 3 - Blank Slate seeks to offer just that... blank slates that you can customize to your heart's content.  Add a mix of cool fabrics, try your hand at fabric paint or Art Transfer Paper, put on some applique.  You can customize these patterns to your heart's content!  OR - keep them plain so that you kids have some basics in their wardrobe.

I was lucky enough to test the Tee times 3 for Melissa this summer.  Let's just start by saying what a VERSATILE pattern this is.  You start with a basic ringer Tee... you then have the option of short or long sleeves, then you have an optional hood, THEN you have the girly version with the Peter Pan collar and key hole back.  All of this in one pattern.  It is perfect for boys, it is perfect for girls, it is made of knit and will become a comfy staple in your child's life!

As you can see I kept it cool and classic with a plain red with grey lined hood for my son, A.  And for baby girl I had fun with a funky print.

Yep - these are the SAME pattern - and here is the funny thing, they are also the same size!  I wanted the shirt to be a little bit big on baby girl and long enough to wear with leggings (anyone else find that ALL girl tops from the stores are cut about 2-4 inches short, or super skinny... even in the toddler sizes ;op).  So you can see that the top hits her at the hip and has plenty of growing room in the shoulders... she is such a big girl.  I did cut the sleeve length to her size so that they wouldn't be too long.  A is my skinny man, he has a couple inches on his little sister...but I'm thinking he might weigh less - tall and skinny this one is ;o)

And look at these smiling faces - yeah these are two kids that LOVE their new clothes.  And yours will too!