Blank Slate Patterns Sew-Along

Mothers of little boys, especially older little boys, know how hard it is to find good patterns that your little man will wear. That's why one of my most favorite pattern designers is Melissa from Blank Slate Patterns. She has a wide variety of patterns perfect for a trendy boy, whether they're a toddler or an older school-aged fella. She has a gorgeous pattern for moms and some adorable patterns for little girls, also (I've got a few for Jaidyn waiting on the perfect fabric).

Melissa had a sew-along on her Facebook group, Blank Slate Patterns and her blog, Melly Sews where she provides tips as she sews along. If you haven't yet, you should definitely join the Facebook Group. Melissa is on there often and is always happy to help if you have any questions. Plus you get to meet lots of fun ladies who share a love of Blank Slate's PDF's.

For the sew-along we made the Coastal Cargo's. You can purchase the pattern here. I love this pattern!  You can roll them up for a long beachy type pair of shorts and roll them back down for cool summer evenings.  They have a bias binding detail down the side and inseams that serves two purposes...it looks cool and it hides the raw edges on the inside of the pant leg, so when you roll up the pants you don't see any seams.

Landen loved them so much he asked to wear them on his first day of 1st grade. 

The pattern pieces taped together perfectly once printed. The pants were so easy to sew. Melissa's patterns taught me how to install a front-fly zipper and welt pockets. Even a newby can accomplish these daunting sewing tasks with Melissa's fab instructions. 

I made my son a size 6 in the waist, and a 7 in length. I LOVE that they are long enough for him but they aren't sagging in the waist. That's the benefit of sewing your own cloths. If I buy him RTW pants, either they are baggy in the waist and long enough, or they're too short but fit him in the waist. He's tall and skinny. I'd say that these pants fit true-to-size. 

The most difficult part of the pattern is sewing the inseams, and that's just because you have to sew in a tight spot. Melissa was kind enough to shoot a video to show how to do this, for those of us that are visual learners. You can find her tutorial here. 

Aren't they just so cool rolled up?  I made these out of linen because it's still so hot here in Florida. I hope Landen isn't too rough on them. I love this pattern and can't wait to sew up many more!!