the pristine swing dress

a couple of weeks ago i got the coolest email. it was all “heeeeyyy guurllll. whatchu think about sewing up a pattern i wrote and lettin’ me know what you thannk?” and i was all holla at me boo! i’m in!
okay, no.
it didn’t go like that at all.
at least, not on my end it didn’t. and i’m fairly certain melissa of melly sews doesn’t really talk like that.
but—she did ask me to take one of her new patterns from her BLANK SLATE BASICS for girls out for a test drive.
and that’s just what i did. but this was no mere spin around the block. i kicked tires and checked under the hood, and when it was all said and done i had this to show for it:

an adorable, easy to wear and easy to sew dress from a well written and easy to follow pattern.
look, we know how i feel about patterns, right? but the difference between a commercially produced pattern and a personally produced small-scale pattern maker is like night and day. trust me on this.

meet the pristine swing dress.

here’s the thing: if you’re going to call your pattern collection “blank slate basics”, then it should probably be just that, right?
melissa has done just that—created a line of first boy blank slate basics, and now a set of girl blank slate basics.
this line encompasses all the basic patterns you need to create a custom wardrobe for your little one. shirts, dresses, pants—each with a bunch of options that allow you to tailor it to your vision.

for ava’s dress i used two fabrics she had picked on a recent shopping trip. these are cotton, but this pattern works just as nicely in knit.

i went with the 3/4 length sleeve option so it would work for fall.
(i also added in a contrasting panel on the front, which isn’t part of the pattern, but i wanted to use some more of the larger print)
the neckline is adorable, and gives the dress just enough interest, while the a-line portion keeps it comfy and easy to move in.
































so—wanna get your own copy?
head on over to blank slate patterns and check out all the awesome stuff melly has!
and—SCORE! use the code GOOGIE through october 15th to get an additional 20% off anything in the shop!! how awesome is that?
because everyone needs some of this cuteness in their life, amirite?