Hey Blank Slate sewists and Melly Sews readers, Suzanne here from Pattern Revolution and I am so excited about being here today. Do you ever get in a sewing slump??? You know, that moment when sewing starts to feel like a chore rather than the thing that invigorates you. It might be that you only get to sew between work and kids and making dinner and that only leaves you 30 minutes and it takes you half that time to find your seam ripper. Or it might be that you have been making 30 sun dresses to complete orders and the assembly line style sewing is making you go cross eyed. Or it might simply be that you are momentarily out of inspiration and trying to kick your brain into gear is so exhausting that you just go to bed. I have found myself in sewing slumps and I hate it. I hate it, becasue I really do love to sew. So I have created a list of sew-jo projects for myself. These are quick, easy sews that I know are going to end up awesome and will put a smile on my face and the faces of my kids.
The Blank Tank is one of these sews. From print to finish it takes 30 minutes – that is a project I can get behind! But beyond the simplicity of it’s construction, the Blank Tank is fun. It takes less than a yard to sew, so you can use custom knits or feature fabric. I was recently sent a bag of custom scraps by a good friend, and as soon as my kids saw the scrap of pack-man, they all pounced. Of course there wasn’t enough scrap to make 1 shirt, let alone 3. But a fold, a ruler, and a couple minutes late I had a color blocked front that would use just a bit of the fabric – I have 2 more of these bad boys on my cutting table so all 3 kids get a pac-man shirt!!! The gentle curved hem is always in style, or upcycle a shirt from your stash and get a basic straight hem.
As with all of Melissa’s patterns, the blank tank just begs for you to embellish and make it your own. I took fabric markers to Toothless and some HTV to Pac-man and ended up with two great shirts that fit my boys and their personalities perfectly.
Keep the sew-jo humming, and keep that list of quick and satisfy sews handy for next time the slumps attack!