sewhungryhippie: Leschi Blouse Sew-Along

I'm so excited to host a sew-along again with Modern Sewciety for the Leschi Blouse. It's one of my all time favorites due to the effortless chic look and the top notch sewing pattern. I love a well written pattern - you know I do!

For the sew-along I'm bringing you two weeks of instructions and video step-by-step walk through.

YES we will finish with only TWO posts!

A big difference from the last sew-along right? LOL

You need a break with the Holidays looming. This is self-care, so take the time to sew for yourself to negate the craziness of Nov/Dec.

image by this company

You will need the pattern so grab a copy here. Kimberly is generously offering a discount for sew-along participants for a limited time, so pop over and pick it up. The code at checkout is "Leschi20" for 20% off.

(Note you can toggle between PDF or printed version on linked page.)

I much prefer the printed version because it's on high quality paper that is easy to trace. I then roll it up with a rubber band and stick it in a pot in my sewing closet for easy keeping.

Lately I've been "so over" PDFs. I don't know, maybe it's lack of time? Printed patterns are a YES for me.

On that note, if you choose the PDF version she has included a copy shop file and the AO file. I recently explored this and had a batch of PDFs printed by PDF Plotting here. It is AMAZING. The turnaround is SO fast and the stuff came back spot on. No mistakes. No waiting in line at Staples. It's pretty self explanatory, choose the black and white printing option at the top of the website and scroll down to the size of the file. If you need help they have great customer service. I did one wrong the other day and they emailed me straight away to teach me what I did wrong, and how to fix it. Love that!

LOL

Actual representation of line at Staples. Bahahaha!

Fabric talk

I have yardage in the print I used here, if you want to make your first one in cotton like I did. It's a boxier look than intended, but I needed a first go with fabric that behaves. It was going to be my muslin, but it turned out so well that I've worn it twice already.

I was pleased this AMH Conservatory line is soft enough to lend a great look for this top. I think it really depends on the cotton you use, and if it feels too stiff it IS. Throw it across the room and search for something else.

Kimberly suggests drape-y fabrics like rayon, rayon linen blends, crepe, gauze, and linen voile.

I made one out of rayon and nearly lost my shizzle - it was not the day to be sewing rayon, let's just say that. HOWEVER, if you are patient and have time to use pins properly and not get annoyed by people asking you to make 456 meals, then by jove go for it!

Yeah, I didn't even change my serger thread. #whatever

Kimberly has a fantastic blog post discussing the various fabrics you can use for this top. Read it here, it's well worth five minutes!

The Leschi pattern comes in sizes 0-24 and has a high - low hem, 3/4 sleeves with optional cuffs.

It really is chic and casual at the same time. My fave.

In her pattern she instructs how to grade it out at the hips if you are different sizes on top vs hips. I LOVE THAT. It's what I did, I am wearing a 6 at the top/shoulders and then graded to a 10 at the hip area. I'll go through this in the video.

I'm so excited about this top and I hope you'll try Kimberly's other patterns too - they are excellent.

See you soon! Bring your friends and let's learn and have fun together.

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