Oh well, it was destined to be a house-blouse anyway so I'm not heartbroken about it. I just wish I had paid more attention before I sewed it together since I did/do have enough fabric left to cut lower front section. But by the time I noticed the glaring twinsy-ness of the motifs, I had already inserted flat piping in the empire seam, sewed/serged it all together, and topstitched. (Buttonhole courtesy of my vintage Singer attachment on my "Kenmore buttonhole station." Love that!)
As mentioned last post, I left off the collar. I really don't like collars in the summer heat/humidity. My hair gets caught up in them and it's just another layer that I fiddle with and swelter in. This top without the collar feels great on my neck!
I finished the back neckline with a bias self-facing, which is caught on either end under the front-to-shoulder-seam facings.
All in all, though, I'm happy with it. Good quilting cottons always feel so nice as clothing.
Oh, and a note about the sleeves since my first make of this pattern was sleeveless — they fit into the armhole perfectly. No easing required, and remember — this fabric has no stretch. While I'm not complaining, this strikes me as odd since most patterns with set-in sleeves require some easing. I'm going to revisit the pattern before I put it away to see if I caused it by oversight during an alteration or if it's really supposed to be. You can't see in my photo above, but the sleeves fit great. The armhole is where I like it (on the high side), I have perfect arm mobility and the shirt doesn't raise up when I lift my arms. So there's been no sacrifice for an ease-less sleeve cap.
Moving on to the bra now …
I absolutely love this fabric and I think it makes a really nice blouse. I've been buying a lot of quilting cottons for the same region. I live in the subtropics and quilting cottons are perfect for our climate. Even when I'm hot and sweaty, the fabric has enough weight to hang away from the body. I'm going to hunt around my local quilting shop and see if I can find a similar fabric, I have a dress pattern that is perfect!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your wonderful blog and pattern reviews! Reading galore this weekend! :)
ReplyDeleteI wondered if I could ask you some questions... Reading your info about the cute top (just love it, tittie flower and all!;)), I couldn't help but notice your friend Zillie. She just looks a bit different from other dressforms I've seen (at the top of her neck). Made me wonder if you have padded her out a bit and made her a new cover?
I got my very first one yesterday, a real cheap adjustable one. It is really not pinnable, at least less than I thought. It's a hard plastic shell with a thin syntetic knit on top. I added style lines, but it was difficult to get them well secured. I see that this might become frustrating, so maybe it's an idea to just do something about it and do some body corrections while at it? "Bandage" her up with some padding or foam, with slightly stuffed bra cups pinned underneath and a bit extra at the waist. Then sew her a new cover out of stretchy cotton fabric - with proper side seams etc. (hand sewn so they're slightly raised? So you can feel them through the fabric?) that I can use to help me in draping, constructing etc. - leaving some seam allowance on the back of the cover seams for later adjustments? How about sweatshirt or T-shirt weight fabric? Would it have to have spandex/lycra or would a 2-way stretch be enough? I don't know how to construct and make the cover. E.g. how many parts it should have, number of seams? Should some seams be machine sewn, while others hand sewn on the form? Thoughts about color? Dark as yours would be real practical, but I see almost all are white. Don't know why though.
I don't think I would have to adjust the size of it short term, but if I need to at some point, it would be to be a bit bigger, so then I could probably just snip seams at adjustment points (sew those with slightly different color thread?), cut through the padding and crank her out a bit more or, if more of an adjustment is needed, snip the whole seam, add more padding and stitch her back up again... I think I'd rather do it that way than tucking the cover inside and gluing it in place, even if that could expose all the adjustment points. The reason for that is that it probably would be real helpful not having all those voids where I have extended it, but rather seams that I can utilize. Having a "semi-adjustable" one, can't be that bad, can it? On the other hand, if one cut out a little piece of the padding over each adjustment point before closing the seams, one could probably adjust some through the fabric cover too since it's made of stretch fabric. Just tried with 2 layers of taut stretch fabric, and no problem (draping it tight and pinning it was tricky though, the needles turn around when you fasten them now, not easy to control!)!
Could it be possible to e.g. buy a cheap syntetic (not too puffy) duvet/comforter and use it's wadding (cheaper/easy to find than quilt wadding)? Would it maybe be good to have something heavier in there too, e.g. cuts of fabric from a blanket, old sweatshirts or something like that to make it easier to pin into and get the pins to "stick"?
I would be really, really thankful if you could share your experience. I'm not a beginner, haven't sewn clothes for 20 yrs though, never did complicated things. Tried finding info online, but it sure wasn't easy. I did find one post on pattern review, but I'm not sure if I liked the result as much. It seems to me that if my guessing is right, that you might have done it in a way that corresponds more to what I would have wished for...
Thanks so much for ANY input! :) Sorry it got so long! :)
Oh my Gosh... Just had to add this... When I started writing my long post, you had not added this new entry today yet, so I had not read that. Now I did and looked at your images and one shows the top of your dress form - it looks veeeery familiar! In fact, it is exactly the same as the one on my Dritz Sew Simple! WOW!!! :)
ReplyDeleteI've looked closely at your blouse, and really, unless you put a bunch of sequins around the motifs, the placement is not going to be noticable, at all.
ReplyDeleteI love the fabric and the blouse.The flat piping really looks nice as well. It is really hot here as well and I could really use a couple of around the house outfits as my everyday at home items have about had it. I have lots of nice dress up clothing that I purchased but it would last about two seconds if it got washed and dried lots and synthetic blends are too hot for here if you go outside. I just can't seem to get in the sewing mood. I guess it would still be ok to buy a great cotton print like this just in case I get focused. Lol! mssewcrazy
ReplyDeleteLove the new blouse and I had to really stare and look at it to figure out what you meant about recutting the fabric until you mentioned the bottom part. I think it looks great. Love it without a collar.
ReplyDeleteLove the new blouse and I had to really stare and look at it to figure out what you meant about recutting the fabric until you mentioned the bottom part. I think it looks great. Love it without a collar.
ReplyDeleteYou make it seem so easy, I love your creations. Can't wait to see your next bra!
ReplyDeleteOkay, that is seriously adorable! Love the piping. Eh, who cares that it doesn't match up, it's so stinkin cute! LOL! Just kidding...it would drive me nuts too.
ReplyDeleteDebbie...it's really no surprise that the sleeve fits and is comfortable with minimal or even no sleeve cap ease.
ReplyDeleteIt's a principle that I learned well during my tailoring apprenticeship.
Kathleen Fasanella (quite a well-known pattern maker, author, and writer of the blog, Fashion Incubator) sums it up quite nicely in these posts:
Sleeve Cap Ease is Bogus
Sleeve Cap Ease is Bogus, Part 2
...and although shown on a jacket, the same applies to shirts and blouses. However, sometimes a designer will add cap ease so that there is a bit of a rounded curve where the cap meets the armscye...it's a design decision rather one of necessity.
~ Pam from ~Off The Cuff~
I love the blouse and your idea of leaving off the collar (I live in Florida heat, too!). I noticed that you were out of your PJs and the top of your head was cut off, but I didn't notice the motifs at first. Then, I did. I doubt that many people would notice. Of course, now that I did it would drive me crazier. I know what you mean!
ReplyDeleteLove this shirt on you. It's a great idea leaving the collar off.
ReplyDeleteThis blouse fits you perfectly! I wouldn't have noticed the print issue if you hadn't mentioned it. I think it's a perfect weekender blouse.
ReplyDeleteYour love for this pattern is getting infectious. I am thinking really hard of getting it, even though La Fred's new pattern Clio (I think it's called) is first on the list.
ReplyDeleteThe collar-less version is very nice, wonder if I could get it looking that neat too.
My advice, forget about what the print on the fabric is doing or not doing. You won't walk around looking down, will you? Too bad for those who might notice.
I think the blouse looks great!
ReplyDeletePretty blouse! I love Amy Butler designs. I even have that pattern, but I never thought to leave off the collar
ReplyDeleteWhat a great tip for the back of the neckline...will have to remember it!
ReplyDeleteYou look great in it and if it's comfy and easy to wear than you've made a wonderful new shirt! No one will notice the matchy matchy design except you!
I just found your blog, and I have to say that you do a lovely job with clothing and seem to be real about the process. Thank you! Would you be able to tell us sometime how you manage to take your mirror photos without a mirror reflection/glare? I haven't figured out yet how to do that and would love to know so that I could more easily share my sewing projects, too.
ReplyDeleteSo cute! The lapel sans collar really works, I'll have to remember that trick.
ReplyDeleteReally cute blouse. I didn't notice the "twinsy" flowers until you mention them. I love the flat piping. I can't tell if it's self fabric or a coordinating one. It almost looks like a stripe.
ReplyDeleteAs for cutting your head off in pictures, have you thought of raising the mirror by putting it up on something?
This is a seriously beautiful blouse. I love the fabric and I had to study it to figure out what you meant about recutting the bottom section. I think most people wouldn't notice anything off in the motif placement. From your photo I think you could wear it outside the house.
ReplyDeleteYou have a great blog. I'd love for you to come and visit my blog. I just made a Vintage Vogue Original 1944 Design, V2858. On the previous page you'll find a dress I made from an original 1974 pattern that I found in an antique store. I call that post The Lady in Lavender. And lots of other things in between. Hope you enjoy.
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