Dispatches From Whitcomb Street

colette violet blouse

Ohhh, Colette’s Violet blouse. I’ve been wanting to make this one for a long time. 

I *love* this pattern. Peter Pan collar, blousy fit, super-girly gathers, buffet-friendly shape, I’m down.

Things I did: I used a lightweight cotton with a woven gray and black stripe for the body. It said Moda on it, so I guess it was a quilting cotton? Anyway, it had soft, swishy drape and I liked the striping a lot, so I went for it, piecing the yoke so I could get a little chevron going with the shoulder slopes. I used some black cotton batiste for a contrast collar and sleeve bands.

I used self-fabric for interfacing throughout. I cut a straight 4 for this top, and saw no changes I needed to make with a tissue-fitting, though now I’m sort of feeling like I need to pull the bust darts back a little bit to help them lie smoother.

The biggest change I made was gathering sleeves into a band instead of threading elastic through them or simply hemming them. To do this, I cut the wider mid-length sleeve and cut it shorter, to approximately 1” above where I wanted the sleeve to fall. I measured my bicep, added a bit for ease and seam allowances, and cut 3 1/4” x 13 1/4” bands (two for each sleeve) from the batiste. I prepped the two bands for each sleeve as one, pressed each in half lengthwise, and turned down a 3/8” hem on one side. I stitched the unpressed side RST with the bottom of the sleeve, pressed it down, and topstitched to catch the back of the sleeve band. Then I sewed the side sleeve seam in one go.

Confusing enough? It sounds really confusing written out, but it was easy, just like putting on a front band or a cuff. I love how clean it looks, and how those two little echoing pops of contrast color add a little visual structure. 

Things I wish I’d done: Next time, I’ll construct this like a men’s shirt, flat-felling the armscye and sleeve seams, for simplicity. OH and I’ll actually put the buttons on the correct side—I’m so used to making shirts for Terry that I just automatically went for it without paying attention.

Anyway. This is the first garment I’ve finished in way too long, so I’m feeling pretty good. Yay Colette, yay square buttons, yay puffy sleeves! 

SSS Day 8

Finally warm and sunny again!

This is Burda 01-2011-102, a 30s inspired blouse with interesting flutter sleeves set into a square armscye and attatched to a shoulder yoke. This style is such a departure for me—I hardly ever wear prints, and I never wear stuff this frilly. I made it back in May to make use of a little scrap of vintage silk crepe I scored for $3 down at Mama Said Sew; it’s squeezed out of just under a yard of fabric, along with some linen scraps for the fabric-covered buttons.

I ended up liking this a lot, and certainly a lot more than I expected to—it’s pretty, comfortable, and cool. This is probably the first thing I made where I really put some thought into making it look good on my own body—I raised the waist an inch and narrowed the back to make sure that it outlined what little waist definition I have (I totally look like a ship in full sail if fluttery stuff like this doesn’t fit just right). I think it’s a fun piece, and wear it occasionally-to-frequently.

Plus, I feel a compulsion to put my hair into a victory roll whenever I wear it, so there’s that.

PS—I am totally wearing this with jeans so tight that I have a bad feeling they cross over into jegging territory. I wish I could remember what I was thinking when I bought them—that they’d break in eventually? That I was going to lose some weight? I have no idea. They were expensive, so I feel like I need to keep trying with them…but I can’t wait until I get an edgestitch foot and can make some jeans that actually fit my hips without squeezing my waist or legs like overstuffed kielbasas.