Wednesday 11 May 2016

Turquoise Sleeveless Blouse


I'm still here! Baby Gibbs still hasn't made an appearance - I'm currently three days overdue, so it could happen at any time. In the mean time, I've been keeping busy with some sewing.

One of the projects that has been in my sewing queue (yes, I've got one!) for a while is a second version of my red floral sleeveless blouse. This blouse got a fair amount of wear last summer, before I became pregnant. The pattern is a version of the 40's style blouse pattern in Gertie Sews Vintage Casual by Gretchen Hirsch.


I brought this gorgeous turquoise and pink floral print fabric from a trip last year to Walthamstow at the same time as the red floral fabric. It has very good drape and I always envisioned it as a sleeveless summer blouse.


Due to my current condition, I had to work slowly on this project. I actually started this during the Easter half term and then finished it last week over several days. I have been sewing a few seams, etc. and then having a rest!


I am pleased with the finished blouse. I mistakenly interfaced both the under and upper collar, but couldn't be bothered to cut a new under collar so went with it. This has resulted in a slightly stiffer collar, which I actually don't mind as it seems to hold the shape better.  


The inside of this blouse is also very neat. I am becoming more confident with using bias binding to finish arm holes and love the neat finish this gives the blouse. I also paid more attention when stitching up the darts of this blouse to ensure that they aren't wonky like my previous version!!


I was unsure about my choice of buttons for this blouse. My first instinct was to go with hot pink contrasting buttons but failed to find any the right shade. I also had difficulty finding the proper shade of turquoise and ended up with this slightly lighter blue shade. I don't hate them but I'm not totally in love with them either. I guess I could change them at a later date if I find any better ones!


The only glaring worry I have about this blouse is obviously that it doesn't currently fit me! I tried it on and it fits nicely around the shoulders but not around my very, very large bump. The idea is that once I have given birth and I am beginning to get back to normal this blouse should fit nicely for the summer. Another bonus is that it is button down so should be good for nursing too!

Have you started sewing for the summer?

No comments:

Post a Comment