Summer Blouse

*The Facts

Fabric: Two floral pillowcases from the Hospice Shop
Pattern: Simplicity 9502
Year: 2000
Notions: None
Time to complete: 6 hours
First worn: October 2011

Wear again? Yes! I'm wearing it right now

Total Cost: 25 cents

I made myself a top, and its awesome! 

But, first things first, its not a Sorbetto.  I had intended to make the version of the Sorbetto by Mena over at the Sew Weekly, and I printed out the pattern and everything.  Then, because I was being extra good, I actually measured the test square to make sure that the pattern had printed out properly.  It hadn't.  So without access to a printer I had to find another pattern instead.  Initially I thought of drafting something myself, but I really wanted to make something that I knew would be mostly right when I put it on (not always a given with my drafting skills).  And then I found this pattern in my stash.  Its a great pattern for using narrow fabrics with because there are side pieces to both the front and back of the top.

It was just right for my two upcycled pillow cases (they had the same fabric).

Its a pretty straightforward pattern to work with, although you do need to be able to match up curves, which seems a bit more daunting than it actually is.

I did make some modifications though.  Because I didn't have a zipper, I cut the back piece on the fold.  It worked fine, but it is a little big.  Next time I use the pattern I'll definitely have to use the smaller size.  I also altered the length.  The pattern comes with either a tunic length (view A) or a top (view B).  The top was too short, and the tunic was too long, so I cut my material longer than the top and shorter than the tunic and it turned out exactly where I wanted it to be.

I altered the sleeves as well, because the pattern looked huge and poofy.  So I redrafted them to be a little shorter, and instead of gathering the sleeves, I pleated them.  I love the pleated sleeves, its my favourite feature of the top.  It makes me look a bit top heavy but I don't really mind.

The only part of the blouse that I'm unhappy with is the bias binding.  I used the same binding as for P's nightie, and it just isn't really very good.  The orange fabric has a little bit of stretch in it anyway, and its really hard to iron crisply.  And despite all my ironing and pining and careful sewing, I still didn't manage to get the binding right.  Its really frustrating so I think I will definitely need to redo it at some point in the future.  

But all in all, I'm really happy with the top.  I wore it to work, and felt great in it, and DH didn't mention it at all when I had it on (he'd have said something if he thought I was wearing a pillowcase).

*This post is totally in homage to the Sew Weekly.  If you're interested in sewing its definitely worth a look, those are some truly talented women.