The paisley blouse

Isn't paisley a lovely word?  I have always liked the word and I have a real fondness for the pattern too.  This next sewing project was driven by the fabric first and then by the pattern.  I had fallen in love with some paisley fabric from Merchant and Mills and I was determined that I would make a blouse from it.  A bit of hunting and I found the perfect pattern from Butterick: B5538.  I liked this pattern as it has several different adaptations you can make from it.  The sleeves and collars are all interchangeable so you can mix and match to make the blouse you want.

It is also quite a straight forward pattern.  At first when I cut it out I thought it had a lot of pieces.  A lot of pieces to me meant it was probably going to be tricky, but they went together quite well.  I find I have to look at a pattern almost from a distance at first to work out what it is trying to do and then see how it makes it happen.

There are things I like very much about this blouse.  I like the interfaced front very much.  It makes it feel sturdy and also means that it is not scarily see-through.

The cuffs are also things of wonder.  I had not made a blouse with cuffs before and I worried that I might find them difficult.  They did take me a bit of fiddling around with, but nothing serious and they look really good.

I chose some vintage buttons to finish the blouse off.  I am very pleased with the buttons.  I am becoming completely convinced that a good button can be the make or fail of a project.  I have worn this blouse a few times now, for leisure and for work and people have commented on how nice it looks.

Mid-sewing this blouse I bought a new sewing machine (as you do).  I decided however to finish off this project on the old machine, partly as a courtesy to the old machine rather than just shelve it, and partly so I could have a play on the new machine and get used to it before committing to starting a new project.   I shall introduce you to the new machine in the next post.

A blouse, a Doris and a screwdriver

My sewing journey continues with the next project which was to make a jersey blouse.  I had a navy jersey blouse that I bought many years ago and I loved it as a go-to, easy to wear, casual to formal item of clothing.  I have literally worn it out, holes appeared and so it had to go.  I decided to have a go at making a replacement, so a pattern was sourced and fabric bought.

At about this time I was also progressing my sewing room.  I had removed the spare bed and tidied up the small back bedroom.  I purchased a sewing desk and drawers (more of this in a later post) and some screwdriving, and some fairly light swearing later, I now had a space that I could use.

I also thought I should buy a dressmakers dummy, in particular because I decided to make a dress for my daughter's wedding in autumn.  I knew I would need all the help I could get to do this and a dummy would help me get the sizing right and check how it would fit.

I looked at the prices of dummys and adjustable ones are not cheap.  I worried that if I spent a lot of money on one it might turn out to be an expensive sandwich toaster.  You know what I mean, you buy it because you think it will be wonderful but within a few weeks it is at the back of the cupboard, forgotten*.  I pondered how to deal with this and started to look on ebay for a second hand one.  Luck was in my favour; I found one that looked in good condition, the right size range and close enough to drive to pick up.  Purchase made: a quick hop to Stoke and back and Doris came home with me.  She is a bit worn, her leg is a little rusty but none of us are perfect.  (and yes this is her unadjusted)

I adjusted her to my size and took a step back.  Now this bit is important because Doris taught me something as I stood and looked at her.  I have struggled with my weight for many years, I put it on, I lose it, I put it on again and the cycle turns.  I do not enjoy looking at myself in mirrors or in photographs as I criticise myself harshly.  The prospect of making Doris reflect my body size did not fill me with joy but it had to be done.  When completed I was surprised that she did not look as big as I feared.  I checked I had done it accurately and actually, when considered, I think she doesn't look that huge.  This made me feel better about Doris and in turn, better about myself.  This is no mean feat.

The blouse turned out well and I chose some pretty buttons to go with it.

I liked it so much I made another, this time out of scuba fabric.  This worked well too and the fabric is very pretty.  I confess I did not intend to buy scuba fabric.  I saw it online and liked the pattern.  When the fabric arrived I realised it was thicker than I had intended but it was a happy error.  It was very easy to sew and is now a good early autumn blouse as it is warm but not too warm.

Happy in my efforts I turned to think of the dress for the wedding.  This was going to need concentration.....







*with due acknowledgement to Spaced