Monday, October 05, 2009

A Hint of the Past


Since my stashbusting mood didn't wane after my last project, I selected the next "victim" from my fabric stash. This time it was a gorgeous striped floral cotton from JoAnn's Premium Quilter's Collection -- I had sighed over this particular print (and its $9 per yard price tag...) several times -- and then it ended up in the Red Tag clearance section, with an extra 50% off, to boot! And since there was only a little over a yard left, I even got the remnant price on the last bit. Does it get any better?



My first mistake with this blouse was using a princess-seamed pattern (McCalls 3571, much modified). With stripes? Sometimes I wonder what I'm thinking -- or rather, if I'm thinking! Fortunately, the stripes are subtle enough that no real harm was done. I have my own copied "interfacing" version of this pattern, which allows me to change the design fairly easily (the original has a deep V in the back neckline, and also buttons up the back).



I opted for a V-neckline with this blouse, and remembered some gathered ecru Cluny lace in my stash. I simply topstitched it to the raw neckline edge, then bound the neck edge in self-bias binding. The buttons are salvaged from an old (and very inaccurate!) Civil War gown that I made years ago.



But the sleeves are my favorite part! I used the sleeve pattern from M3571, but I modified it to eliminate the extra seam. The gathered section at the bottom was inspired by an April Cornell design -- I've seen this type of thing before, but usually the puffed section is huge and frankly overwhelming! I cut a rectangle 1.5 times the length of the bottom sleeve width, then gathered it and applied it to the sleeve. The bottom is gathered into a band that's two inches shorter than the bottom sleeve width, to give the whole sleeve a more tapered look. The upper band of the gathered section is actually fake -- it's just bias binding hand-stiched to the sleeve so that the gathering is "framed" on both sides.



A pair of ties in the back wrap up the whole thing! I had *just* enough fabric for this project, and now I have the satisfaction of both a new blouse and a shrinking stash. I just love happy endings!

16 comments:

  1. I wish you could hear my ooohs and aaahs at your sewing posts, Shannon. =) This is one of the loveliest blouses you've made yet!

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  2. Oh, very, very pretty! I love it!

    ~Gabrielle

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  3. Hi Shannon.
    Your blouse is beautiful! My favorite are the sleeves. I have never sewed a blouse before(only skirts) Can you recommend an easy blouse pattern? I would like to "try" to sew one, but feel so intimidated.
    Thanks!
    Keep on sewing....
    Irene

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  4. It's beautiful! I love the colours - I love the sleeves! Very feminine and pretty! :) And the lace adds such a nice touch too. Have a wonderful day!

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  5. Lovely job! The sleeve treatment is great; thanks for sharing the details. You look beautifully romantic. :-)

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  6. Oh! that's so pretty! I love it!

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  7. I love it! You are so creative Shannon!
    ~Alyssa

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  8. Wow. That looks great. I second Irene. I too have only sewn skirts, but am having a hard time finding modest shirts, so I need to sew some. Any tips?
    Thanks!

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  9. Lovely!!! I really like the sleeves!

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  10. Dainty and cheerful! Soft and feminine! Ah, bliss!

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  11. Very pretty! You make such lovely things. I always leave your sewing posts inspired. :)

    Blessings,
    Kiri

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  12. You are an amazing seamstress. If you are fortunate enough to have daughters one of these days, I bet they will have the most adorable clothes!

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  13. Both the skirt and blouse are beautiful. Don't you want to sew for me!!??
    Regina

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  14. Shannon,
    For some reason we were not able to send any more emails so here is the end of our message. Hope that you can follow it.

    May we wish you God's richest blessings on your upcoming marriage.
    In Christ,
    Lauren and Mrs.Hope

    Here is the link to Lauren's blog.
    http://acornerpillar.blogspot.com/

    We love your blouse by the way! We have enjoyed your creativity.

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  15. Thank you all for your kind words! I truly appreciate your encouragement!

    Irene and Kyrstin, my "standard" blouse is Out-of-print Simplicity 4499, which I found to be fairly simple (the short sleeves are particularly easy! Just a few pleats!). It works well for my body type, anyway! It did take me a while to become comfortable with collars (in my view, the only really difficult thing about blouses), but after some practice I've become much more confident. I actually use a collar from a different pattern, since I'm not fond of 4499's one-piece collar. If you can find a pattern that works well with your body type (it may require trying a few different patterns, and some tweaking to boot!), that's your best bet! I used to be scared to death of blouses and buttonholes, but now I don't give either one a second thought (okay, so I do still feel a little tightening in my throat when it comes to buttonholes! ;-).

    Lauren and Mrs. Hope, thanks so much for your message! Hopefully you received my e-mail!

    Blessings,
    Shannon

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I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thank you so much for stopping by!