I meant to post this on Sunday, but somehow life got in the way. By the way, how was your weekend? (I feel like talking about mine so I'm going to pose a rhetorical question first.) I felt so off all last week as I kept getting the days mixed up and my husband was out of town for half of the week and normally I'm all like "SEWING ALL NIGHT! Woooo!!", but I just wasn't feeling it. Instead I was mopey and sad that he was gone and my cat ignored me most of the nights (is that not the saddest thing you've read all day??)
But the weekend made up for it. We celebrated our SIXTH (!!) wedding anniversary at Animal, which we first went to three or four years ago, I think for another anniversary dinner. Then two nights later, on Monday, we went out for sushi at Sugarfish, which in my opinion is the best value for the quality you get.
And now it's already Wednesday evening! Where did the week go? I have two muslins patiently waiting to be altered, both Sewaholic patterns. The Granville Shirt is nearly fitted just right, but the Thurlow Trousers wound up way too tight in the waist and thighs, but I want to slim down the fit below the knee as I think the wide-leg/flared look is not quite what I'm going for these days. I hope to get those done this coming weekend.
So let's talk about what I have finished! I finally, FINALLY finished a blouse that I started in January 2014. I started it hoping to "participate" in the Vintage Sewing Pledge started by Marie at A Stitching Odyssey, but I hit a roadblock and didn't know how to get through it. This pattern is Simplicity 2154, a vintage '60s retro style. Handmade Jane and Winnie of Scruffy Badger Time have both made wonderful versions. If you've read their reviews (here and here), you'll discover that neither of them interfaced the bow even though the pattern calls for it. Smart Ladies, I tell ya! I should have taken their advice because this is what happened when I interfaced my cotton voile with a lightweight interfacing. Last year I talked about my struggles with the bow here.
I tried scraping off the interfacing, but I did such a good job at fusing it in certain places that I couldn't get the stiffness completely out of the bow. I didn't have enough fabric leftover to re-cut the bow and I didn't love the bow concept enough to buy more fabric. I was left with a blouse with a very high neckline with a keyhole front. It obviously looked like something was missing, but I didn't know what to do with it so I let it sit for over a year looking like this:
Recently I FINALLY had the motivation to just finish it. I roughly drew a neckline on some scrap paper, traced it onto the blouse, cut a new neckline and then finished it with a narrow hem. It's crazy how little time it took considering how long I contemplated what to do! It kinda felt like this:
But with a much better result :)
This blouse is supposed to have a side zip, but I made it juuust big enough to slip on and off without a zip. There are front and back darts for shaping and this voile is lightweight enough that the blouse doesn't look boxy.
After finally getting to wear this blouse, what I thought was going to be a complete dud ended up turning out to be something I really like. All day I kept thinking this pattern may actually end up serving as my blouse "block". It has a simple enough design and fits wonderfully. I could add a yoke, add gathers at the shoulder seam, completely change the neckline, add sleeves, etc. So much potential. So glad I finished this blouse. It works with a casual outfit, but I've also worn it with a suit so it's totally work appropriate. I also think it looks good paired with my By Hand London Victoria Blazer, which I finished months ago, wear a ton, and have not given it the proper blog love that it deserves (but I will). And I dyed the fabric per Erin's suggestion!
It's a good thing I really liked the fabric otherwise I would have tossed it a year ago. Have you let something sit for so long that you thought it would be hopeless, but later found out it was a total treasure??
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| This is how I felt all last week.......mehhhhhhhh...... |
And now it's already Wednesday evening! Where did the week go? I have two muslins patiently waiting to be altered, both Sewaholic patterns. The Granville Shirt is nearly fitted just right, but the Thurlow Trousers wound up way too tight in the waist and thighs, but I want to slim down the fit below the knee as I think the wide-leg/flared look is not quite what I'm going for these days. I hope to get those done this coming weekend.
So let's talk about what I have finished! I finally, FINALLY finished a blouse that I started in January 2014. I started it hoping to "participate" in the Vintage Sewing Pledge started by Marie at A Stitching Odyssey, but I hit a roadblock and didn't know how to get through it. This pattern is Simplicity 2154, a vintage '60s retro style. Handmade Jane and Winnie of Scruffy Badger Time have both made wonderful versions. If you've read their reviews (here and here), you'll discover that neither of them interfaced the bow even though the pattern calls for it. Smart Ladies, I tell ya! I should have taken their advice because this is what happened when I interfaced my cotton voile with a lightweight interfacing. Last year I talked about my struggles with the bow here.
 |
| This is where I got stuck....with a silly stiff bow better suited for a clown. |
Recently I FINALLY had the motivation to just finish it. I roughly drew a neckline on some scrap paper, traced it onto the blouse, cut a new neckline and then finished it with a narrow hem. It's crazy how little time it took considering how long I contemplated what to do! It kinda felt like this:
But with a much better result :)
This blouse is supposed to have a side zip, but I made it juuust big enough to slip on and off without a zip. There are front and back darts for shaping and this voile is lightweight enough that the blouse doesn't look boxy.
After finally getting to wear this blouse, what I thought was going to be a complete dud ended up turning out to be something I really like. All day I kept thinking this pattern may actually end up serving as my blouse "block". It has a simple enough design and fits wonderfully. I could add a yoke, add gathers at the shoulder seam, completely change the neckline, add sleeves, etc. So much potential. So glad I finished this blouse. It works with a casual outfit, but I've also worn it with a suit so it's totally work appropriate. I also think it looks good paired with my By Hand London Victoria Blazer, which I finished months ago, wear a ton, and have not given it the proper blog love that it deserves (but I will). And I dyed the fabric per Erin's suggestion!
It's a good thing I really liked the fabric otherwise I would have tossed it a year ago. Have you let something sit for so long that you thought it would be hopeless, but later found out it was a total treasure??
I have a couple projects sitting in the corner that deserve a second look. Your solution to fix this blouse worked wonderfully! The fabric is really pretty, so I'm glad you could save it!
ReplyDeleteThe fabric really is so pretty! Perhaps my rule from now on should be to only buy pretty fabric to force myself to finish everything I start. :) Good luck revisiting your older projects. I definitely still have a few others I should get to.
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