I am still searching for the ultimate shawl collared blouse and so recently purchased this pattern. I had some pretty ‘Peach’ crinkle dobby fabric that I thought would coordinate well with the Sage spotted pinafore dress.

Ignoring the measurements chart I cut a size 20 across the shoulders, neckline and collar grading to a 22 over the waist and hips. I would make the ‘boxy’ version without the body fish-eye darts. What I should have borne in mind was that the crinkle fabric stretches and therefore the garment would ‘grow’ when ironed but more of that later.

Cutting out took just 1.6M x 130 cms wide fabric and I was able to include the long sleeve into a cuff. As this would be my ‘wearable toile’ I used the overlocker to finish the seams. Also as this was a new pattern for me I followed all the instructions to the letter.

When constructing the blouse I found that all the notches matched up which was quite something on this very mobile fabric! However, I found the drafting and construction of the collar overly complicated and the end result is very narrow in the back collar.

At the fitting stage I found that the shoulders were (once again) far too wide, the bust dart was too low (makes a change!) and the sleeves were about 2 inches too long.

To resolve the shoulder and sleeve length issues I re-stitched the sleeve insertion by sewing the top of the sleeves at least 1½ inches away from the cut edge. This also solved the problem of sleeves being too long as it took up some of the excess length. I did like the cuff construction although they are a little too big for my preference. I have adjusted the pattern in the shoulders and also taken 2 inches off the length of the cuff. With regard the overall excess of fabric in the body, I made the blouse double breasted. As I could still put the blouse on over my head I stitched the 10 buttons straight through all layers and did not go to the effort of making buttonholes that would never be used. I had been unable to find any colour coordinating buttons and therefore used 10 shell buttons from my recent bulk buy of 15mm buttons.

Lilian Blouse in Crinkle Dobby Viscose

Lilian and Jane

Conclusion: I can’t say that I am particularly pleased with the final result. It will probably end up in the charity bag but at least I have learned quite a few lessons while constructing this blouse. The colour of the fabric does indeed coordinate well with the Sage Green so that is something to bear in mind when thinking about fabric colour for another blouse or shirt to wear with the pinafore dress.

Project no 26 completed 19th April 2023

I have had this remnant length of fine viscose in my stash since I bought it from Fabricland, Bournemouth in February last year. As there was a bare 1.7 metres of 130 cms wide and I would not be able to buy anymore of this particular print, I wanted to be sure which pattern I made up. After a great deal of procrastination I finally settled on my TNT blouse pattern which is a hack (yoke removed, fullness converted to a bust dart, shirt tail hem shaping) from Style 1441 from the 1980’s that I have made so many times I have lost count.

Vintage pattern – Style 1441 from the 1980’s

Provided I cut the back bodice at the selvedge rather than on the fold, I had just enough to make the long sleeved version with my own drafted deep double-buttoned cuffs.

Working with this fabric was akin to dealing with silk crepe de chine. It was very, very fluid and frayed as soon as you looked at it. Thus all seams were French seamed and the edges of the facing double turned and hemmed. I used fusible interfacing on the collar, facings and cuffs. Once again the shell/mother of pearl buttons were selected for the 5 buttonholes on the front bodice and two on each deep cuff. The shaped hem was first overlocked before double turning 1/4 inch and top stitching in place.

As I wanted the colour and print to be the star of this project I have not top stitched the collar, facing or cuffs.

Conclusion: After just two sessions of concentrated sewing the blouse is finished and I am delighted with the result. The fabric is so soft and has a beautiful drape. It will coordinate with the Sage Green/Ivory spot ‘Jane’ pinafore dress and also look good over trousers as a blouse or over a camisole top as a light jacket.

Project no 23 completed 8th April 2023

A long time ago I purchased this pattern as a pdf from Sensibility.com who have several modern interpretations of Regency-style patterns. After several failed attempts to get the document to print, I abandoned the project and went other garments. Forward a couple of years and with more experience of using pdfs under my belt I revisited this pattern. Aha! To have the pattern printed to size one has to make adjustments to the settings – select ‘Poster’ and all will be resolved!

In the notes accompanying the pattern, the designer admits that whilst the pattern was created as a companion to the Romantic Era Dress, it is not period authentic. The first idea came from viewing a dramatisation of “Wives and Daughters” on TV.

The blouse is very versatile. It can be made with or without the shaping tucks, short or long sleeves, with or without trimming to the collar. There is a good range of sizes, from 6 – 24 and I chose to make the largest size. I shortened the sleeves by 3 cms and extended the length of the cuffs by 1 cm (next time they need to be at least 3 cms longer to provide a good overlap).

For this wearable toile I used some of a length of viscose bought from Minerva which although it was lightweight with good drape, was difficult to control and caused a few headaches where precision was required e.g. the collar. The sleeves themselves are lovely and full with gathers at both the sleeve heads and into the narrow single button cuffs.

The pattern itself was hand drawn and this maybe from where some of the problems originated. The illustrations in the instructions were also hand drawn. I started by following the pattern but soon realised it would be better to use my TNT methods for this type of collar construction.

As it was, the mobility of the fabric combined with less than precise drafting and fabric cutting out made that part of the construction a bit of a ‘fudge’. I will know better next time.

The fit is OK but not especially roomy. The length is also longer than I was expecting and I therefore added 6 plain Black buttons to the front closure.

Conclusion: I especially like the collar and blouse works well with a soft fabric but needs to be cut and sewn with precision. I am unsure about the colour and print of the fabric used although it does look good under both my Burgundy Brushed cotton and the recently-made Black viscose linen pinafore dresses.

Project no.14 completed 8^th March 2023.

I fell in love with the print of this fabric from one of my favourite eBay sellers. At the beginning of January I purchased the last remaining 2metre remnant at a grand price of £ 8.99 from crystal009. Such lovely fabric deserved special buttons and I splashed out on a set of 50 Red sparkly buttons from Amazon for £4.98.

I knew exactly which pattern to make up – my TNT long-sleeved blouse. This is a pattern that I have returned to very many times over the past 10 years. I always refer to it as my ‘Threads’ blouse as it was drafted using instructions from an old issue of Threads magazine.

As the fabric had such great drape I decided on the long full sleeves gathered into a double button cuff. All seams were constructed using French seams so the inside of the blouse is beautifully clean finished. The shaped hem is finished with a narrow double folded hem top-stitched in place. Due to the length of the blouse, for this iteration I worked 6 buttonholes down the front and I know that it will look good worn outside my Black slim leg trousers.

Conclusion: This is yet another example of why I return again and again to this pattern. This fabric is a delight to wear. Although it was originally planned to go with the Black viscose linen pinafore dress I think it looks equally good with the Navy needlecord one as well.

Project no. 9 completed 13th February 2023.