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