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Yay! I love my new purple blouse!
Now if only it were warm enough to wear it!
Here’s the pattern I used:
Lots of cute details here . . .
I went for the solid back and the shorter length.
I had a hell of a time deciding which size to cut. No finished hip measurement was given and the hip wasn’t marked on the pattern pieces. Come on, New Look, us pears can’t fit things using the bust measurement!
In the end, I just decided to assume that the amount of ease in the bust would be the same in the hip area, crossed my fingers, and cut. And it fit great!
The only other change I made was to add an inch in length (DEFINITELY the first time I’ve ever done that!) as the blouse otherwise would have ended right at my Fat Storage Area (a.k.a., abdomen).
As my fabric was stretchy, crinkled, a bit loosely-woven, and shifty, I took the pattern’s advice and marked the pleats with basting. Not hard, but took approximately forever.
(BTW, since we’re talking about forever, I might mention here that this gauzy cotton has been in my stash for 15 years or more. It’s one of the many relics I have from the last period in my life when I did a lot of clothes sewing. It’s so old that it had some faded spots on it from poor storage. 😛 )
I find Simplicity instructions to be really clear and this pattern was no exception. I like the plain English that they use–“X should extend 5/8″ from the edge of Y,” rather than Butterick’s “match the large dots,” which tends to make me all crabby as I paw through pattern pieces looking for dots.
I did have some trouble with the collar, but I think that was mostly down to the shifty nature of the fabric–I had to do some seam ripping, but got it to work in the end.
Those are shell buttons from the stash. And look at the buttonholes! My sewing machine has been refusing to do buttonholes for a while (NO THANK YOU I WILL JUST NOM THIS DELICIOUS FABRIC INSTEAD), so I tricked it into sewing them by just doing two lines of close zig zags and hand sewing bar tacks on the ends.
Guys, I am so happy with this! It totally ticks the boxes of what works for me: bright color, cotton fabric, and interesting details at the shoulder/boob area. The fabric is so light and airy, it’s one of those rare cottons that doesn’t need ironing, and it actually has enough drape for the pattern. I can’t wait for the summer heat!
STH
Living in Color 
No ironing, de-stashing and looks beautiful on you…definitely ticks the boxes!! Great job. I love the pleating, the texture and the colour. Impressive looking finishing too. That is a top for a flanerie (when something approximating warm weather arrives). Speaking of warm weather though, I have seen people on the streets here wearing flip flops and shorts already, even though in the mornings it hovers just above 0 Celsius. Needless to say, that’s not me. I’m still in a spring-weight parka and a knitted hat. PS You look quite well-proportioned, i.e. I wouldn’t have guessed pear.
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See, I think it’s the style of the shirt making me look more balanced than I am–the collar, all the horizontal lines making me look like I have shoulders, etc. My measurements are 43-42-48; you can really see the pear shape when I wear something like a plain tee.
Yeah, it’s still about that cold here in the mornings, and I’m with you on dressing for it–I’m going to be WARM. (Then again, when I lived in Boston, I did reach a point in May sometime when I just REFUSED to wear my winter coat any more; I had just had all I could take of winter.) I did actually wear the purple blouse the other day in a fit of optimism, but wound up wearing my fleece jacket over it all day.
I keep thinking of this blouse as something to wear to one of our local minor league baseball games (which are a hoot), but it would sure work for a flanerie, too. I was wondering if you use “flaneur” for both males and females, or are there two forms of the noun?
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Oh, and thank you for your kind comments on the blouse!
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Hmm…that’s a really good question. I suspect that because of the time in which the word started being used in the sense that I meant it, it generally applied to males. I have not heard “une flâneuse” used, but it is almost certainly the correct term when describing a female loiterer. 🙂
Good for you for taking the blouse out for a stroll. I used to reach a certain point at which I refused to wear a coat as well, also mostly in May.
That is not a very significant pear difference I would say, but the shirt is definitely working with your proportions! Definitely make another one.
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It’s lovely! The pleats are perfect, and like you, I am a massive fan of anything that makes me look like I have shoulders!
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Thank you! And yay for shoulders (and optical illusions)! Seriously, I keep looking at those photos and marveling at the apparent boobage that this blouse gives me–IRL I’m barely a B cup, but this makes me look like I have much more in that department. I wonder if I have any other fabric I can use for this pattern . . . .
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Wow, it does make you look boobilcious! It’s a really good pattern. It would look lovely in just a crisp plain white cotton shirting….
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I’m so happy that you’re so happy about this! It looks really professional. It was about time you used that fabric! Hooray!
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Thanks! Yep, I’m trying to whittle down the stash a little. It takes me a while, but I do eventually get there. 😛
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Looks great. I’m a pear too and I’ve always had good luck with New Look fitting.
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I don’t think I’ve ever made one before . . . I’ll have to take a look at their catalog next time I’m in the fabric store. Thanks!
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