buttons

Pussy bow blouse

~ Rhiannon ~ 1 Comment

Pussy bow blouse

What is it?

A loose-fitting button up blouse with pleated sleeves and altered by me to have a pussy bow collar and piping on the yoke.

Is it blue?

No!

What’s the fabric?

A flimsy material (not very good with technical terms….) that’s white and covered in teeny red polka dots

What’s the pattern?

I used the same pattern that I used for the blue blouse, but followed the instructions in the book to add the piping on the yoke and this hack tutorial on the collar

Where’s the fabric from?

The Fancy Silk Store in Birmingham

What was good about making this?

Managing to get the hack to work and figuring out how to do the piping

What was bad about making this?

The fabric was slippery which made it a bit hard. It also took me a while to figure out how to do the piping without actual piping. I ended up getting bias binding, sandwiching it and trimming it down. Looked pretty effective though so ultimately a plus.

Would you make it again?

I’m not sure. I like the softness of this blouse far more than the previous one, but with both versions they’re pretty low cut on me so I have to wear them vest tops underneath. If anyone has a suggestion for an alternative feminine blouse that I could make that has a slightly higher neckline it would be much appreciated!

Blue blouse

~ Rhiannon ~ Leave a comment

Blue blouse

What is it?

A loose-fitting button up blouse with pleated sleeves and Chelsea collar

Is it blue?

Yes

What’s the fabric?

Some blue cotton I had in my stash

What’s the pattern?

The Mimi blouse in Tilly Walnes’ Love at First Stitch

Where’s the fabric from?

Ikea I think?

What was good about making this?

It gave me a chance to have another go at a lot of skills

What was bad about making this?

The pleats took a couple of attempts to get right and when the blouse was finished, due to the weight of the fabric it didn’t seem to sit very well (although it is better tucked into skirts).

Would you make it again?

I did; see the pussy bow blouse

Spotty denim skirt

~ Rhiannon ~ Leave a comment

Spotty denim skirt

What is it?

An asymmetrical denim skirt with side button opening

Is it blue?

Yes

What’s the fabric?

I used an indigo denim cotton spandex with spots for the outer and some blue gingham I had lying around for the facing

What’s the pattern?

The Arielle skirt by Tilly & the Buttons

Where’s the fabric from?

The denim was from Guthrie & Ghani in Birmingham

What was good about making this?

I discovered I can be pretty resourceful if I need to; at the time I bought it, they didn’t think they’d get the denim back in stock so I had slightly less than I needed for the skirt. I altered the pattern to make it shorter (but not mini skirt length) and used different fabric for the facing. I liked how quickly it came together

What was bad about making this?

The top buttonhole. I’d not done buttonholes before and it took about six attempts to get the top one to work as there more than anywhere else the amount of fabric the buttonholer had to deal with meant it got pretty thick. I very nearly gave up completely. Also, the spots were white when I bought the fabric but went blue when I prewashed… And haven’t gone back yet….

Would you make it again?

Yes, not least because it’s a fantastic skirt for cycling in. I quiet like the idea of making one in red. I think I’ll make it full length this time (i.e. buy enough fabric!) and also tackle lining it.