Right. So what do we think about this blouse then? As much as I wish I did, I just don't think I like it. Both the colour and fit aren't right for me. Which is super annoying because I adore both the fabric and the pattern. On other people.
Fabric:
Perhaps the most annoying thing is that I've had this fabric in my stash and have been mulling over what to make with this it for YEARS. Literal years. Not continuously of course, but regularly. I even included it in my #2019makenine sewing plans, although I didn't get round to using it until early 2020. It's some gorgeous Liberty tana lawn, the print is called Jonathan, that I bought from the Sewbox.co.uk stand at the GBSB live event two or three years ago. I've seen a few projects on the internet where people have used it the other way up, but to me it looks likes ruffles and I prefer it this way.
It almost goes without saying, but this fabric was a dream to work with, and feels amazing against the skin. The issue I appear to have with it is that it is orange. I'm a big fan of wearing rust, and I thought that I could pull off wearing it's purer, less muted cousin, however it would appear that I cannot. Oh, and did you see the pattern matching I pulled off along the centre front seam (see above, if you can!). Mic drop!
Pattern:
As I mentioned before, I internally debated my pattern choice for this fabric for an embarrassingly long time. For quite a while, I thought a pattern that actually included ruffles would be fun to make in this ruffle-y print. However, in the end I fell down on the blouse version of the insanely popular Wilder Gown pattern by Friday Pattern Co.. I'm not really a dress wearer, and certainly not a gown wearer, but I've really liked all the other blouse versions I've seen on Instagram, so I decided to give it a whirl.
I felt confident to go ahead without making a toile, basing my sizing choices on the finished garment measurements (I blended between sizes, as per usual). The only change I made to the pattern design was to alter the sleeve: I straightened the otherwise tapered shape and added elastic to the hems to make them a little poufy. A decision I do not regret. The construction was straightforward and fun. I omitted the topstitching down either side from the centre front seam because I was trying to disguise it as far as possible (did you see my pattern matching, BTW?!), and I finished a few of the seam allowances together (closed seams) rather than separate and pressed open (open seams) because I thought the finish would be neater.
Thoughts:
As I previously said, I don't think this colour looks good on me, but I'm not convinced that that's the only issue here. Something doesn't feel right around the neck/shoulder area. Perhaps it's related to volume: maybe there's not enough fullness for the gathering at the neck to be fully effective and subsequently it feels slightly wrong. I'd be interested to compare these pattern pieces to the True Bias Roscoe pattern to see how differently the volume in those patterns is handled.
Of course, things would never have got this far if I'd just made a freaking toile of the damn pattern. I could have then sized up or something, or opted for a different pattern for this fabric altogether. But to be honest, I still would have made something orange that wouldn't have suited me, even if the fit was better, so all in all I feel like I saved some time. If you know me IRL and would like to own this blouse after the pandemic (oh yeah, that whole GLOBAL PANDEMIC thing I'm just blogging through), then give me a buzz!
