I can never get a ready-made blouse/shirt to fit. It is either too big on the shoulders or too small on the hips. Trust my pear shape! So I decided to make one. I bought this current (not vintage!) Butterick pattern as I thought it is versatile and I can make lots of different shirts from the same pattern. I was pleased to see that LLadybird likes this pattern too!
This lovely orange butterfly fabric came from my local shop More Sewing. It's actually quilting fabric, so has a nice weight to it. It is a lot brighter in real life, and lots of people comment on it when I wear it. This is view D with princess seams, and lots of top stitiching. I lined the collar and cuffs with yellow fabric, which makes it look very Spring like.
One clever little touch that Laura at More Sewing suggested was to sew little triangles into the bottom of the side seams to give even more room for my hips! I love the way they make it look like a peplum.
This one is View A (without the pockets). So this one has no darts or princess seams. I bought this lovely fabric with vintage bathing ladies all over it as a remnant ages ago. I have seen this fabric made into dresses and tops all over blogland! This fabric is much softer, so probably more suitable for summer warmer days.
Here's a picture of the extra triangle in the bottom of the side seam, see how I fussy cut it to have a whole lady!
I am so happy to have shirts that fit! I would like to make one in a drapey silk type of fabric next.
Hello Linda, thank you for stopping by and commenting on my blog. I'm afraid I cannot sew (yet), but I promised myself I'll learn once I'm retired. Both your blouses are lovely, but I'm quite taken with the fabric of the second one especially. You've cut that extra triangle ever so cleverly! xxx
ReplyDelete