Simple Sew Lottie Blouse

This was the free pattern that came with the second edition of Love Sewing magazine. I had plenty of material left over from my BHL Polly top, so I thought I’d give this a go…

Having an actual pattern was so much easier that constructing their headache-inducing, overlapping PDF one that came with their previous edition! As usual I was torn between cutting the size 8 and 10, but opted for the 10 as, much to my joy, I discovered upon closer inspection that this pattern didn’t require button holes 😉 * The disadvantage of no buttonholes however is that it’s harder to pull on over my chest, hence I ended up plumping for the 10.

The construction of this was really pretty simple. On a skills front this is probably the neatest bias binding I’ve ever attached. I used some white ready-made which was perfect. I felt really pleased with myself, but then came what was supposed to be the ‘pussy bow’ tie… I’m still not sure whether it was me or the pattern, (probably me, I know!) but I ended up with more of a ‘dickie bow’. I did consult Simple Sew’s Facebook page for additional ‘attaching’ instructions, but still ended up with this…

I’m not sure as to whether I should unpick this and attempt to construct an actual pussy bow tie or just leave it like it is. I don’t have any of the spot material left, but I do have some more gingham. What do you think?

*My mum has spoken to the shop she bought my machine from and they’re more than happy to give me a belated demonstration, but I’ll probably have to wait until the Summer holidays roll around until I manage a trip over. So buttonholes, I have you in my sights!

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Guilty Sewing Confession No 1*

Ok, I’ll come clean… This is the first project where I’ve actually…. well, you know… actually followed the instruction to pre wash my fabric before sewing! I know, this could have been disastrous, but my impatience to actually just get sewing has always got the better of me. Given that I’ve mostly sewn skirts in the past, and I don’t know about anyone else, but I only actually wash skirts if I absolutely have to, I’ve gotten away with this. (I have two small children so the poor washing machine has been on pretty constantly since they arrived on the scene without me adding needless extras). Well, so far nothing’s shrunk in the wash, fingers crossed…

Anyway, this was my first attempt at an actual ‘blouse’ rather than a top and my chosen fabric was a white cotton with a raised blue dot (Swiss dot?) so I figured it’d better get used to being washed. My pattern of choice was Colette’s Sencha 1007. I originally intended to sew up version 1, but then got tempted by version 2 half way through, but chickened out of doing actual button holes, so ended up with a version somewhere between the two.

I added a Brigitte Scarf from Tilly Walnes’ free tutorial to celebrate the launch of her first book #LoveAtFirstStitch, as I wasn’t entirely happy with the ‘plainness’ of the finished front. Maybe it’s the pretty high neckline, I’m not sure, but I just felt it needed ‘something’, hence the addition of a pretty large necklace too. I like the air hostess look on the right, but actually went with the pirate-style waist sash for the rest of the day. I guess I was in a more swashbuckling type of mood 🙂

The main body of this sewed up pretty quickly, so lived up to its ‘beginner’ tag. However there was a whole lot of hand sewn ‘catch stitching’ that slowed me down. I had to google it, as it’s not a term I’d come across before. My sleeve hems weren’t quite as invisible as I’d have liked, but I got the hang of it on the back openings. I don’t mind doing a bit of hand sewing, but this did seem a bit excessive to me. Not sure if there’s a way round this for future projects?

On the plus side this was the first time I’d attempted applying facings to a neckline and this went pretty well. They did kind of just ‘hang’ there though, and I ended up sewing the ends into the back opening to stop them swinging out. Not entirely sure if I was supposed to do this?

I really had a hankering for covered buttons for this top, another first. To say they were fiddly was an understatement, even with the ‘covered button’ apparatus, but we (I roped both my mum and my husband into helping me ‘click’ them on) got there in the end.

My automatic button hole foot was clearly designed for ‘normal’ buttons however, and despite consulting numerous books and blogs I was still pretty mystified as to where to start, so I cheated and just used poppers. If anyone can point me to a good tutorial on button holes I’d greatly appreciate it as I don’t want to continue avoiding any patterns with buttons for too long.

Please excuse the incredibly creased shot above. Granted I should have taken the photographs at the beginning and not the end of a day’s wear. It was also beginning to spit heavily at this point, hence the scarecrow, windswept hair.

I’m pretty pleased with this overall, but I’d definitely try a different version for the front alone, to avoid such a high neckline next time. My body measurements don’t quite ‘fit’ Colette sizes. I cut a size 4, as I did for their Ginger Skirt, which seemed to work out, though not quite as well as their skirt.

 

*As I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last…