Sunday 26 August 2012

Polkadot blouse



Before the summer I made this cute little polkadot blouse. It's a variation of my usual blousepattern, I closed up the front, skipped the collar and made fabric covered buttons down the back.


It turned out ok, but it has an unfortunate tendency to wander back, so the neckline climbs up, the shoulder seams move a bit out of place and the back becomes very blousy-saggy. Any idea of what I could do remedy this on a future make, save raising the neckline? It worked on the dress (see previous post), but then of course the bodice was attached to a skirt...


From the front. There's a bustdart to create room without adding bulk to the waist. The necline is faced. (A sidenote: That little building in the background is the in reality quite big outdoors dance-floor we use a couple of times during the summer)


The skirt is actually even better than new: it's an old make that needed some small fix-up's, and I've finally done them! I made this skirt in December 2009, over two years ago, for a Christmas danceperformance (the colour in the old post is very different from the one in this post - the truth lands somewhere in between). It was a last minute-no-time-for-finesse sewing project, so I didn't have time to let the skirt hang before hemming. A short while after it looked like this:



I put it on my dressdummy, measured a new length, cut and re-hemmed and voila! A usable skirt =)

Also, I was a little bit slimmer around the waist and hips two years ago, and the skirt came out on the tight side from the start. I had done a very dodgy waistband, which now had the benefit of being easily adjusted. I had to wrestle down my instinctive desire to remove the entire waistband and sew one on properly. But seriously, this skirt clings to everything, it wrinkles for nothing and while it was well worth the time to re-hem and adjust it a bit in the side, it would have been overkill to make a proper waistband. Even though my sewing-conscious is writhing, I'm trying to learn that it doesn't have to be perfect every time =)



I love this blouse and skirt combo! It feel very 50s college-student, esp with the keds and the ponytail. Quite fitting for this going back to school time of the year =)

Love, Erika

11 comments:

Debi said...

Love the polka dot blouse! The buttoned back is so adorable!!

Esz said...

Cute! I love button back blouses as well. I think it may be the weight of the buttons pulling your blouse back? I'm not sure though! And fixing it could be tricky - either use very light buttons, or a different cut with a more fitted back and reinforcing the facing of the buttonholes.

Erika said...

Debi; Thank you! I love the buttoned back look too =)

Esz; Thank you! =) I think you're right about the loose fit being a part of the problem, my other attempt (the working one) with this kind of neckline was fitted against the waist. Maybe I should sew in underbust pleats or darts, make the whole blouse more fitted? Interesting idea! =)

Kitten von Kat said...

En knapprad baktill ger verkligen blusen det lilla extra. Jag misstänker också att det är knapparnas tyngd som drar ner den mot ryggen hela tiden, som du säger kan det hjälpa med några insnitt framtill. Annars en kombination av kläder i min smak, gillar rött och vitt tillsammans! :)

M'lady said...

That's a pretty blouse. I think you should release your own range of patterns. :)

Isis said...

Så söt den är!

Ett haute couture-tips är att sy fast ett band mitt bak som går upp fram, knäpps på med tryckknapp. Det blir som en body, typ... Lärt från "Couture Sewing Techniques" av Claire Shaeffer. Väldigt läsvärd!

Samia said...

This is a really cute blouse. Something that you can wear easily with a lot of skirts and trousers. A really good way to look smart without having to fuss for hours in front of the mirror.

Well done for re-hemming your skirt too. I have a pile of "to be mended clothes" I never get to tackle as altering and fixing some garments is not half as much fun than sewing from scratch is.

Thanks for showing your work.
E.

Mrs J said...

Or you could just tuck the front of your blouse in your panties. Not at pretty sight, I know, but unless you do aerials no-one will know ;-)

Erika said...

Tackar, Kitten! Hoppas kunna avhjälpa det med lite formgivning framtill. Älskar också kombintationen, rött-vitt har varit årets sommarhit =)

Lady D, thank you! Interesting idea, my own pattern line... That would be fun! We'll see what the future may one day bring... =)

Isis, tackar! Väldigt fiffigt tips! Har den boken, men måste uppenbarligen läsa den lite mer noga, det där hade jag helt missat. Hem och plocka fram! =)

Eurielle; Thank you! I love blouses, they're easy to make and easy to wear =)
Oh, I hear you about the mending pile. New projects are just so much more fun! I'm really trying to at least once in while make a dent in the medning pile or the UFO box =)

Erika said...

Haha, mrs J, you've painted a lovely and hilarious image for me! =) It's def worth a try!

Ms. Falcon said...

love the blouse ... so cute.

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