A pussy bow blouse!

Hi. I am Lucia. I am a fabricholic. I buy and I buy and I never make anything. Here is to changing that!

Burda 10-2010-118 blouse with Burda 01-2009-112 skirt

I am almost done with my spring SWAP! I have always wanted a pussy bow blouse, now I have one. This 100% silk georgette was my first luxurious purchase, definitely out of my price range as a grad student. But I couldn't resist the happy color mix and the great drape. When I spotted the perfect white silk organza to underline it I took it as a sign and bought both. Fifteen years later it finally gets to see the sun again as a pussy bow blouse!

Burda 10-2010-118 line drawing

I used Burda 10-2010-118 but I lengthened the neck scarf to be as long as my fabric allowed, to an extravagant 182cm. The bigger the pussy bow, the better :-) The entire blouse, including both sides of the scarf, are underlined with white silk organza, against transparency and for drape. 

This was my first time sewing silk georgette and I was terrified because of how slippery it is. But I just took my time carefully pinning pieces and especially carefully guiding the fabric under the presser foot, not letting it be pulled in the slightest. I loved doing this actually, I realized how much control one can have on the sewing and it was very enjoyable to handle the fabric in such a careful and yet firm way. In fact, because of this my seams in this blouse turned out better than previous seams in easier fabrics. How about that? I am actually improving! Practice does make perfect.

One more thing I tried with this blouse may be a bit unorthodox: many books and blogs will tell you that sleeves in knits can be set flat, before the underarm seam is sewn. I've never read an explanation for why this is okay with knits and not with wovens. I figured it is related to how stretchy knits are. Then I thought that since this georgette is also stretchy and since I couldn't bear the thought of trying to ease in a sleeve head in this georgette, I figured why not try the flat insertion method? So I did and it worked great! No puckers anywhere, no waving, just a great fitting sleeve. Is this heresy? Should I be ashamed and promise never to do it again?... until someone explains it to me, I'll just enjoy my silk blouse with perfect sleeves.

Finally, I am big on variations, and I love the fact that I can wear this blouse with the pussy bow or with a lower, looser knot. 

two ways to tie my blouse from Burda 10-2010-118

Ah yes, I almost forgot. I am now addicted to the Pattern Review contests, so I entered this top in the Natural Fibers Contest. That's three in a row!

Nice or my grandma's dress?

Hi. I am Lucia, I am a fabricholic. I buy and I buy and I never make anything. Here is to changing that.

Vogue 1250 DKNY dress

I finally made my own copy of the super popular dress Vogue 1250 by DKNY. My motivation finally came after joining Pattern Review's Best Pattern Contest. I made my version in a large format knit, overprinted with a paisley pattern that I bought a year or two ago in Portugal. At the time I remember thinking how cool the fabric looked and what a great avant garde something I could make with it... now, I am not so sure!

I do like the pattern, although it does not make it into my list of absolute favorites. I like it because it is really simple: 4 seams plus hems. Because of this it also went very quickly, once I got over the weirdness of the few seams. But it's not quite my favorite because there really is too much fabric at the cowl. I may have aggravated that problem by using a thick knit, but in the myriad of versions I've seen with lightweight knits the neckline is really rather low for this reason.

I lengthened the dress by a good 8cm, to my new favorite length of 4cm below the knee. I also added sleeves to the elbow by simply extending the pattern as far as I could before hitting the attached skirt piece. This worked beautifully and I think this is my new favorite sleeve length. So Duchess of Cambridge, too!

Finally, the fabric... now that it's made up I am not sure if I like the print anymore. I can't get over a faint "grandma-ish" vibe I get from it. Or maybe it is just that the colors are more for Fall and I am in a Spring soon-to-be-summer mood? Hmmm. What is that concept I've come across in many sewing blogs? That closet where garments go to sit for a while until our head is clear of the prejudice that builds up when working intensely and closely on something... That's where this one will need to hang for a while to see if it improves.

My review of the pattern is here at Pattern Review.