I never wear woven tops. There is a shirt in my closet. But it’s a bit small and haven’t been worn for years. Which means I should get rid of it. I wore it frequently when it did fit my body (and style?). It’s a stretch woven, so maybe it doesn’t count. I’m used to wearing fitted, stretch tops. Although I’ve gravitated towards less fitted and sometimes even draped tops over the last few years, I’d still like to show off my curves while I still have them. I like the concept of woven tops and I would like to make them a part of my style and wardrobe. They look good on others. Permitting I can feel comfortable wearing one. Therein lies the problem. I need to find a woven, fitted top that looks good and feels good to wear.
SWAP 2014 – Portrait blouse, front
The plan was to make two Portrait blouses from Gertie’s first book. One from a cheap but very lovely cotton in black and white and another from my much pricier cotton voile from Cloud 9. It didn’t turn out as as excellent as I pictured it. Mostly All my fault since I altered the pattern based on holding up the pattern tissue against my body. This top was done over six moths ago and I can’t remember why I did these changes. The only reason I know the numbers are because I wrote them down. Good for me. I used a size 4 but cut the back 1 cm from the fold and the front 2.5 cm from the fold. Both back and front facings were extended the same amounts. The bust dart was lowered about 4.5 cm.
Well, the result as I said is not stunning. Maybe it’s salvageable. In the photo below, I’m pinching the shoulder, bringing it up a cm or two on both the front and back. Looks a little better and maybe I’ll try it someday. But I’d need more alterations to get rid of the fluff under the arms. Maybe just trying a regular size 4 but with some added width at the waist side seams.
 SWAP 2014 – Portrait blouse, back |
 SWAP 2014 – Portrait Blouse, possible alteration |
Both sleeves and hem were hemmed using my rolled hem presser foot. It’s a little tricky to get it started but I totally love it. Must get the wider foots as well. I put in an invisible zip because that’s what I bought before really reading the instructions. I guess vintage clothes don’t use invisible zips. I don’t mind though.
 Portrait blouse – invisible zipper |
 Portrait blouse – detail : rolled hem |
Since I apparently dread fitting so much and hoping to magically find a pattern that’s drafted to perfectly fit me; instead of doing another Portrait blouse and ruining my lovely voile, I found another pattern to try. This is the Edith blouse from Maria Denmark. This pattern is available as both a B and a C cup. These are sold separately and at the time a bought it the C-cup version wasn’t on Crafsty. It’s not perfect but probably the best one yet (I’ve also made test versions of Alma and Belcarra from Sewaholic). I’ve worn it out once and didn’t think about it too much.
Edith blouse
Well who would expect perfect out of the envelope. Not many people and did anyone think I learnt anything from the Portrait blouse. I made a high round back adjustment. The computer-generation alteration according to the authors of Fit for real people. I can’t really get to grips with what my fitting issues are. Most of the time with woven garments (like jackets and the Belcarra) I cannot comfortably raise my arms. At first I thought it was due to a broad back but comparing my cross back measurement to at least some tables contradicts that. Well, as barely visible in the photo of the back the half cm added at the centre back is pooling below the collar. I again think it is probably a broad shoulder issue since the front of the cap sleeves dig into my arms when raised. There are also some pull lines at the front shoulder. Whatever that means.
 Edith Blouse – back view |
 Edith blouse – front |
The cap sleeve hems were again hemmed using the rolled hem foot. Not too pretty since the curve was so tight. I had bought some regular white buttons and I was super excited to try the automated buttonholes on my machine. But they just looked ugly in the thin fabric. Even tried a small microtex needle. Pearl snaps to the rescue. Even got myself a pair of pliers. They were so easy to use. The snaps were marked jersey, but they seem to work.
Supplies:
- Pattern 1 – Portrait blouse from Gertie’s new book for better sewing.
- Pattern 2 – Edith blouse drafted for a C-cup from Maria Denmark.
- Fabric – Lightweight cotton from Tygaffären.
- Thread – Polyester.
- Notions – Invisible zip. Prym snap buttons
- Interfacing – A lightweight nonvowen.
 Edith blouse – front |
 Edith blouse – detail |
Cost – about 300SEK for both, £24 , $36, €32
The Dawn Threader 