Wednesday, July 15, 2009

BWOF 02-2009-129, Pretty Parisian Blouse

So when I was in Paris last year I bought two fabrics. I made last year's birthday dress out of the blue circles fabric and had enough left in odd shapes for a project with lots of small pieces. When I saw BWOF 02-2009-129, it totally clicked, especially after Allison C made it and it turned out so cute.

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Following Allison's lead, I didn't use the BWOF directions for the gathered neckline and sleeve. BWOF wants you to neaten the raw edges of the fabric with a narrow zigzag and then use zigzag over shirring elastic to gather. Instead I added allowances for casings and used regular elastic.

Elastic Casing InsideI was kind of proud of my clever method here. The fronts are lined, so I first sewed the neck edge of the front and front facing and turned right sides outward.

Then I sewed the sleeve to the front, ending the stitching at the finished edge of the front, leaving the casing allowance overhanging.

Next I turned under the casing short edge seam allowance for a neat finish and turned under the long casing edge of the sleeves/back.

Finally, I threaded the elastic through and stitched it in place at the ditch at the front/sleeve seam. This creates a nice finish on all the edges and a clean, continuous look on the outside.

I did my usual SBA of narrowing the bodice front darts. Oddly, I could have used some sort of weird FBA on this one because I found the upper bodice a little bit too short. Had I muslined (as if!!!) I probably would have added about half an inch of length to the upper bodice front pieces so the midriff would sit securely under the girls instead of creeping up over them a bit.

Back AlterationsI didn't really understand the point of the darts in the lower back, so I folded them out. To compensate, I added a center back seam and took an extra large swayback adjustment, slashing and overlapping right below the waist and adding the length back in at the bottom. The fit in the back is good and I don't miss the darts at all.

I left off the bow; although I love it in the solid, it seemed too busy for my print fabric.

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I love the style of this blouse, and somehow find the shape of the back neck with the gathering very appealing. It's so simple, but something about the design is unusually nice.






I was so pleased to find a pattern for the rest of my lovely Paris fabric! I adore my birthday dress, but it is not an everyday piece. This blouse, on the other hand, allows me to be secretly Parisian on an otherwise ordinary day at work. Pass the macarons!

All photos are here and the review is here.

33 comments:

Meg said...

Ooh la la, j'adore cette blouse [or words to that effect, written correctly, d'accord]. I'd throw in some German if I knew any.

Trudy said...

The blouse is beautiful.

www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com

Little Hunting Creek said...

Bellissima! You get the award for best use of scraps (that would be a great contest)

Anonymous said...

What paper do you use to trace out BWOF patterns and where can it be purchased? Thank you.

judy said...

I really like this fabric! The blouse is very cute and you did a great job with the casings.

teresa said...

You look great in blue. Adorable blouse.

Sherril said...

Casing was a really good idea. That fabric is perfect for this cute pattern. But I love those shoes. What do they look like in the front?

Anonymous said...

Love this blouse on you. It looks fab! That fabric is so beautiful too. Great use of it. And I agree, blue looks great on you.

HeathersSphere said...

Wow! You did a sensational job on this top! Burdie's version did not pop out at me. Your version is much more enticing. Lovely fabric (nice use of leftovers) and superb colors on you!

Jackie said...

This is a very cute blouse!

Jenny said...

Very pretty! Are your sleeve hems gathered? They look much flatter than in the design drawing. I've been wanting to make this in white cotton/linen but just haven't gotten around to it.

Shannon said...

Pretty blouse - excellent tweaks you made to the pattern!

Anonymous said...

I love your version of this blouse. I did a muslin of this one, and like you I did a casing for the elastic. After seeing yours, I feel like sewing this one again, I just have to find the right fabric for it.

Anonymous said...

What a pretty blouse and I love the fabric.

I'm impressed with how clean the lines look on it.

Lisette M said...

Very, very pretty, such a wonderful fabric. I'm very fond of this design also.

McVal said...

Adorable! I hope to kick my daughter off my sewing machine tonight and get some sewing done for myself!

Uta said...

Chic little blouse - and perfectly matched to glasses and shoes! I think that color blue is very flattering on you.

Marita said...

Trena, I love this blouse! very beautiful fabric:-) BTW, have you already got that Knip with the Martin Grant dress pattern? Have you already chosen fabric for it?I'm going to the fabric store on friday and I'm tying to find something interesting for it, wouldn't be too much fun to make it from a plain fabric, eh?

Sue said...

Tres chic...? well it's a great litle blouse - good use of leftovers!

Sew-4-Fun said...

Magnifique! I've had my eye on this pattern so it's nice to see another nice version.

Carol said...

I like this very much! It's a cute little top and I had overlooked it before.

Michelle said...

Beautiful shirt! I love that fabric! Fantastic job.

AllisonC said...

I love your international top! Good to see this really works in a print as well.

Faye Lewis said...

Love the way you put that outfit together. Your top is so cute.

Sigrid said...

Lovely top, it's nice in a print too. Very international! Mooi!

Elaray said...

Trés jolie!

Tany said...

Love your version, it turned out really beautiful!

gwensews said...

Ooh la la! Cherie is adorable is this very pretty top! It's super and something that you could make many times.

Anonymous said...

Second posting of this question: Could you please share information about the paper you use to trace out the BWOF patterns? Also, is it available nationwide? Thanking you in advance.

Lory said...

Very pretty, I like your colorful choice of fabric. :):):)

Jali said...

I was giggling to myself reading the caption on the international nature of this blouse. This is a very nice version and I totally adore it.

Vicki said...

tres chic! Good use for the fabric.

Frau Nähfreundins Tagebuch said...

Sehr schön.
LG von Susan