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The Vintage Sewing Kit

- Blog by Kit -

Tag Archives: Blouses

Floral Tie Blouse

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I’ve been slow to post this project because I forgot to take a picture while I was wearing it! So today, I received a new book in the mail called “Retro Makeup” by Lauren Rennells. I decided to test a look and whoa, did it seriously up my vintage game! I looked so good that I knew it was the perfect time to get a picture of my new blouse. Ever have that moment when you look in the mirror and say “wow” at yourself? This was it!

But really, this post is about the blouse, which has the most confusing pattern piece shape I’ve ever seen.

Front, somehow

Even now, I’m not sure which way is up…

Despite my confusion over just how this piece was supposed to go, McCall’s M7053 went together quite easily when I followed the instructions. Mostly. Instead of hemming the tie, I decided to bind it with red linen scraps. It took a while to figure out where to bind, but I managed to bind just the neckline and the tie, so it worked out in the end.

M7053

I must say though, that I’ve never made such nice binding before! I made the strips from scrap red linen, and sewed it to the “right” side first, then pressed it to the back and used my stitch in the ditch foot to sew the wrong side down.

Bias binding

I even managed mitered acute corners! (Way harder than right angle corners, btw).

Mitered corners

I got so absorbed in the project that I failed to take any more pictures, but here’s the finished blouse!

Finished blouse

 

The whole outfit

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Sassy Librarian Blouse #3 Completed

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Sassy Librarian Blouse #3 is finished! The chiffon was much harder to work with than the quilting cotton, and honestly, I think I prefer the look of the cotton versions with this pattern. At this point, I have made all possible versions of the Sassy Librarian Blouse by Christine Haynes. With this one, I did the pintucks and sleeveless features of version 2, but included a collar from view 1. I rounded the ends of the collar to make it Peter Pan like, but I neglected to add seam allowance to the center back. Since I had an empty gap between the collar back, I added a little box pleat for interest.

Back in progress

As this was my first time making the sleeveless version, I was rather intrigued by the method of binding the armholes BEFORE closing the side seam. As directed, I sewed the binding to the right side from side seam to side seam. Then you sew up the side seam, including the binding, and have something like this.

Armhole binding

I had actually skipped my steps around before this part, to complete the center front buttons before the armholes. Then, when I reached this point, I was able to test fit the blouse and had to take the bust in by 1/4″ and let the waist out by 1/4″. If I hadn’t done the buttons first, I would have had to take the armhole apart to make the adjustments, later.

Once everything fit well, the rest of the binding was pretty typical, fold your seam allowance, line it up with your seam line and stitch in the ditch. I topstitched two lines of decorative stitching along the armband, to mimic the center front.

Decorative stitching on binding

Speaking of center front, it’s time to confess: the cute double rows of stitching on the pintuck were an accident. I made the initial tucks too narrow which made the blouse front too wide. I made a decision to stitch a second line of black stitches, rather than unpick the first line, and fortunately, it looks cute instead of like a mistake.

Diamond buttons

I used the same sheer silky material from the collar, backed with fusible interfacing, and made covered buttons, centering the diamond as best I could. The off center button was used at the bottom where it will be hidden by a waistband.

Once I finished sewing, it went into the washer and dryer to remove the washable marker lines, then I quickly wrapped a turban around my hair for the sake of pictures and here we have it! The finished Sassy Librarian Blouse #3!

Diamond chiffon blouse

What do you think? Were the diamond buttons a good choice or are they tacky?

Sassy Librarian Blouse #3 Sneak Peek

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As I mentioned a few days ago, I started a third Sassy Librarian Blouse. My previous two were made from quilting cotton which gave the pattern a nice crisp look. This time I wanted to see how the pattern draped in chiffon.

Since the fabric is all sorts of slinky, I hung the fabric over my shower curtain rod and starched it first. I recently discovered these awesome pump action spray bottles (at the hairdresser) that provides a continuous spray, similar to an aerosol.

Continuous mist spray bottle

I added liquid starch and just a bit of water (maybe 4:1 or 5:1 starch to water), sprayed my fabric thoroughly, then left it to dry. The fabric still slipped a ton, but it’s much stiffer than it started, making it easier to work with.

As many of you know, it’s best to customize your marking tools to the fabric. Due to the slipperyness of this fabric, I used washable Crayola markers to mark it. The markers barely need to touch the fabric to leave a mark, so there’s less shifting the fabric out of place each time you mark, and I haven’t had problems washing the marker out (along with the starch) after I finish the project.

At this point, I need to bind the armhole, close up the sides, hem, and then add buttons and holes. Sounds so easy, but it’s probably a few more hours of work to go before it’s ready for wash and wear. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek of the blouse.

Front in progress

Back in progress

Christine Haynes’ Sassy Librarian Blouse

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Tonight, I’m starting my third Sassy Librarian blouse by Christine Haynes. This pattern is for a Craftsy class, which is great because it gave me step by step instructions for my new journey into “modern” (ie, later than 19th century) sewing. Also, as I’m a self-taught seamstress, I like classes like this because I pick up little tricks and tips from experienced and/or trained sewers. I buy Craftsy classes when they’re on sale for $20. I like that I learn something new from each one and can refer back when I don’t remember something. Well worth my money.

Sassy Librarian Blouse

I’ve made this blouse twice already and thought I should share those versions before I start number three. You may have noticed these blouses already in my Fabric Covered Buttons post.

Buttons on finished projects

First was this awesome floral fabric I hunted through multiple fabric stores to find and used initially for a playsuit. This was leftover fabric, and I still had more leftover after the blouse. I made size 8, for my 36″ bust, but it was too large. I seamed both side seams in about an inch and it was perfect after that. I used large 7/8″ covered buttons because big buttons just feel so retro.

Floral collared blouse

For the second blouse, I tried the other view with the cute bow at the neck, using the same yellow fabric for the body. This time I jumped to size 4, which fits, but is snug in the bust and created a bubble above my chest from not being able to settle back in place after I move. I used 1/2″ covered buttons on this version, but it still feels appropriately vintage, despite my preference for big buttons!

Yellow & brown blouse

Blouse number three is going to be size 6, since I’ve already tried sizes 4 and 8. Hopefully size 6 will be perfect without a full bust adjustment (FBA), but if not, I’ll be doing size 4 with a FBA on blouse number 4.

Has anyone else tried or have plans to try the Sassy Librarian Blouse, or any other Craftsy classes?