The First Time For Everything Blouse

You know how Eleanor  Roosevelt said “Do one thing every day that scares you”? Well, I’m pretty sure she was talking about using her first vintage pattern when she said that. I mean there is no way to be sure, of course, but I’m fairly confident that that’s what it was about. Of course, vintage to her would have been, like, tea gowns from the Edwardian era, but, you know, potato, potaahto.  It’s scary out there, guys, it is. I’ve read horror stories about vintage patterns with crazy instructions and no photos and wasting fabric and time and precious moments all for naught! So I was fairly concerned about delving into the world of vintage patterns, which is dumb, because I have BOUGHT a lot of vintage patterns….logic and I aren’t really best friends sometimes.

But sometimes you just have dive right in, right? Carpe Vintage Pattern, no? So I said to myself I said, start small, just try something simple. And with that I stitched up Butterick 7490, which some of you may or may not recognize as the pattern I discussed in my first of many future posts on Copycatting. This is a pattern I bought in homage to Colette Patterns’ Sencha, and you know what? I think it actually turned out pretty okay!

I look very pensive here. Maybe it’s because the sun was in my eyes. Maybe it’s because I’m considering how impressive my blouse is. Potato, potaahto.

Buffeted by the WIND!

Not only was this my very first vintage pattern, (and it was a snap, ladies and gentleman, just too easy! Well, except…but more on that later) , but it was also the first time I have ever re-sized a pattern (courtesy of this amazing tutorial), and I used vintage fabric and vintage thread AND this was my first time working with…..stripes! And I think I matched them fairly well!

Not to shabby, right? I pretty much used this as a muslin, in a sense, because I feel strongly that this blouse pattern is going to be used over and over again. I just love that this is such a simple shape but actually neatly tucked and quite flattering on curves. The only modifications I had to make were to the neckline, which now looks a little something like this:

Right, so, cute boat neck, right? Well, when I first made this I was determined to follow the (excellent) directions to the letter. So when it said finish the hems with seam binding, I was like, yes, of course, right away, sir! So I did so, even though I think seam binding is a slippery devil. But I did it! And then then I had finished I had a neckline that was a floppy neck hugging choking mess. And I thought, hmmmm, this is not exactly what I wanted.

So I just flipped over the excess, sewed a narrow hem, trimmed, and went about my merry way. And so I finished all the hems just just pinking, turning, and narrowly stitching. Which would NOT make this the first time I said, oh, screw it, I’m taking the easy way out here. Honorable? Mayhap not. But there are only so many challenges I can take on in one go.

So what would I change? Well, next time I’m going to try out a keyhole neckline. Let’s see how THAT goes, shall we?

Glamour Shot!

All in all, my first time was pretty good. Not everyone can say that, now, can they?