Introducing: The Claire Blouse

 

Slam dunk! Another item ticked off my sewing plan from the start of April.

Peter Pan collar blouses and dresses have been in all the shops for months. I used to think the Peter Pan collar was really twee BUT THEN I realised I was completely wrong, and that actually I loved them (though this might have been enough to put me off for ever). Does that ever happen to you with any types of fashion?

My good friend and work colleague, Claire, who sits opposite me at work has several different blouses with cute collars. I think they worked into my consciousness and made me determined to make one for myself. Here's my review:

Pattern Used
It's McCalls 9458, a late 1960s pattern. I made view A (the central one)

Fabric and Notions
I used a lightweight printed cotton that I got from Kristen in the Crafters' Ceilidh swap back in January. I just love the print - it makes me think of Art Nouveau and moths' wings. The collar is made of scrap black cotton. I also found a perfectly matching lone button in my stash. Don't you love it when that happens?

Any changes made?
I had to grade the pattern down from a 38" bust plus add length to it. My grading on the arms went a little awry and they ended up very tight, and I couldn't raise my arms above my head. Luckily I had just enough fabric to cut more sleeves. I used the sleeves from this dress and the fit is much better plus I prefer the shorter sleeve length.

The pattern calls for a zip in the back but I went for a button with a rouleau loop and neatly turned over the edges of the fabric to make a clean edge. I also left a smaller seam allowance when sewing the top and bottom pieces of the collar together, so it would be a little larger than the pattern.

How did the project go?
Grading was ok, bit of a faff but not difficult. The top has French Darts, but though they are called this on the pattern envelope, the instructions do not ask you to treat them the way that my sewing books say you should treat French Darts i.e. cut along the fold. I was confused so I just treated them as normal darts. The sleeve bit was a hassle but I'm glad I decided to cut new sleeves as the fit is a lot better.

Cost
About £7 for the pattern only- the fabric was swapped or scrap and the button was from my stash.

Would I make it again?
Definitely, my plan was to make a few from this pattern once I had worked out the fitting kinks. There are a couple of changes to make - add width to the back so it's not so tight and shorten the darts primarily. Overall I'm really pleased and am planning to make another version to perfect it further before I break out the precious Liberty Tana Lawn.

K x