Sewing Vloggers

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Linen Blouse, Simplicity 3789

I think Simplicity has another winner with this blouse. It is from the Khaliah Ali Collection and has the B-C-D cup options for the bodice fronts. For me, this rocked. This pattern was made out of the envelope other than the following:
  • For petiting purposes I cut back the width of the collar a third of an inch. Can't have those details out of scale.
  • As my upper chest, back, and shoulders are narrow I used a size 6 for those areas, morphed to an 8 in the sleeve, armscye area, and ended up a 12 at the hips. I used the C cup bodice.
  • I baste-fitted the pattern and the only adjustment I needed to do out of the envelope was to scoop out a bit from my apex to almost the armscye. I also cut back the cap as noted below. Other than that this pattern was good to go. I usually have lots of adjustments on tops so this is wonderful.
  • From a design standpoint, I made the sleeves 3/4 length. I also did permanent tucks which I stitched with a Parisian stitch and wing needle. The collar also got the Parisian stitch treatment. I did not do the horizontal stitching across the tucks the pattern spec'd.
Based on reviews on PR, I knew there would be issues easing in the sleeves. "Hard" linen would only make this worse so I flattened the cap by a half inch at the center dot. Then I went thru a whole process before putting in the sleeve.
First I did double gathers on the sleeve. Normally I would put one on the outside of the stitch line, but with hanky linen this can mark. So they are both in the seam allowance. These gathers were then steamed down over my trusty sleeve mitt.




Next the sleeve is pinned into the garment and then steamed again over a ham.

Next, I baste between the two gathering lines and STEAM AGAIN! You can see the gathers disappearing each time. The sleeve is then stitched in with the sleeve on the machine bed, garment up, and the walking foot disengaged. STEAMED ONE MORE TIME and you get the results you see above.

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I can't wait till Spring. Sewing linen helps me deal with Cabin Fever up here in the Adirondacks...........Bunny.......ETA: Just wanted to add that the color is that pretty dark olive like you see below, not the washed out brown above.


19 comments:

  1. Bunny.- como decimos en España : "mejor imposible"., no hay mas que decir para esta maravillosa blusa. Gracias por la explicación sobre el montaje de las mangas, pues el lino precisamente es un tejido dificil de "embeber" y siempre amenaza con pequeñas arrugas.

    Espero que pronto tenga buen tiempo para poder estrenar tan magnífica prenda.

    saludos, Paco




    Bunny .- as we say in Spain: "Better not." There is no more to say to this beautiful blouse. Thanks for the explanation of the assembly of the sleeves, as the linen fabric is very difficult to "embed" and always threatening to small wrinkles.

    I hope soon to have a good time to build this magnificent garment.

    greetings, Paco

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  2. How beautiful, Bunny. And it looks gorgeous on you! Your attention to detail is inspiring.
    Cissie

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  3. Thanks all.

    Estoy esperando el llegar del verano muchisimo! Tengo mucho lino para llevar.

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  4. Beautiful! Thanks for the detail pictures. Love the way you did the tucks.

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  5. Wow! Great blouse, Bunny! All of your fine details (decorative stitching) makes this a real work of art! I need to have more patience for details like this when I sew!

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  6. Gorgeous, Bunny! I'll be relying on your tips for easing in a sleeve cap. Great tutorial photos. And me too, I have such a yen to sew spring clothes as a means of not dealing with winter.

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  7. Beautiful blouse, your details make it even more beautiful

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  8. Beautiful - definitely something to make spring more real than it seems at the moment. the contrast stitching is lovely.

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  9. I forgot to ask, Bunny. Did you do French seams on the blouse?
    Cissie

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  10. Yes, very beautiful! Thanks for the photos and info on setting in the sleeves

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  11. Who knew that a simple (well not quite so simple) blouse pattern could turn into something so classic that can span the ages. It is beautiful just like I knew it would be.

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  12. Really lovely! I'm inspired by your post to look for some linen in the stash. Thanks for the sleeve cap tutorial.

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  13. Gorgeous Bunny!
    Which stitch (you did use a Bernina for this right?) did you use?
    So glad for the "washed out" photos as they show the details so much better, and then we get to see the real color also! I also really like the sleeves at a 3/4 length.

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  14. Oh this is GORGEOUS!!!. I love all the stitched details , the pleats, everything. And I'm going to use your tutorial on the sleeves next time I make a jacket or shirt.

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  15. Buuny te vez hermosa.. y que cosas mas maravillosas estas haciendo.. y tus bebes son espectaculares.. dios te los bendiga...

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  16. This is just awesome. Very classy. I love the decorative stitching on the tucks.

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  17. The blouse turned out magnificent!! Great job!

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