Wednesday 13 November 2013

Meow!



Hello good people!

I am back, with my newest make!
For your viewing pleasure is a pussy bow blouse made from Simplicity #8738, printed in 1978.
The fabric is a light cotton I found in a remnant bin for about 1£, and it was just enough to squeeze out this cute blouse.

The pattern is one I got in a small lot off a Facebook group, for a couple of £s earlier this summer, and when I saw there was going to be a Bow Neck Sewalong hosted by Seamstress Erin, well... I was good to go!

The pattern was VERY tatty... I had to totally restore it, before it could be put to use. If someone told me it was cut by Stevie Wonder, I would not bat an eyelid. (No offence, Stevie, but we all know you're no good with scissors..). On several pieces the seam allowance had been cut off, and they were also severed at all "lengthen-here" lines, so it was quite the puzzle.

I went for View 4, with short sleeves.

The construction was actually great. The back yoke piece is self faced, and made the inside lovely and clean. The instructions was clear and easy to follow, and the bow collar was so easy that the whole shirt was made up in just a few hours spread over a couple of days. None of that usual collar-crazyness!


I found the perfect buttons!! Can you see the little pussycats?
So cute!!


When it was time for sleeves, I decided  to use the same pattern pieces as I did on my first blouse.
There was not enough fabric for long sleeves, besides I really liked those little puffy ones with the pleating, but I wanted pointy cuffs this time.
To make a long story short, I went about fusing on interfacing, and cut the ends of the cuff pieces at an angle, only to find out that I was actually suppose to fold those pieces and so - they were ruined.
I was sure I could make new ones, and rummaged through my scraps. Oh no. Not a single piece big enough for even one of the cuffs, so it was time to get creative! I managed to cut out six narrow strips about 5" long, three of these were joined together and used as binding. I figured, since this was a bow blouse, some more bows couldn't hurt, right? So, ta-dah!! Bowed sleeves :)






I really like this blouse, but I think I need to put some darts in it, because it is HUGE! I have become accustom to 40s sizing, so a size 16 usually mean a 34" bust. This pattern, however, is from the late 70s, so the amount of ease is enormous! The fact that the bust size of 97cm (38+ inches), is printed on the envelope, totally escaped my attention... I blame my enthusiasm. Heh.
The color is really fresh, and to my recollection, I have never worn yellow before. So it was a positive, and cheery change in my wardrobe.

Pussy bow blouses are fun to wear, and I really want more of these. But i might look for a more fitted style next time. This one was great for getting my feet wet with these cute blouses. I would also like some in a more "dressy" fabric, but for my first go this everyday cotton was just the ticket!









The sewalong runs till the end of November, so there is still time to join, if you haven't already ;)

17 comments:

  1. Ooh, I'm part of this sew along as well. Your blouse turned out so cute! The bows on the sleeves were a great save!

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    1. Thank you ;) Just checked out your blog, Jeez-a-loo you have some stuff going on! Thanks for stopping by ;)

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  2. FAB! I love this blouse, and the pussycat buttons are a really cute and subtle finishing touch. I also love the bow sleeves, very impressive rescue, heehee!

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    1. Thanks Béa :) You know, when in need one gets very creative ;) As for the buttons, they cost eight times more than the fabric :/ So they better be cute!

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  3. SO CUTE!!! And I love the sleeves! When I was sewing up my halloween costume (also a 70s pattern)…I added in a bunch of ease because I thought it would be too small..totally forgetting that it would already be there! 40s patterns are nice because you know what size you are getting!!

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    1. Thank you so much Debi :) The ease-thing is hard on newer patterns, it is not the first tent-experience I've had so far... I guess I could just measure the pattern pieces, but that's valuable sewing time wasted and I just can't be bothered for smaller projects like this. Heh :)

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  4. Great job on your new make! This is so cute! I love the buttons. I love all the bows on your blouse. The cat buttons, are stinking adorable and I'm not that big fan of cats. I love this, and it makes me want to make my own!

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    1. Thanks Kathy ;) How can you not love cats??? Well these ones at least doesn't get their hair all over my shirt so I guess their the right kind :D

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  5. Love your blouse! Pussy bow blouses are very good if you want to start sewing blouses. I love this color on you! It suits you very well!

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    1. Thank you!! I actually quite like yellow now, too!
      I've made a couple garments now with collars and it's not that bad actually, just a lot of fiddling, but this was like -----done! What? Already?? SOO easy!

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  6. Oh, dear Siri! this blouse is perfect! I love all the difficulties you overcame to get a blouse so pretty, and not ... bows are never too many for a girl! Love the addition of buttons-kittens, so cuties. And I laughed a lot with your comment about Steve Wonder. You are great!!

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    1. Thanks, Rosy ;) We all love Stevie, at least we who are old enough to know who he is ;)

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  7. Oh how gorgeous do you look? Love this blouse :-)

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  8. Kjempesøt bluse. Kan aldri bli for mange sløyfer, og knappene er jo bare fantastiske!
    -Heidi

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    1. Takk Heidi :) Knappene er søte, men fysj så dyre. 11kr stykk :P

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  9. Really beautiful work here. Love the little bows on the sleeves echoing the neck bow, and the cat button are awesome!

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