Carme Blouse

As the seasons change and I can think of a time when I won't be wearing a cashmere cardigan and boots, my creative activities always turn to dress making.  I am a sucker for anything with a yoke- skirts, trousers, shirts so when I saw this pattern had just been released by Pauline Alice- a PDF print out pattern at only 8 Euro, I bought it straightaway- the perfect fit for this Little Folks voile on sale at Patch Fabrics.

The style reminded me strongly of the Tova but with a few style and fit differences.  There are bust darts which I am guessing are cut for a B cup as I found the fit was only slightly generous ( I am an A).  If you are larger than a B cup, a full bust adjustment would probably be a good idea.  The front yoke bib panel is rounded rather than square and also has an easy pin tuck option- you would sew pin tucks in a rectangle of fabric and then cut the bib section from this.  The sleeve and cuff is slightly more complex on the Carme and includes a sleeve vent.

The yoke is attached to the body using a really straightforward technique- I know this was a tricky area for many Tova sew-along sewers!

I cut the bib section on the bias to make the most of the grid pattern and interlined this with some lightweight cotton.  I also lowered the collar a little and also lowered the placket opening- around an inch.

 Sleeve vents are a little fiddly especially with slippy voile but I did find a little Sewline glue helped hold fabric in places too small for pins.

The shaped hem is a nice touch- it dips front and back.

Stats:

• I made size 36 and took in the waist a little more on the side seams
• French seams throughout and triple stitch zig zag to neaten armhole seams
• I shortened the length by 1 ½" on the lengthen/shorten line on the front and back main sections.  I have adjusted this for next time so it will be shortened by ¾"
• I will lengthen the sleeves on the next one by ¾" so they fall a little lower at the wrist.
• I lowered the collar and placket by just under 1"- I will make this a little lower next time- the collar needs to be redrafted for this one
• I didn't make the sleeve tabs- not something I generally use
• I only made 3 buttonholes as I never wear this style buttoned up, I like it to fall open
• I used a walking foot and a Microtex 70 needle for the voile
• I used under 1.5m of 1.5m wide fabric for size 36 I cut although I used less fabric for the bib because I omitted the tucks.

I really enjoyed this pattern and after measuring the pattern pieces and comparing them with favourites like the Tova, I was confident enough to make it without a test version.  Pauline is running a Carme Sewalong on her website and each stage has its own youtube video which is so helpful if you felt tempted to make one too. Blouses (don't like that word) or shirts (prefer that word) like this are a wardrobe staple for me so I am already thinking ahead to the next couple of these.  Pauline Alice is a relatively new pattern designer but she already has four different styles available.  The Cami dress is next on my list as I prefer a fitted style and this looks really cute, at the moment though, there is a queue of patterns and dressmaking so it may have to wait…two quilts are calling, a pillow project and a bit of planning for future idea await.

Embracing my inner Edwardian

This is my latest make: a poplin shirt based on Burda pattern 01/2010 #109 and my inner Edwardian style leanings- think Helena Bonham-Carter in Room with a View. The beautiful fabric was kindly sent by Jessie of Sew and Quilt.

She recently got these poplin florals in stock and thought they would be perfect for dressmaking and she was so right!  I had already oohed and ahhed over the colours and the ditsy Liberty style print and once I felt the fabric I was totally smitten.  If you are not sure what poplin is, imagine a high quality, tailored men's shirt, poplin is frequently used for such garments.  It is densely woven, light weight-heavier than lawn/lighter than quilting cotton.  This particular poplin has a silky feel to it.  The dense weave makes it strong- hence its use for shirts.  Think of the movement of your arms and the strain on the seams and armhole/armscye area.  You will often see a run and fell/flat felled seam on men's shirts which add strength and poplin is a great fabric to work with on such finishes.  

For a long sleeved shirt/blouse in a smallish size, I generally think 2 metres is a good amount of fabric to work with and this fabric is a bargain at £8 per metre. The pattern is directional although not obviously so - on a non directional pattern I could squeeze a shirt out of slightly less fabric but long sleeves take a lot of fabric.  I made a short shirt as I am short in the trunk area, I wanted a shirt that would sit over the top of a waist band and if needed tuck in and I wear a lot of cropped cardigans as you can see below.

I tweaked the pattern which is really a dress.  Burda instructions are very sparing so you do need to know your way round a dress pattern.  I made the smallest size and the cut was generous.  I halved the width of the waist dart to allow for a small bust and doubled the length them to make diamond shape darts to provide waist and hip shaping, I then took in the sides to make a close fitting shirt with sufficient ease for my arms- I hate any feeling of restriction in clothing.  I did spend a fair but of time on fitting as this is a pattern I want to get right and repeat again and again.  I always make some sort of test garment with any shirts as I always have bust adjustments to do- its tedious but necessary.

The tucks are sewn on a large piece of fabric before you cut out the pattern pieces which is a great technique.

I sewed proper cuffs as the pattern directed and I was pleased with the finish.  Reader's Digest Guide to Sewing is my go to when jogging my sewing memory on how to do such things.

You may notice the lovely buttonholes.  I am extremely proud of them so I feel confident to shout about them.  They were sewn with a wondrous gadget, Singer 86718 buttonholer for Featherweight.   My Janome Horizon 7700 can do many things but its buttonholes are woeful- the lack of consistency being the biggest problem.  I long for the days of a 4-step buttonhole on my mum's Riccar, being able to isolate each step was so handy.  In a search for a solution I came across this video by Peter of Male Pattern Boldness- a great sewing blog and it was a revelation.

I found the attachment on ebay after a little oiling and cleaning up I had it in situ and within 10 minutes I had great buttonholes.  I'll do a separate post on it as it deserves a solo spot- seeing a straight stitch only machine sew buttonholes really was something!   You can find this gorgeous fabric here and if you are thinking quilting, it'll work just fine for that too and would make a lovely silky quilt backing too.  Thankyou Jessie, I loved working with it!