Volume and volume

Hello friends, I've never thought to dress in the "pattern on pattern" way, like small flower print shirt on paisley print skirt, because I think it is difficult to pull off such combo, but today I dress funnily and wore stripes on stripes, accidentally ha-ha-ha...

I was a bit upset when I left home in the morning. The blouse has been finished and untouched for some days and I wanted to try it so badly. I decided to wear it with a skirt that I made yesterday for the blouse, but ended up finding that the eyelets that I put on the skirt as decoration scratched my tights to kill my legs. I told myself to forget the skirt and it was fine by me. However I was not happy with the blouse that was kept neglected. Being upset in the busy morning, I rushed to my closet and instantly grabbed a skirt that was matching to the blouse color-wise. I noticed that the skirt had horizontal stripes but I didn't care. I needed to wear a vertical striped blouse and a horizontal striped skirt together rather than to wait for another day. At the end of the day, I started feeling these aren't that bad together. I even started thinking that it is fun to explore something uncertain/unplanned when choosing outfits.

I made this blouse using Grainline Studio's Scout Woven Tee. I'm happy with its voluminous-ish look, which I intentionally wished. Here is my review for PR:

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Pattern Description: A woven t-shirt with capped sleeves and scoop neck. Fitted at the shoulders, this top falls into a loose shape below the bust. Techniques involved include straight seams, bias binding, setting sleeves and basic hemming.

Pattern Sizing: 0-12. I made size 6 with blending size 4 at around shoulders.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, I was expecting my one intentionally roomy with size 6 though. (From the chart, I am size 6 at bust. I knew this pattern run a bit large for my measurements from my previous garment.)

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, I think so. The instructions have a lot of illustrations, which is great.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the design. It is difficult for me to say what exactly makes it  nicer than other similar patterns but I think it surely has some good balance in the simple shape. I have no particular dislike of it so far.

Fabric Used: Cotton blend. Containing silk, polyester, and polyurethane. The fabric I used is stretchy and also a bit parachute-y. There are silk ribbons woven in the fabric and they make stripe effect. I wanted some volume in the blouse so I used this stiff material instead of using soft and drapey fabrics.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Neckline was executed with facing w/ fusible interfacing instead of binding with bias tape. Sleeves were lengthened by 10cm. I made small tucks at side of sleeve ends to make them slightly balloon shaped. Bodice was shortened by 2cm and hemmed as instructed. I pinched bodice by 4cm in total at around bust area at side seams, at the end of constructions.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes and yes! I love this pattern and would like to make more, using different fabrics and different alterations. You'll need to check how it does fit you by performing at least one experimental sewing, but I think it's very worth trying.

Conclusion: It's a good and simple pattern. It is a good one especially for the people who have just started sewing because it's easy yet not giving disappointing results. That written, I think the people who have experienced the sadness of dart-less/panel-less blouses would love it, too, because they know how difficult it is to achieve a pretty blouse with such few seams.
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By the way, I've signed up for Me-Made-May'13.


'I, yoshimi of "yoshimi the flying squirrel", sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavour to wear at least one me made garment each day for the duration of May 2013, with no repeats.'


I'm so looking forward to it!
Happy sewing to you and all.

love,
yoshimi