Violet Blouse

I finished my Violet blouse a week ago but haven't been able to take a good picture as it has been so dark. Despite the sunshine outside today, my photo is still dark. I've tried every room in the house, and nearly fell down the stairs when I lost balance carrying the dressform, but still no happiness. So I'm afraid my pictures are dull and don't really show it to its potential. I think it must be the time of year as the front of my house gets the sun streaming in during the summer.

Anyway, I am so delighted with this! I've already worn it and had compliments. My mum said it looked old fashioned in a good way, I think she meant it looked vintage. I've been wearing it with a little cardigan of a similar colour and I love it.

What I particularly love are the buttons as they are from the 1940s. I think they go perfectly with the fabric and add to the vintage charm I was going for. I altered the sleeves, giving them a few small gathers to create an even more feminine look and I used more buttons than recommended as mine were slightly smaller. The pattern was a dream to use as it is so well drafted. Many people may think a blouse like this would be tricky for a beginner but the excellent instructions and the way all the pieces go together perfectly make this easy. I learnt new techniques too such as button holes and how to make a collar and this is my first sleeve attempt. I was so delighted with the results that I jumped straight into my next project the same day. I will reveal all when it is done...

I can't sew fast enough!

So Colette patterns have now brought out even more beautiful patterns! I adore the Peony dress and also the Jasmine blouse. I only wish I could sew faster.

In the pipeline...

Here are the projects I am planning for the coming months. I've enrolled on a dressmaking course at my local college so hopefully when I'm back at work next week it will force me to sew every Monday, force in a good way obviously! I'm planning on making a Sorbetto blouse with this beautiful floral fabric above. It is quite lightweight and drapes well so I'm looking forward to sewing with it. The Sorbetto blouse is a free pattern from Colette Patterns and looks very simple to make. I love Colette Patterns, and how nice of them to make a free pattern. I have quite a few of their patterns ready to start making but my problem is finding good fabric suitable for the job. However, last week amongst the hecticness (if that's a word) I visited my local fabric shop and got this beautiful cotton / satin blend, I think, (no information on what the fabrics are in that shop.)

It's slightly more of a peach colour than it looks like in the photo (bad light again) but I thought it would be perfect for the Violet blouse.

I love this pattern, it will be perfect for work. I have some lovely vintage buttons that will be perfect for this blouse but they seem to have disappeared, I really hope they turn up.

The next fabric I bought (all very cheaply I add) was this pretty red floral, again some sort of cotton mix suitable for dressmaking. So pretty, perhaps another crescent skirt?! I also have Colette Patterns Parfait and Macaron and I've had my eye on Crepe for a while too. Just need to find the right fabric before I can start making these.