Okay, so I know this spring challenge has become more of a spring/summer thing. My main issue has been deciding on the style of top and the fabric I wanted to use. I had a few ideas originally, when I started this challenge. However, I started to rethink the designs as the challenge progressed. I spent pretty much all of November being indecisive. However, earlier in December I finally got my act together and sewed the Bonnie Blouse from Sew Over It, London. So glad I did!
Don’t get lost in your pleats
One of the things that drew me to this pattern was the sweet pleated front. There is an option to make it without them, but I really wanted to get that subtle detail in my shirt. I realised that uneven pleats would totally ruin the shirt, so I was hyper focused on them. So focused that I didn’t realise how short the shirt was!
I have a long torso, and usually have to lengthen patterns to ensure it’s hitting my natural waist. I knew that this pattern had a slightly cropped style, but I didn’t factor in just how cropped that would be on me. The time pressure I was feeling after all my faffing about didn’t help either.
The end result is that the shirt is too short to be worn with anything other my two most high-waisted skirts. While that is a disappointment, it looks so sweet with both of them that I’m still pretty happy with it!
Take time when sewing with rayon
Rayon and viscose fabrics have beautiful drape. I’ve been drawn to rayon fabrics, but my earlier attempts were somewhat disastrous. I didn’t account for how slippery it is, and how easily it stretches out of shape when cut. This time, I was more careful.
The two things I found that helped the most were stay-stitching and a sharp new sewing machine needle. Stay-stitching is where you sew a line of stitching inside your seam allowance to help the fabric hold it’s shape when cut and before you complete the garment. Usually you only stay-stitch necklines or similar curved seams, but this time I stitched around all the edges of all my pieces, save those that had interfacing. This meant none of my pieces shifted shape.
The new sewing needle was also great, as it meant less pull on the slippery rayon, and less likelihood of misalignment. Speaking of sharp things, make sure you have good scissors for this. Mine are getting a tad blunt, so I had to be very careful when cutting out not to move the fabric. For Christmas I received a roller cutter and I will 100% be using that to cut out fabric like this in future. It will make for much more accurate cutting.
The cost of the Bonnie Blouse
I did have second hand sheet fabric which I was planning to use, but I couldn’t pass up this beautiful floral rayon when it went on sale. Still, it came through relatively affordably, but by no means cheaper than the second hand project.
Fabric: $18.60
Pattern and printing: $33.82
Buttons: $4
Thread: $5 ($12 per spool and used slightly less than half)
TOTAL: $61.42
I already had interfacing from previous projects, so this is not included in the costs. Making a shirt is obviously cheaper than larger projects, like skirts and dresses. The pattern and printing actually cost more than the fabric in this instance, which is a shame. However, I plan to make another (longer) blouse for my final capsule piece, so that will halve the costs there. Given I’ve counted the whole cost here, I won’t include that in my final shirt break down, but I will be getting a touch more fabric to allow for the bodice extension.
Thank you for bearing with me as a I slowly work through this challenge. It’s been loads of fun and I feel like I’m learning a lot from this more concentrated sewing approach. Although I just don’t seem to be able to learn my lesson about doing a toile first …
