Project MyWay #18–Silver Charmeuse Blouse
I did it again–we were invited to a holiday party last Saturday night and I spent all day Friday and Saturday making an outfit to wear (this blouse with the black velvet jeans in the previous post). I guess I work better under pressure, but just once I’d like to have my outfit ready and hanging in the closet while I take a leisurely bath and get ready to go. Happily my outfit did turn out great and I’m sure I’ll wear it a few times this season.
I saw a beautiful Tadashi blouse on Neiman Marcus.com and fiddled around with Vogue 7906 to get a similar look.
I added another pleat to the shawl collar, sewed up the center front instead of using buttons, omitted the front darts and made tie ends that I sewed into the side seams. It was an easy alteration and if you’d like pictures and detailed instructions, just say so and I’ll add them to this post.
I experimented with pleating the fullness at the center back neck until I got the look I wanted and then stitched the pleats:
My Bernina has been in the repair shop for 5 (!) weeks. After 3 weeks I was going into withdrawals and I purchased a used Pfaff for $30 from Craig’s List. It’s a nice, sturdy mechanical machine and it will be a great back-up when I get my Bernina back. Unfortunately, it’s an older model and sews a 4-step buttonhole. The buttonholes don’t turn out nearly as nice as my Bernina’s one step buttonholer. So, I’ve been avoiding buttonholes other than the odd buttonhole for a waist finish.
I didn’t want to put cuffs with buttonholes on my blouse so instead I used the sleeve from View B (flared at the bottom edge) and pleated the fullness in at the wrist. I finished the bottom with a facing.
Ta-ta for now!
December 18, 2008 @ 8:56 pm
Your blouse is absolutely beautiful! Love the changes you made to the pattern!
December 19, 2008 @ 9:31 am
Thank you Erica! I admire what comes out of your sewing room too! Always so chic and creative.
December 20, 2008 @ 10:12 am
Goodness, that’s GORGEOUS! I love the color, the styling, etc. The perfect pairing with those fab pants!
December 26, 2008 @ 6:07 am
What a fabulous work! You did an excellent job on this knock off!
April 11, 2009 @ 11:32 pm
Thank you for posting your creative chages to this blouse pattern. I currently have this blouse pattern awaiting cutout. With your great ideas I can get another blose out of the pattern. Thanks!
April 22, 2011 @ 12:19 pm
hi do you sell any of your pieces. your really talented I would love to buy this blouse. any chance ?
thanks
May 20, 2016 @ 10:11 am
Do you still have the pictures and detailed instructions on this blouse? I’d really like to have them. Very beautiful job on this blouse!
June 12, 2016 @ 4:18 pm
wow, that was a long time ago, I don’t really remember what I did! Here is what I know:
I took off the front pattern placket and made a center front seam, so I added 5/8″ seam allowance to the center front marking, removing the rest of the tissue. I sewed the center seam up a predetermined slit
The pattern already has one back neckline tuck that forms the front drape and I took the same measurements of the existing tuck and made another. This means that front and back facings had to be made (I have no idea how I did this, probably after the front tucks were sewn)
I made ties that I sewed into the side seams at the waist, the ties are shaped like a cone, tapering at the front, long enough to tie in a square knot, I narrow finished the edges
As explained, I made tucks at the sleeve hem instead of making a cuff. I just used my wrist to measure how tight I wanted them to be and then made 2 tucks to take-up the extra fabric
Hope this helps!
June 12, 2016 @ 4:18 pm
no, but thanks for your interest!
June 12, 2016 @ 4:19 pm
I hope you’ve had a chance to try this out!
June 12, 2016 @ 4:19 pm
thanks so much!
June 12, 2016 @ 4:19 pm
thank you!