Thursday, May 9, 2013

My Creative Space - The Sewaholic Alma Blouse (sort of)


Remember that vow that I made to sew more clothes for myself?

Well, it's been a while but I finally have something new to add to the wardrobe.


Now this is a great pattern - I'd totally recommend it. Unfortunately, I started it late on a Sunday afternoon and managed to make a bit of a mess of it.

It all began when I realised that I didn't actually have enough of this pretty floral voile.

I cut the front of the blouse on the fold, and then I was supposed to cut the back on the fold also. This is the point where I realised I'd have to make some changes, so I cut the back of the blouse in two pieces and joined them and topstitched to make it look like it was meant to be...

Once I'd cut the front, back, collar, and facings, I realised that there also wasn't enough fabric for sleeves. Whoops!


Please forgive the crappy night time iPhone photos

 
I decided to add four inches to the length as that's the style that I prefer to wear. I had to skip the vertical darts on the back to make it fit comfortably. 

Once I'd made the collar in three separate sections, I realised that I hadn't read the instructions properly (it was supposed to just be in one piece). Again, not enough fabric to re-do, so I just went with the flow and attached the collar in three pieces!
 
Once I'd gotten to this unhemmed stage, I had to decide what to do about the missing sleeves. I have quite narrow shoulders, so I trimmed back the shoulder width at the top, and just bound the armholes with red binding.

 
I must say that I'm glad I didn't give up. I made changes on the fly, and I totally love how it turned out in the end.


It works perfectly with my little green op-shopped cardi.  I've also worn it with a pink cardi this week.

So I'm calling this my Sort Of Alma Blouse in View B...

I think I'll try View A next!

11 comments:

Tracy VT said...

Looks fantastic with the cardie! Youre looking really fab too! Must be all that cycling!

Renae said...

It's perfect! I love it with the cardi.

Naturally Carol said...

A series of happy mistakes I think! Sleeveless is often far more comfortable and better looking then the bulkiness that often happens when under cardigans. It looks great on you!

our shabby cottage said...

Well done for not giving up Cam! I have this one cut out for Sewjourn, yours looks lovely and I really like the fabric choice too.

Bronwyn said...

It absolutely suits you Cam!

Tas said...

So sweet, Cam. Off to scurry through my pattern pile now...can't remember if I have this or not.

Look forward to seeing SortOf View A
;)

yardage girl said...

Looks great Cam and really suits you. Yay for making it work!

Caroline said...

Looks great Cam, the fabric is really pretty and the collar is a really nice little detail. It would have been a crime to give up on it!

willywagtail said...

I like the feminine cut of the pattern. It looks great on you. You have also picked such a pretty fabric. Pity about the sleeves but I think cardis sit better without sleeves. Cherrie

~ Kim ~ said...

Oh that is sooo nice. I love the collar. I am a big fan of cardigans. Yes, I take quite a few night time photo's too and it's frustrating but can't always be helped so I feel your pain.
Pop on over if you feel like a good Woolworths giveaway!!!!

rachelmp said...

It looks so good! I'm making this pattern next weekend and I had better add a few inches too