The Blouse by Avid Seamstress
I chose this pattern wanting to make something similar to a Boden Blouse I already have. It’s the perfect combination of relaxed and comfortable while also looking quite chic. I bought the Atelier Brunette fabric direct from Anna ka Bazaar when I was in Paris earlier this year, which was such a beautiful shop to visit. Unfortunately, it looks like the shop has since closed, but Atelier Brunette fabric is still sold online and through various UK-based fabric shops. Aside from looking amazing, it’s delightfully soft and also quite delicate. If I can make any recommendation for this fabric, it’s to use a wide enough stitch that you can unpick without making any holes (or just don’t make any mistakes so you don’t need to unpick)!
The big problem I had was with the collar and frustratingly, I know exactly where I went wrong. There is a crucial instruction that I missed - to not cut out the collar pieces until you’re ready to use them. These pieces have no give at all so there isn’t any room for error. I ended up making the collar twice but still wasn’t happy with the finished product. The first time, the topstitching was uneven so I had to do some unpicking and managed to put a small hole in the collar. After putting the finished shirt in the wash, the small hole enlarged, so I decided to remove the whole collar as there was no obvious way to fix it.
When I decided to remake the collar, I thought I was quite sure that I would get it right. I carefully cut the new pieces out and was cautious to stick to the exact seam allowance as I sewed, yet I had the same issue all over again and struggled to topstitch the collar in place without missing some of the layers beneath. After completing the topstitching, I could see exactly where I went wrong. I didn’t press the seam allowance up towards the top of the collar, which meant it stuck out between the layers when I pressed the inner side of the collar down. Because the fabric was so delicate and I had used a very small stitch, I couldn’t unpick it without taking the whole collar off again and I had already lost a bit of seam allowance after trimming it the first time. Lesson learnt - don’t sew when you’re tired! The end result is a very uneven topstitch so my perfectionist self is just going to have to get over it (and possibly wear my hair out with this shirt)!
Aside from my big collar debacle, this is actually a really nice pattern. The sleeves are simple to construct and could easily be adjusted to full-length sleeves if you wanted to make it a bit more formal. It’s one of those versatile patterns that could be used for everything from a casual weekend shirt to a work shirt, depending on your choice of fabric and buttons. The Avid Seamstress instructions are very easy to follow and come in a beautifully printed booklet, which feels very luxurious if you’re used to using pdf patterns.
The one change I would make is to the sleeves. I have quite long arms so the three-quarter sleeve is a little bit short on me and rides up to my elbows. Next time, I would consider lengthening the sleeve by a centimetre or two and being a bit more generous with the elastic.
I also used the sleeves from this pattern to hack my Screwdriver Top by Our Lady of Leisure, so it has technically been used twice now. All in all, this is a beautiful pattern and definitely one that can be used over and over again.
