Finished Object: The Spotted Blouse

HOLY COW DON'T FAINT, I actually finished something!! Oh I know, I did that scarf 3 weeks ago, but that barely counts.

Actually I started this blouse months ago, but only finished it this past week. Heck, I've worn it too many times to count with both the bottom hem and the sleeves unfinished! Whoops.

Last Wednesday, I had a big meeting at work and we were supposed to dress business casual. I opted for a pair of black trousers I bought a few months ago, and wanted to wear this spotted blouse with it. Except the hem was starting to really fray after...many washes, and what if it was warm and I needed to take off my cardigan?! Hairy sleeves are not so pretty. So late Tuesday night, I hemmed the bottom, and very early Wednesday morning, I hemmed the sleeves.

As I've said, I'm very good at procrastination!

But now it's finished, and I want at least 8 more of these. With a few modifications, of course.

This blouse is Simplicity 2594, view B. It's made with a mystery poly-something polkadot fabric I found at Value Village last summer sometime for just a few bucks. I've been sitting on this fabric for a while, trying to find the perfect pattern to pair with it, and I think I found it. The blouse is bias-cut, and this fabric just hangs beautifully without clinging in awkward places.

The cowl neckline turned out pretty good too. I didn't do a FBA on this as it was very drapy. I'm good with the effect, but I suspect the cowl would be a bit looser and less v-neck if I'd done the FBA. I will say, the cowl seems to hang whatever way it feels like it that day, so sometimes its like this, and sometimes it's softer, and other times it flips out in all the wrong places. I suspect this is just the nature of these cowls.

It's difficult to see in these pictures, but there's some pretty gathers at the shoulder to help the front cowl. I really like the effect.

I think next time I'm going to draft the sleeves a bit longer so that they hang over my ham-hock upper arms a bit more. Seriously, I didn't realize how thick they were until I saw these photos! Ah blog photos. At least it keeps me honest about my body, both the good parts and the bad. lol

Uh yeah, see what I mean about those arms? These sleeves aren't doing me any favours. ANYWAYS, yes that's a yoke across the upper back. It's actually a nice feature, cut on-grain and self-lined for stability and keeps the rest of the bodice hanging nicely. Sadly, the blouse pools on my prominant derriere, so I think I need to finally suck it up and do a sway-back adjustment. It really stands out because of the bias-cut drape.

On a side note, I bought these very skinny jeans a while ago, and have been trying to decide if I like them or not (and whether I should be wearing them). These photos tell me that no, they're not a very good idea, mostly because the fit is awful. They are far too tight, but the one size up was falling off my waist they were so loose up there. *sigh* I hate clothes shopping, especially now that I sew and understand how things should fit. But I do like the narrow leg profile, and I think I need to look into pants like the Clovers.

Anyways, back to this blouse. I really like it as a layering pieces, since yay polkadots, and I practically live in cardigans now. However, I suspect that if I work out the issue with the sway-back and the unflattering sleeves, this will make a great summer top pattern. And frankly, if I was willing to wear this blouse unfinished, a couple fit issues aren't going to keep me out of it this summer.

I mean, wouldn't it look cute with a bright yellow skirt?!