So, this lovely border print viscose twill from Patterns and Plains had been in my stash for quite a while, and earlier this Spring I fetched it out to sew up. I must have been feeling brave because I decided to try my hand at drafting my own blouse. After all, I have my personal bodice sloper pattern, which was painstakingly fitted to my shape, so I really ought to make use of it.
I wanted to use the border print at the bodice hemline and sleeve hemline, and I thought some neckline folds would give just enough interest and soft fullness. I decided to put the opening down the back. Sleeves would be kept fairly plain, bracelet length, with a bit of fullness at the shoulder.
Drafting my own blouse: The process
For the front bodice, I drew the new lower neckline shape and then drew in a line where I wanted a soft pleat to be. I also added some excess width right down the centre for a middle inverted pleat. Next, I slashed along the angled line right down to the bust apex (but not right through it). Then I folded out about a third of the bust dart and all of the shoulder and armhole darts. This opened up those neckline slashes, forming the new pleat lines. Here’s my process pattern and the finished front pattern:
For the back, all I had to do was slightly widen the neckline and add extra width at the centre for the button and buttonhole extension.
For the sleeves, I decided to add a little width and height for a couple of soft pleats at the centre. There are probably other ways to do this, but I chose to draw a line at elbow height across my sleeve pattern and then to slash down from the top where I wanted the pleats to be. By slightly raising the pattern above the horizontal line, the slashes opened up, creating the fullness I wanted.
The beauty of sewing a pattern that you know will fit is that you can simply enjoy the process, and you don’t have to keep trying it on to make adjustments. I used French seams throughout because the twill is quite soft and delicate and prone to fraying. When it came to the hems, I wanted to preserve as much of the border as possible, so I cut the fabric below the finish of the border and folded the narrow hem right at the edge of it.
I did a bias binding around the armholes, and at first, I tried sewing a facing around the neckline, but that seemed to fight with how the folds wanted to lie, so I ended up binding the neckline as well.
Here’s how it all looks on the inside:
I chose self-cover buttons for the back and covered them in the green border print. I think they look cute with the little spots all over them.
I don’t like blouses that are too oversized or baggy, and this one feels like it has just the right amount of ease. Also, the cut of the armholes allows me to move my arms freely. I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out 🙂 It feels quite empowering to know I can design my own things, but I won’t give up completely on buying patterns, because there’s always going to be something new out there that I might want to sew up. It’s nice to have options, eh?
I hope you enjoyed reading about my design process and that it wasn’t too boring 🙂 Maybe you feel inspired to try some pattern manipulation, or have you already made use of a few techniques in your projects? Let me know in the comments.
See you soon!
This looks gorgeous Di! I really must get into making my own top patterns this is so lovely!
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Ohh, thanks Emma. You should definitely give it a go, it’s so empowering.
Absolutely lovely. What a super accomplishment. As always I think you are so talented! Beautiful. Everything you make is lovely!
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You’re so kind, thank you!
Wow Diane, What a lovely, beautifully fit, original blouse. Your are an inspiration and very skilled. It is very encouraging that you demonstrate trying new style, and process.
I have sewn since I was a child, and at this late age I do not have a peer group who sew or would appreciate the growth and skills involved. Thank goodness for the internet.
Thank you for all the pics and details describing your process. I feel like I just attended a Master class. Much appreciated, Pat
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Thank you Pat, what a lovely comment. I feel really lucky to have discovered a monthly sewing social to attend. I’ve been going since February and it’s so lovely to be able to bounce ideas off others and to be inspired by them too. More and more seem to be appearing here in the UK.
Diana, que bom ler seu blog! Fico feliz que você tenha recuperado sua saúde. Eu também costuro a maioria de minhas roupas e de minhas filhas. Você me serve como inspiração. Seus moldes e suas adaptações são perfeitos. Gostaria de te ver costurando. Obrigada por postar suas criações! Um abraço e Deus abençoe!
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I’m pleased that you’re enjoying my blog. Thank you! It’s lovely that you feel inspired and I bet your daughters love what you sew for them. Happy sewing Vânia 😊
Fantastic result, Diane! Thank you so much for documenting the process – your wonderful blouse gives me the confidence to have a try myself. Well done you.
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That’s wonderful to hear! I’m so pleased you feel I inspired to try so drafting or pattern manipulation. Thanks Susan.
This is a very lovely blouse, Diane! Despite the modern print, I immediately think “quiet luxury” (a thing here in the U.S., at least, often with solid and neutral fabrics) because of your well-designed and carefully thought-out details. I love the contrast of the border print buttons, too.
p.s. I meant to comment on your re-fashioned evening gown to elegant evening top in the previous post — such a gorgeous and dramatic top! It does pain me to see the dress be re-fashioned, though. Hard for me to get past the “beautiful object” and all of the work it took to create it! I thought about you last week, and was so happy to see your blog post earlier this week!
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Ooh, I like the sound of quiet luxury. Maybe in a different style it wouldn’t give off those vibes so much, that’s really interesting… So glad you love my blouse though, thanks Joan. I totally get you re-ballgown and it did pain me to cut into it (all those hours creating it). I definitely love the refashioned result though and felt good on the night, so it was worth it.
p.p.s. Did you consider omitting the bust dart entirely and moving that into the neck pleat? Would it be less flattering?
I really appreciate your posts with pattern work!
Author
Yes, I did try having all of the fullness rotated up when I was trying out the drafting, but decided I didn’t like all of the fullness over the middle of my bust, so I went for the middle ground instead and just a smaller dart.
Thanks, Diane — helpful to hear that you tried it, but opted to split the fullness — I’m a short-waisted full C-cup, and generally dislike volume over the bust on me, BUT like the CF soft gathered or pleated styles. I never thought about doing that, but it is a great solution, particularly in a print that hides the bust dart.
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You’re welcome. Yes, exactly, the print is great for hiding a dart.
Diane, thank you! I very much enjoyed this post and, of course, the blouse is beautiful. Have you done a post on how you achieved your bodice sloper pattern? That is a personal goal of mine.
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Thank you so much, Nadalynn. I haven’t written a specific post about my how I achieved my sloper because I actually took the ” Making a Moulage, The GRD Method” pattern drafting course by Gina Renee designs. It spanned over a few weeks and I drafted first a Moulage (a skin-tight-fitting bodice that could be used for corsets and boned bodices) and then we used that to develop a basic sloper to use with general pattern drafting. Gina sometimes runs the course in the Autumn so you could check out here website : https://www.ginareneedesigns.com/ (scroll quite a way down the page for more details. There may be other people that run similar courses so maybe try searching online.
Thanks for the information!
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You’re welcome. I hope you manage to find an alternative if Gina Renee isn’t running her course in the Autumn
I haven’t gotten to the point of using a sloper, but occasionally make a Franken pattern. This consists of combining pieces from various published patterns for a unique result. For example, I will combine the bodice from one pattern with the sleeves of another for a top. I also change the neckline on a published pattern top. If the pattern is a round neck I cut a v-neck and make a new neck facing. Recently I’ve made several jumpsuit patterns and used a front seam zipper instead of a back seam zipper. Also, when I make an altered garment that fits well I make a copy of the new pattern to save for future use.
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I love that you’re making really unique garments that work for you, isn’t it a great feeling? I like to combine patterns sometimes too. I’m not always as diligent about making copies of the new pattern though, and I really should…
Lovely blouse, Diane, it suits you perfectly and is beautifully made.
I use my Sure-Fit Designs sloper to draft my own patterns now, and no longer buy commercial patterns unless they contain a design detail I wouldn’t be confident of drafting for myself. I’m still very much on a learning curve in terms of drafting but knowing that the finished result should fit me as it’s based on my sloper gives me a bit more confidence.
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Thanks you so much Helen! Ooh, I haven’t heard of Sure Fit Designs so I’m off to check them out later. You’re echoing my thoughts exactly…it’s having the confidence of knowing that the finished result of a self-drafted make will fit you because of starting with a sloper that’s already been customised to your personal fit. It’s great that you work with yours a lot 🙂