by way of introduction, sunday is my only day off during the week, so i do whatever i damnwell want to on sundays. i’m allowed to sew anything i want to, watch anything i want to, and sleep as much as i want to. i generally end up sewing something for myself, or working on a pattern.
this blouse is the result of work i started a few sundays ago. i’ve seen the open-backed blouse in the late 50s and the 80s; i had one as a child in the 80s – although it might have been a dress. the purpose of this blouse is to be a relaxed beach / garden tea type blouse which is cute and comfortable – i wasn’t particularly concerned about being sexy or flattering, i just didn’t want it to be unflattering.
the pattern is simple enough, with a bust dart only, and the back cross over happening at the waist line. in the prototype, i made the cross over too high up, and the waist line wouldn’t sit well. i also adjusted the hip measurement from the original pattern; the angle between the waist and the hip was too sharp, and i ended up with a drapey / skirt look which just didn’t go well with the blouse – my original pattern had 3.4 cms taken off the hip measurement on each side. i also shortened my original pattern to keep with the 50s look of blouses to the tummy rather than to the bum. the shirt has interfacing along the armholes, and the neckline and back.
the fabric i chose for this is a pure cotton print, and is called: ‘topsy turvy’ a stonehill collection by donna wilder for fabric traditions.
