Collars are Complicated

The blouse has slowly chugged along.  It is helpful that I have obtained things such as ironing boards.  Ironing on the table was such a pain.

I am learning so much from this blouse.   The collar was really starting to feel like an origami project though.  I had to keep rereading the instructions just so I could get all the pieces sewn together the right way up. But in the end patience and stubbornness won the day.

Here is the hick version without sleeves.

I finally was able to put the whole thing together this weekend.  Getting the gathers even on the sleeves was a bit of a challenge.  I am looking forward to making this again now that I have figured out most of the tricks.  Sewing a second blouse should go much faster.

And here is the almost finished blouse.  Ta daaaaa!


I am hoping that the wrinkles will come out with a bit of ironing. It also fits pretty well although it is a little tight under the arms. Something I will have to address with the next one. Have you noticed what is missing? Yup, still no buttons. :) That is my project for this weekend.

Issues I had with this blouse:

1.  I put the pin-tucks in backwards by accident.  I actually like it better this way on this blouse because the thread I used was not a perfect match for the fabric colour and as a result it pretty noticeable.  Because of this, the pin-tucks look terrible on the other side.  I guess they are officially pleats now. 
2. I really need to make sure I iron the iron on interfacing onto the correct side of the fabric.  As a result I had to be a little creative with my sleeve cuffs but it all worked out in the end.  Man that is a beginners mistake though.  I was very frustrated with myself over that one.

Overall I think I may keep this blouse this pink colour,  I was thinking about dyeing it a more rose pink/purple but I am kind of loving the bubblegum.

I am definitely planning to make a few changes for the next blouse I make.  I would like to add a more peter pan type collar to the next one and fix the fitting of the armholes and sleeves so they are a bit less tight.

With luck I will be able to take it out on the town on Tuesday for work.

Stay tuned for home reno crafty fun!

Finally some Random Rupert

Every day I walk to work.  Here are a few pictures of what I see along the way.
As you can see it is pretty quiet in the morning. Recently it has been a nice walk as it is not quite as cold. Prince Rupert also smells really good right now. I really hope we have a nice hot summer this year. I am tired of the rain.