Tweaked top

This top started out as a gathered skirt many years ago. At some point after that I recut it into a woven tee shirt and left the bits in a bag. Later I found the bits and sewed it up into a very lightweight summer top. Unfortunately the pattern I used wasn't with it, so I can't easily replicate what I did.

Last week the weather was hot for the first time this year, so I pulled out my hot weather clothes and wore the top. It was OK, but the body was a bit long and the sleeves a bit shorter than I like.

Lightbulb moment - I cut 2 1/2" off the hem, did a lot of unpicking and resewing to have a shorter body and a ruffle on the sleeves.

It'll get worn out of the house now, rather than just at home.

Pink frill neck blouse

I wanted to sew a blouse with a slightly Victorian feel that I could wear as part of my steampunk outfit for the upcoming steampunk wedding, but also felt enough like me to wear on other occasions too. So although the classic look would have been white, I went with this lovely rose pink. I bought the fabric at my local Boyes. It's quite a narrow width, but I had 2 metres which was fine to get my TNT shirt out of.

I altered the collar stand and cuffs to be a little narrower with squared off ends to accommodate the frill. For the frill I cut fabric 2 1/2" wide and about 2.5-3 times the area taking the ruffle. I cut two long strips one used whole for the collar, and the other halved for the cuffs.

I finished the ends right sides together and turned through, pressed the whole length in half, stay stitched and then hand gathered with double thread (rather than trying to machine gather a double layer of cotton poplin.

I used these delicate metal buttons as they felt antique but also slightly industrial. I made buttonholes on the front of the shirt. I left the top button off, but can add a brooch there if I want to.

I had multiple tries at making buttonholes on the cuffs, but the gathers caught on the buttonhole foot, so I switched to snaps on the inside and buttons sewn to the outside. This looks nice when they are done up.

I'm going to wear this tonight with black jeans and a jacket to attend a concert with my friend and then later with other things instead. I'm hoping it will prove a versatile piece.

---------------------------

Fabric sewn so far in 2025 - 13m, fabric purchased zero!

3m of teal jersey

2m of print/brown sweater knit

3m of animal print jersey

3m of brown poly knit

2m of pink cotton poplin