Satin Blouse McCalls 8043
Can you think of a more glamorous blouse design than this?
I fell in love with this pattern as soon as I saw it but truth be told, I wasn’t quite sure how to style it. As shown on the pattern envelope, you can’t go wrong with jeans but since I don’t typically wear a lot of jeans (neither are they my favourite), I figured it would also look chic with high waisted skirts, solid or in prints. So I decided to wear my RTW black stretchy skirt, and add a pop of colour with my pink purse! I totally felt like I belonged on the streets of Paris… Alas, we are in lockdown and this is my bedroom. Still, a girl can dream, right?
Fabric and button story:
This fabric might be my luckiest find, ever. It was 2 yards of a thrifted satin that I found for only $4.99 at my local thrift shop. Sometimes you just walk in the thrift store at the right moment when your stars are aligned. This was definitely one of those moments! It has such beautiful luscious feel to it and the quality of it is amazing. I had a hard time finding the right buttons for this blouse, which was one of the main reason it took me some time to complete this project. I looked online for a while but no luck. I finally decided to visit the thrift store again and look through the blouse section to see if I can up-cycle any of them for the buttons. Again, another lucky find: A white georgette blouse that had the most perfect buttons for me. The white fabric had seen better days so it made me feel better to re-fashion the buttons and use the shirt as a cleaning rag. So all in all, this blouse cost me under $8, and yet I wouldn’t exchange it with any designer’s in the world…Even despite the slit I accidentally made on the left sleeve when serging the armscye (did you notice that wondering what the heck it is!?)… yes, I might have shed a tear or two but got over it soon. Life is not perfect and neither is sewing (cheesy I know, but true). Mistakes happen – although this one really hurt because I managed to keep the fabric pristine throughout the whole process (which involved many tea and snack sewing sessions) but ended up doing that silly mistake by the serger at the final step!! ugh, c’est la vie. Ok, moving on!
Pattern:
I made view C of the pattern with ruched collar, lower front bodice and cuffs, which was quite a bit of work but totally worth the sophisticated touch it added to the blouse. Aside from the ruching, I am obsessed with the back view of this blouse (which I modified to be more open), the bishop sleeves, front slit, the folds underneath the bust apex and of course, the closure with loops & buttons.
- Tip: One thing to note though if you are making this pattern, be aware that the instructions do not clearly indicate the number of fabric layers (3) you need for the ruching sections (View C). You need the top layer (ruched), a middle layer to tack the folded/ruched sections in place and the backing section (where you add the interface). This part caught me off-guard and I ended up cutting the middle layer fabric from another off-white lining fabric as I didn’t account of these extra fabric that I needed. It worked out well because you don’t see that middle layer in the finished garment.
Styling this blouse is now easier than what I thought initially. You can dress it up by wearing a high waisted skirt and heels or dress down wearing jeans or shorts of any kind. I think even a maxi ruffled skirt in a floral print would go so beautifully with this. I am thinking my next version of this blouse will be in a colourful floral crepe!
Without a doubt, my blouse game has gone up a notch. The ruching technique I learned was also a great skill to have, worth the efforts. I know quite a few of you DM’ed me on Instagram that you are on the fence about this pattern so I hope my blog post was helpful in making you jump on my side! Let me know in the comments what you think of this blouse design and whether you plan on making it!
With much love, xo
Ava
