My First Handmade Blouse

One of my big goals for the new year is to sew more clothing. I've been afraid of it for a while... especially sewing for adults... there's all those curves and the three dimensional aspects of the human body to consider. I've mostly sewn clothing for Oona and in the past, I've made myself a couple dresses with little success. I've been happy with the things I made for Oona (smaller package, less curves to worry about), but the things I've made for myself have typically been flops. I'd love to get the hang of it so that I can design my own clothing patterns at some point. So, I finally decided to have a go at making clothing for myself again. I love making things for my family and friends, but I feel so guilty when I take the time to make myself something. So silly of me because in the end, I'm glad that I did!

So I set aside some time to make myself this lovely blouse pictured below. "New Look" pattern #6913 style D. It's a relatively simple pattern so I had more confidence going into this than I've had with other pattern attempts. It's hard to see in the photo, but it has a yoke and puff sleeves.


My one major complaint about the pattern (that I didn't realize when I purchased it) is that it has an unnecessary back seam. I modified the pattern by cutting the two back panels on the fold instead of in two pieces (getting rid of the seam allowance for stitching the two pieces together). This probably altered the fit a little bit, but I actually like how it turned out so my deviation did not result in disaster.

And for the first time, I've made something for myself that I will actually wear and not hide in the closet in shame and embarrassment. The fabric is by Anna Maria Horner and I purchased it at my favorite fabric shop in Burlington, Nido. Love love love the fabric! And there's enough left over to make Oona a little something.

I'll probably use this pattern again to make one or two more shirts. It feels so good to begin conquering your fears!