A hacked Driftwood blouse for me
by
She Who Sews
- 21:40
I feel like a seasoned writer for Twig and Tale patterns now. I was part of the original Inspiration team several years ago, and have just been accepted on to their new team! So for my first project, I decided to slightly modify the Driftwood blouse for me.
When the pattern was released for women, I bought a metre of soft, squishy, double gauze from Truro Fabrics. But I never made the top. I was too daunted to make myself something, and despite knowing how to measure myself, could never make an item of clothing that really fitted me properly, especially on the top half.
But after spending many months earlier this year, I now have a bodice block that is similar to my size. It's been through many iterations. My front is much narrower than my back, and despite what I consider small boobs, because of this narrowness, I need a full bust adjustment most of the time. I have a long waist, and low bust point, but short between shoulder and high bust... hahaha, I'm all over the place! At least I know why I can't just get tops to fit me as is anymore.
So I stuck my bodice block on top of the printed pattern and it became clear I had no idea what I was doing. The Driftwood blouse is raglan sleeved, and gathered along the top edge. Trying to match up a bodice block, and this pattern was almost impossible. However, it was fairly obvious that the waist needed dropping, so I made that adjustment easily enough. I printed out the size that related to my high bust measurement and made up a toile in a Poundland dust sheet (I learned this act of genius from a fellow UK sewing blogger).
As I half suspected, although the shoulders and top front/back fitted nicely, it was too tight across my chest, and now too long (thanks to lowering the waist point). I followed the blog post to the letter to do a full bust adjustment (I needed an extra two inches, so was exactly the same dimensions as the post). It looked weird, and I was very concerned I'd just made the front ultra wide at the neck, but not to worry, as it just gets gathered more!
The second toile had the lowered waist and full bust adjustment, and fitted just great. I also added the long sleeve to one side of this toile to get an idea for length. And typically (something I have to come to realise from shop bought clothes being too short in the arm) I needed extra length in the arm. I chose to cut on the extended 'elastic' hem option, which gave me a couple of inches extra to play with.
Now I had the correct sized pattern, I had to figure out how to do my button placket. There is an add-on for a full button front available, but this didn't exactly help me. I wanted a Henley placket. I found a couple of blog posts that detailed how to do this, and using the instruction/proportions from a child's shirt pattern I own, I managed to put a pretty decent button placket in to the front. I didn't want ties, or a button and loop closure (included in the pattern), just simple buttons.
To add to the Henley placket, I also wanted button cuffs. Again, Twig and Tale have a lovely blog post on how to add a button and elastic loop to the cuff. Perfect for rolling up your sleeves to reach in blackberry hedges!
And here is the final blouse, a long waisted, bust adjusted, monkey armed, lovely soft double gauze top. I've never sewn with double gauze before, and was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to work with. Binding isn't great as the fabric gets quite thick when quadrupled, and I wouldn't do it again. But it's a delight to wear, warm when the temperature is a bit cooler, and cool when the temperature is warmer!
I liked the fabric so much, I went back to Truro Fabrics to see if I could get some more (it was a long shot as it was bought a year + ago). They had others, and I bought a pale blue with cream butterflies, which is going to become a child driftwood blouse for my daughter, and a Barefoot romper for my little niece.
Did you know you can follow me on Instagram and I'd love for you to give me a like on Facebook.
*Disclaimer: Some of the links in the post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission (the price stays the same for you) which will help me in the future to buy more patterns to share them with you!*
When the pattern was released for women, I bought a metre of soft, squishy, double gauze from Truro Fabrics. But I never made the top. I was too daunted to make myself something, and despite knowing how to measure myself, could never make an item of clothing that really fitted me properly, especially on the top half.
But after spending many months earlier this year, I now have a bodice block that is similar to my size. It's been through many iterations. My front is much narrower than my back, and despite what I consider small boobs, because of this narrowness, I need a full bust adjustment most of the time. I have a long waist, and low bust point, but short between shoulder and high bust... hahaha, I'm all over the place! At least I know why I can't just get tops to fit me as is anymore.
So I stuck my bodice block on top of the printed pattern and it became clear I had no idea what I was doing. The Driftwood blouse is raglan sleeved, and gathered along the top edge. Trying to match up a bodice block, and this pattern was almost impossible. However, it was fairly obvious that the waist needed dropping, so I made that adjustment easily enough. I printed out the size that related to my high bust measurement and made up a toile in a Poundland dust sheet (I learned this act of genius from a fellow UK sewing blogger).
As I half suspected, although the shoulders and top front/back fitted nicely, it was too tight across my chest, and now too long (thanks to lowering the waist point). I followed the blog post to the letter to do a full bust adjustment (I needed an extra two inches, so was exactly the same dimensions as the post). It looked weird, and I was very concerned I'd just made the front ultra wide at the neck, but not to worry, as it just gets gathered more!
The second toile had the lowered waist and full bust adjustment, and fitted just great. I also added the long sleeve to one side of this toile to get an idea for length. And typically (something I have to come to realise from shop bought clothes being too short in the arm) I needed extra length in the arm. I chose to cut on the extended 'elastic' hem option, which gave me a couple of inches extra to play with.
Now I had the correct sized pattern, I had to figure out how to do my button placket. There is an add-on for a full button front available, but this didn't exactly help me. I wanted a Henley placket. I found a couple of blog posts that detailed how to do this, and using the instruction/proportions from a child's shirt pattern I own, I managed to put a pretty decent button placket in to the front. I didn't want ties, or a button and loop closure (included in the pattern), just simple buttons.
To add to the Henley placket, I also wanted button cuffs. Again, Twig and Tale have a lovely blog post on how to add a button and elastic loop to the cuff. Perfect for rolling up your sleeves to reach in blackberry hedges!
And here is the final blouse, a long waisted, bust adjusted, monkey armed, lovely soft double gauze top. I've never sewn with double gauze before, and was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to work with. Binding isn't great as the fabric gets quite thick when quadrupled, and I wouldn't do it again. But it's a delight to wear, warm when the temperature is a bit cooler, and cool when the temperature is warmer!
I liked the fabric so much, I went back to Truro Fabrics to see if I could get some more (it was a long shot as it was bought a year + ago). They had others, and I bought a pale blue with cream butterflies, which is going to become a child driftwood blouse for my daughter, and a Barefoot romper for my little niece.
Did you know you can follow me on Instagram and I'd love for you to give me a like on Facebook.
*Disclaimer: Some of the links in the post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission (the price stays the same for you) which will help me in the future to buy more patterns to share them with you!*
