Can anyone else believe we're already in August? July literally flew by for me, and sadly, I didn't get much time to make any garments this month. That being said, I did a few alterations for other people and managed to fix my first zip on a pair of jeans, so not a completely wasted month!
I only managed to sew two garments for myself this month, both new patterns which I've had for a while but never really got round to printing the patterns out and sticking them together.
First make for this month was my Sew Over It Pussy Bow Blouse. Please excuse the un-ironed finished product, I'm not the best at remembering to do that before I take photos!
I'm not going to lie, I really, really didn't like this pattern when I started cutting the fabric. There isn't actually anything wrong with the pattern but you know when you have that feeling when you start out on something, and you just know it's not really your cup of tea? That's the feeling I had when I started out with this. I did make a few alterations, one being that I made this a sleeveless top. I'm not a person for sleeves, at all, but if I were to make this in a different fabric, I probably would sew them in (e.g in a plain fabric rather than a floral!). I also made the front pieces slightly larger at the front seam to allow more space for my chest but low and behold, it wasn't actually enough space and I still could have made it fractionally bigger to make it more comfortable. I did make the largest size as I find the SOI patterns do run slightly small, so when I do re-trace this PDF pattern onto brown wrapping paper, I will grade it up a size or two.
The neckline on this top drove me absolutely insane. I couldn't get the center front part to sit properly, and I hate hand stitching as it is, but I think it turned out really nice.
But, all in all, I actually really like how this top turned out. If I saw this in a shop, I probably wouldn't buy it but because I've put the effort in to making it, I actually love it. Well done Sew Over It, you've converted me to yet another style of clothing I wouldn't have worn if I had purchased it directly from a shop.
My second make for this month was the Colette Aster blouse. I've only worn this top once when I was in London last weekend, so please excuse the rubbish hotel bathroom photo!
I had SO many problems trying to print this pattern out, it's unreal. My printer just refused to download the pattern and actually print it out, it even got to the stage where my laptop had a few bashes and a few swear words were thrown around! After what seemed like forever I actually managed to get the pattern printed out and again, I didn't really like the look of this when I was cutting out the fabric. I think it really has just been one of those months, July.
I, again, made this sleeveless as I tend to wear a lot of cardigans / jackets, and I actually don't think I'd put the sleeves on this either. I made a size 20 as I generally tend to go by my bust measurement as its the largest (I don't mind having extra baggage around my stomach, I end up tucking half of my tops into skirts/trousers anyway), but I really do think I could've made a couple of sizes smaller in this as the sizing on this top is very generous.
I actually quite enjoyed making this top, as it was the first time I'd ever used the buttonhole function on my machine. I am so surprised at how easy it was! I'll definitely be making more garments with buttons on. I think I also stretched the neckline out on this ever so slightly, or I don't know if it's not sitting right because it's just a tad too big. I can definitely still wear it though, it just means I'd have to be a little more careful if I bend over, otherwise it'd be cleavage galore...but as I said, I will definitely make this again, just a size or two smaller!
I've only got a few makes planned for August, but I'm not sure when I'll have the time to get these sewn up as I'm attempting some patterns which are a little more time consuming. Challenge accepted!
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