Category: blouse

blouse, sewing, Uncategorized

Sewn Sorbetto Top

christinahopgood

So recently I realised that I haven’t got any tops in my wardrobe – I have loads of t-shirts and lots of shirts and a couple of short-sleeved button-up blouses but no tops.  I had this pattern already printed out, so I stuck it together and sewed it over a couple of afternoons!

IMG_0914

This is the Sorbetto top by Colette patterns, which is a free pattern you can get here!  I got a copy years ago but never sewed it up.  I always thought it looked a little shapeless, which is true, but I quite like how this turned out.

I bought this fabric as a remnant years ago at a craft and quilt fair (I think – maybe?).  There was only a little bit and I only just squeaked this top out of it.  I thought it was a polyester because it’s drapey and a tiny bit shiny, but after a burn test I found that it’s natural fibres, likely cotton!  But so drape!

IMG_0916

IMG_0909

The neckline and armholes are finished with bias binding.  The pattern calls for binding made of the fabric, and the binding is shown on the outside.  I didn’t have much fabric to play with and couldn’t make self-binding, so I used other binding and made it so it doesn’t show on the outside.fullsizeoutput_5e37

I found that it was tight across my upper bust and it was uncomfortable.  There’s an inverted box pleat that’s sewn in all the way down the front, so I unpicked some of the pleat at the bustline and instead made two lines of stitching on either side of the opening.  I re-pressed the pleat which got a little mucked up and now it looks just the same as before.  I’ve tried to show it here but it’s hard on such busy fabric!  The modification worked well and now I have some movement in the bust to allow for, you know, breathing.fullsizeoutput_5e3bIMG_0920IMG_0913

The only issue is that the armholes are a little tight and sometimes show my bra strap at the top.  Not a big deal, just need to be careful which one I wear!  I’m planning to make another one of these soon out of another precious little bit of fabric!  Stay tuned!

blouse, buttons, chiffon, diy, OOTD, outfit, sewing

Chiffon Blouse!

christinahopgood
So those of you who follow me on Instagram (my username is cutiefulchristina) or Twitter (@cutiefulchrissy) may know I’ve been working on a certain chiffon *cough* masterpiece *cough*.  In this post I’ve included my Instagram progress pictures and some outfit and worn photos.  I’m really happy with this project!

I have been making New Look pattern 6107, blouse view B with neck ties. So a mixture between view A and view B.  The skirt in this pattern is also super cute.

 Sewing chiffon is difficult.  Last time I sewed a chiffon blouse, I didn’t do proper seams and the whole thing frayed and came apart.  It was very embarrassing.  It was a cute blouse the one day I wore it, and then I saw my elbow poking through the sleeve and had a look, and found that it was beyond saving.
So I used french seams this time, which was kind of difficult since I’ve never done it before.  But I’m confident that it won’t fall apart this time!

Progress shot of it without sleeves, hems, or buttons.

The cute birdies on the fabric.  From far away it just looks like a spotty pattern!

 I completed it last night after MUCH cutting of threads.

Outfits!

 I find that this blouse goes well with my American Apparel trousers.  I couldn’t find much else that goes, in my currently small wardrobe (the rest of my stuff is at my parents’ house).

Looks good tucked in.

The back is acceptable.

It’s hard to see because of the pattern, but there are 6 pearly shank buttons and a neck tie.

Shaped nicely – good darts ‘n’ stuff.  Works untucked too!

Looks good standing on one leg.

I am super proud of myself for this blouse.  It’s going to be a blouse I actually wear!  Can’t wait to wear it with a light coloured skirt, shorts, jeans, a cardigan!  I thought it’d be see through so I bought a camisole, but it turns out it’s fine without!  The pattern is too busy to see through it.  I’m thrilled!  This means it’ll be a lovely cool summer top.  Winner!  I might use this pattern again with a different fabric in future!
blouse, sewing

Blouse making!

christinahopgood
I am making a blouse.  The pattern is from Deco Alice a la Mode Summer 2009.  It’s an Innocent World pattern.  Super cute with pintucks at the front and a nice small collar.

I have been running into a few problems.

This is the first blouse I’ve ever made, so I’m not familiar with how the pattern pieces look.  The blouse has 10 panels.  10!  Other blouse patterns I’ve looked have either 2 (back and front) or four (back, back side, front side, and front).  The front panels of this blouse have 3 pintucks each.  I’ve chosen some really cute cream coloured cotton with tiny purple flowers.

Problems: I can’t read Japanese (although I can speak a little).  This means that both the instructions in the book and on the pattern pieces are unreadable.  I have to work out how to do it from common sense, indicative lines on the pattern, and looking at other blouse patterns (I have a few).  Why did I choose to make my first blouse essentially without instructions?

So I ironed and sewed the pintucks but it’s so close to the edge I assume I must have done it the wrong way.  Mega confusing.  I also don’t know how they do the sleeve cuff or inside collar or placket.  I DON’T KNOW HOW TO MAKE A BLOUSE.

I keep trying, but it’s so depressing realising for the umpteenth time that I have to unpick something.  

blouse, clothing, dress, shopping, skirt, victorian maiden

What I Like vs. What I Wear

christinahopgood
I admit that I get obsessed with clothes sometimes. When there is a super wonderful item of clothing on the wubs that is in my power to buy, I go a bit crazy. I ask everyone I know, Will this look good on me? What do you think of this? I even ask the Internets.

If I do cave in and buy the item, it’s true love for a few days, but after that… sometimes that wonderful dress/blouse/skirt doesn’t look all that great on me.

Remember when I went to the Victorian Maiden Press Room? It was so much fun. I bought a lovely blouse and a lovely skirt:


Lovely right? And they go together well. I tried them on at the shop, and I wore them out on the town. I felt frigging beautiful. But then I got back home, into the sweltering heat, and I couldn’t wear them any more. Too hot. When Autumn came around, I had trouble coordinating them. It looked too dark. Now I sometimes wear the skirt with a different top, but rarely wear my blouse. Which is a shame because I love it so much. The fabri c is so nice, it fits so well, but it just looks overdone. I need a cream coloured blazer to go with it, I think. I’ve been looking! I want this one from Mary Magdalene, but it’s super out of stock.


This is an R-Series blouse that I bought from Qutieland a couple of years ago. Quite nice, right? I thought so too, for a few months. The fabric is an interesting texture which I like, ribbon and lace collar is cute, the buttons are nice, and it’s a good fit. However! It’s really short! Observe how the shirt curves up over the hips of the mannequin. This means that you can only really wear this with a high-waisted skirt. I like wearing jeans sometimes, and this looks really good with jeans, except you have to wear another top to cover the gap between top of jeans and bottom of blouse. The other problem is that it looks kind of schoolgirl-ish. I’m 23, and I don’t want to look like a schoolgirl. Changing the ribbon might help.


We all know about this blouse – pretending to be off white in this photo! It’s a Mary Magdalene replica. It’s really good quality, and not short on me. But! IT’S TOO FRILLY FOR ME. I can’t handle it. The cuffs are SO frilly – they really puff out and make it hard to wear a cardigan. And maybe because I’m quite fair – it’s hard for me to pull off having a white high neck blouse.
Next there are two items I bought from FanPlusFriend. On the mannequins, they look so lovely! I think I was going through a pirate kick when I bought these.
This blouse is made of satiny clingy fabric that would probably melt if I ironed it, and the creases won’t fall out. It has corset lacing so it does fit well, but the arms are really long. And who wears a jabot?


This skirt was one of my obsessions for a while. I was amazed at the drop pleats! They are pretty cool. But when it arrived, I noticed that it was GIANT. It is TOO LONG for me. I can’t walk in it without tripping. It’s just very voluminous. But pretty rad still. The fabric is super soft and lovely. I plan on selling my two F+F items soon, if at all possible.

Time for some success stories! Yes, I have some! I’m just going to share my three favourite pieces.
Firstly, my gorgeous Adele Bustier Dress. I think I can safely say that this is my favourite dress ever. It is so choice. I highly recommend picking one up.
It cost me a LOT to get this. I used a shipping service, Gosurori Order, who bought the dress for me in Japan and mailed it out. That cost me a fee, and the AUD wasn’t so good at the time either. It was super expensive. But since I adore this dress so much, it was totally worth it. I wear it all the time, usually with the next piece I’ll show you.


This is another R-Series blouse I bought from Qutieland. This blouse is practically perfect in every way, plus it was a lot cheaper than brand. The fabric is a light polyester (I guess) that feels gorgeous against my skin. The blouse has corset lacing so I always fit well. I adore the buttons – little faux pearls – and the details. I’m considering buying myself another one while they are still for sale. Mine has been loved almost to death! The buttonholes are fraying and the pearl paint is coming off the buttons. It’s getting a little pilly. But it’s still so beautiful. I wear this with the above dress and it’s lovely.

Lastly, my most recent purchase. I got this high-waisted skirt off the sales comm about a month ago. It’s VM, it was cheap, I thought why not. It had a little damage. Since it arrived, I’ve probably worn it more than ten times. It is nice enough that I can wear it to somewhere posh, but I can also dress it down to wear to uni. It’s A-line, which makes it easier to wear casually. Not a great photo I know, but this is a super lovely skirt! Top marks! I do plan to take photos of myself wearing all this stuff, but who knows when that will happen.

SO NICE.
Well that’s the end of my rant, for today. I omitted some of my other clothes, because they’re Summer clothes and I haven’t worn them in ages! Who knows whether I still like them or not?
Is there a lesson to be learned from this? I think the lessons are: Don’t Buy Dumb Colours, You Look Silly In White Blouses, Don’t Buy Something You Have Nothing To Wear With, Don’t Buy Extreme Things, and It Helps To Try It On.
I’d welcome advice about what to wear with my neglected clothes. I’d love to wear my old VM skirt and blouse more often…
blouse, gothic and lolita, kidsyoyo

Tea-dyeing a blouse!

christinahopgood
As you know from my review a few months ago, I recently bought a lovely blouse from Kids YoYo through Qutieland. Here’s a stock picture – as you can see, it’s a lovely off-white colour.

Unfortunately, when I received it, I found that it was actually a pure white colour – blindingly white. I know that pure white is a staple of the traditional Gothic Lolita wardrobe, but a Traditionalist I Am Not. After a lot of consideration and trepidation, I decided to tea-dye it.
I got my inspiration from this post I found on EGL. She dyed a white bodyline jumperskirt and it looked so much nicer afterwards.
I have tried tea-dyeing lace in the past with mixed results. I dyed a cotton lace and an elastic lace. The cotton one came out orange, and the elastic one came out pink. With my blouse, I used a much weaker tea so that it would be a better colour.
Here it is beforehand… whitey white.
Here it is during the process. I made a pot of really strong tea and then diluted it in a bucket of hot water. I added white vinegar as per the instructions, which is the setting agent. It smelled DELICIOUS (not).
Drying on the line. As you can see, it is a pretty nice antique-y colour, but I wouldn’t call it off-white.
After it dried, I noticed that there were drip marks on the sleeves. I was so upset! Immediately I tried washing them out, but that sort of made the sleeves lighter than the rest. I put the whole thing in the washing machine, which I should’ve done before drying. It turned out much nicer.
After the whole process. Pretty good result! Now it’s been through the wash maybe once more and it’s an even nicer faded colour now. I’m happy because it’s much more wearable than it was before.