New blouse for Summer

A little while back a couple of the big fabric companies put out new collections that weren't quilting cotton. Hurrah! These fabrics have the gorgeous prints that I love in quilting cottons, but a lighter weight, which is perfect for summer clothing. Lecien released a range of voiles, and Alexander Henry did a range of cotton lawn (although some sites are calling it voile - who knows?!)

I snapped up some of both ranges.

I have made Oliver +S's music class blouse before, but not for my daughter, so I decided to make her a lovely floaty blouse for Summer.

The fabric I used was Lecien's Memoire a Paris, which is a very light voile. I spent ages choosing which colourway to get (they are all fabulous) and in the end decided on black. I don't usually like to dress my little girl in black but this particular fabric is covered in little pink and purple flowers, so I made an exception. It reminds me a little of Liberty.

The blouse was lovely to sew, and the black is extremely forgiving. I was going to gather instead of making the pintucks, but decided they were such a cute detail that they were worth the time.

The buttons are a dark mother of pearl, which picks up the pink and green in the fabric.

The blouse is a size 3 and is a little roomy, and just the right length (maybe a touch short). I think this is the last year I will be able to sew for my little girl without altering the patterns. She's now nearly a metre tall and still slim, so I'm going to have to lengthen everything from now on :(

Here are some pics:

Finished blouse. This is a rubbish photo but it shows the details... kind of. Black is hard to photograph!


Detail of the top. The buttons are a bit darker than this - they were reflecting the light.


Pintucks! I used Liesl's tip and pulled the threads through to the back and knotted them. This gives clean pintucks without the need to lockstitch or backstitch.


My favourite detail: a little inverted box pleat on the sleeve cap. Bliss :)


The fit. I think this will look cute with a little demin skirt and sandals.