I decided to make three (actually, I have made four, but I forgot to photograph one of them!) more of the Shapely Blouses from Singer Perfect Plus -
This last photo best captures the color, and yes, I know, it really needed another pressing before it's debut!! The previous shirt had a lot of excess in the back near the bottom of the seam, so I took this out and I think it looks a lot better now. I serged all the seams and added a faux-fell seam to all seams (which unfortunately does not show on these photos). I found that it has given a more professional looking finish.
This second shirt is from a natural linen. Same design/finishes etc -
Pretty much the same as the chartreuse one, but I managed to find some mid-brown semi-opaque button that look rather lovely! I used my Singer Featherweight again for the buttonholes (oh how I love that machine!) This is the first time that I have sewn with linen - so I made sure that I followed all the advice to wash/dry it multiple times! But boy, I was not prepared for the way the stitches just 'sink' into the fabric when it is pressed. Lovely!
The last shirt is made from a woven striped patter. As it does not crease very much I suspect that it has some poly in it, and it came from my Mum's collection -
A couple of quick comments - I managed to pick up some coat-hangers that have a black 'flocked' finish to them, almost like velvet. They were terribly cheap, but they really 'grip' the shoulders of my tops, especially shells and knitwear - and you can see them poking out in some of these photos.
Secondly, I have to apologise for not having 'posed' photos. Having recently moved house (OK, that was almost 6 months ago!) I can't find my tripod and never seem to be organised enough to arrange a photo shoot when I have a photographer around. However, these clothes will be coming with me on my holidays next month so I will get lots of 'real' pics then!!
I do find that tops are my nemesis - I can sew up skirt or some simple trousers quite quickly now, so I am rather thrilled to be able to sew up these tops that fit pretty well and look good. I plan to play around with the pattern and lift the neckline, add long sleeves and maybe add an attached facing as the collar and facing on these take up about 1/2m of interfacing. Phew!
How about you - what is your sewing nemesis?
Nice shirts!!!
ReplyDeleteVery nice shirts! I love those hangers. I have many of them and am tempted to trade in all my old hangers for this type.
ReplyDeleteGreat looking blouses. I love those hangers! I'd like to replace all my other ones with them!
ReplyDeleteYour shirts are lovely. I like the collar shape and placement - it reminds me a bit of 1920's styles. I think my sewing nemesis might be trousers, I haven't made any yet and I am full of fear about fitting...I am thinking of starting with a fairly loose pair. Gulp!
ReplyDeleteImpressive collection! I like the vintage feel of these. It's so funny that trousers are your "no big deal." They are my big fear!
ReplyDeleteI really like the color of green on the first one, and I am a big fan of stripes, so I love the striped one.
ReplyDeleteThese are some great basics! I like the neckline on the first two :)
ReplyDeleteTime sure does fly by and there just never seems to be enough hours in the day no matter how hard you try to manage them. Your blouses look great and I can see why you've made four of them. They're definitely a great basic you can mix and match with so many things :)
ReplyDeleteI love the little shape of this- I'm not usually a button down gal, but these are sweetly proportioned and adorable.....another pattern to buy!
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