Amity Originals: Jasmine Blouse

Monday, November 19, 2012

Jasmine Blouse

I had been meaning to try the Jasmine blouse from Colette patterns for quite some time...but I always avoided it because of the dreaded SBA. Problem was, it was too cute to put off for much longer. I went to a Colette patterns party at Sew La back in February and I made my Spider Peony and managed to get around doing an SBA by making the side bust darts 1 inch smaller total...so I thought I would press my luck and try something similar with the Jasmine bust darts. I took each dart leg in a half inch to take off 1 inch total and then redrew the dart legs from their original starting point to their new thinner leg point and guess what??!?!? It fits perfectly! I was so amazed...I should never have put off making it for so long. I wonder if I can get away with that on all Colette patterns? Hmm...maybe I should go public with my fake SBA procedure...so much easier than all that cutting and slashing for an amount I don't even know how to figure out!

If my process described in words does not make sense, let me know and I'll post pictures of how I did it. This was my first time making a bias cut garment so I was unaware of how it wears. At first I thought it was pulling weird, but I've since made another bias cut garment (to be reviewed soon--Simplicity 2594) and it pulls the same way so maybe that is just how a bias cut garment wears...it still looks great, I think it is just something to get used to. A definite change I would make next time it to make the armhole smaller...it pulls from way too low when I move my arm which may be the reason for some of the pulls I was describing above.

I made this out of a polyester crepe de chine I got from Fabric Mart. The fabric I used for hte contrast was the same polyester chiffon I used on my Vogue 1178 by Anna Sui that I blogged about here. It sews wonderfully....I just love crepe de chine whether it is polyester or silk. I think it is my favorite kind of fabric. The only tricky part comes with hemming since polyester hates to hold a press and it is a slippery fabric. But lucky for you all, I took pictures and will write a tutorial on how to hem those slippery impossible hems!

In some reviews, people have used bias binding for the collar instead of a facing and I happen to be a fan of facings and not a fan of bias binding. However, having said that, I would probably use bias binding next time...all the layers got extremely thick so just something to keep in mind...also the chiffon is almost too light and airy for the collar..I would interface the chiffon next time...or use a more substantial fabric.

I actually wore the exact outfit you see in the pictures to ETA California. I had a great time there and met a fellow blogger in person that I had never met before...Susan from Knitters Delight. I also went with my sewing friends you have seen before...check us out!