Cherry blouse of doom

This shirt started off as Burda #119 from Burda magazine 7/2007. I was looking for something to use up a cherry print cotton voile that had sat in my stash for years and was crying out to be made into a shirt.

This was one of those tops. It was extra time consuming because I decided to underline each piece (the fabric was too sheer and I don't really want to wear a singlet in summer). As I was pressing out a stubborn crease mark (years of sitting folded in the stash) , the dye from the cherries bled in some places. This was after a rigorous pre-wash. The placket band turned out looking rubbish so I changed the front to have the placket running all the way and recut the band.

 I originally made this top to wear to work. However, it has been sitting in my wardrobe for weeks. The blouse is also a little short because I made adjustments to the length above the waist and did not think to add some length back in. There is a gap between the bottom of my blouse and the shorts. Ain't nobody got time for that. These pants are a slightly different coloured red but there is not gap so I may still be able to make it work.

 

There are two things I don't like about the pattern. Firstly is the weird pleats on the back neckline - I did not pay much attention when I traced the pattern. I really think some darts would look better. It looks like an error in sewing rather than a design element. The other is a felt like the gathers ended too low. I really don't need gathering over my stomach. It needs to start and finish at least 5cm higher up.

My solution for the not enough button problem was to not make buttonholes in the collar. I never button this bit up anyway. I am sure you could understand I did not want to waste more time running to the shops to buy a couple of buttons for a top that was taking much more time than it should have.