Colette Violet Blouse
Until very recently, my experience of pattern shopping has mainly been to sit on the high stools in John Lewis, flicking through the pages of the catalogues and turning my nose up at almost everything. With the exception of Simplicity’s Amazing Fit collection and Cynthia Rowley, I tend to be left feeling uninspired, and wishing dressmaking was popular enough to warrant more fashionable designs. I began to wonder what The Internet might have to offer. Honestly, my first browse of Raystitch was a DREAM. Fortunate timing meant my birthday was just a month away, so I came up with a magnificent list of present suggestions, via my Dress Patterns board on Pinterest. And to my absolute delight, my boyfriend Tom bought me every single pattern! (Boy done good.) I now have a selection of patterns by a number of companies I have never used before. The next few blog posts will document my experience of each one.
We’ll start with the Colette Violet blouse:
I bought 100% polyester fabric in John Lewis with a print that my sister has dubbed 'midnight leopard'. Surprisingly soft, easy to iron, and lightweight without being sheer (hooray, fabric that will sit nicely without people knowing what bra I'm wearing!). It was easy to mark onto, cut well, and wasn't particularly prone to fraying. Onto a winner.
The instructions came in a nice booklet, and didn't try to cram too much on each page, which made it feel a lot less daunting. The instructions were clear and there were plenty of diagrams, where each pattern piece was labelled (no guessing games!). The pattern came on tissue paper, easy to iron flat, cut and pin through. The markings were printed clearly, and it was obvious which size each line corresponded to. And the booklet had a page at the back for making notes, and a sleeve to store the pattern pieces in. Nice touch.
There was just one thing I found tricky in the pattern. When attaching the collar, I found that it was a little short, so it left a bit of a gap at the front. Next time I will pay more attention to the seam allowance when joining the front and back panels together, and check the resulting circumference before cutting the collar pieces, so I can adjust the length accordingly.
The pattern asks for 1/2-inch buttons, but I used slightly smaller ones, about 3/8-inch, and didn't find it to be a problem at all. My favourite thing is the gathering beneath the yoke at the back. Makes it fall beautifully. But I think that delicate detail, and the gathers at the top of the sleeves, would not work anywhere near as well in a stiffer fabric.
