When is fabric hoarding not a good thing? When you finally realize that there is absolutely no more space for your fabric in your sewing room and now your hallway becomes the new fabric storage facility.
This year I have decided to use up my garment fabric stash instead of buying more fabric and it is an absolutely painful decision. It means I don't get the rush of shopping for new fabric. It means I may not have enough of the "right" fabric for a project I want to sew and have to use another fabric in my stash that may not be as "perfect" for my project.
I just finished putting the final button holes on my shirt and it was a struggle to finish because I knew it wasn't the "right" fabric. I did not have enough of the "right" fabric. The right fabric was a rich solid navy soft drapery mystery fabric in my stash. I'm glad I didn't let this blouse become a UFO (unfinished object) because of the fabric. After I tried it on I loved it - it is a bit busy but I love it.
Lekala Blouse Pattern 4000 - Oh how I love Lekala.
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| Lekala 4000 Front |
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| Lekala 4000 Back |
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| Lekala 4000 |
How I Did It
First I am proud to say that everything used to sew this blouse came from my stash -yay!
I went to the
Lekala site found the blouse I wanted, entered my measurements, and a few minutes later I had a custom pattern in my size - no adjustments needed. Oh how I love Lekala!
I printed the pdf pattern, taped it together, and cut it out. I used to hate having to put together patterns but now it is a breeze and it goes quickly for me.
Now it was time to sew. I have sewn several Lekala patterns before but this was the first time I have been intimidated by the instructions. I started panicking after reading through them and had to calm myself down and remind myself that I knew how to sew.
Quite honestly as bad as the instructions were this was an insanely easy blouse to sew. The bad instructions were due to a really bad translation in my humble opinion.
All the darts made for a great fit.
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| Back Darts Wrong Side of Fabric |
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| Shoulder Darts Wrong Side of Fabric |
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| Bust Darts |
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| Bust Dart Wrong Side of Fabric |
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| Bust Dart Right Side of Fabric |
I love the added trim on the sleeve and the open vent. At the start of the vent, it is a bit tighter than I prefer. I am not sure if it is because I sewed a larger seam allowance or if it is the design. LeKala is not known for adding a lot of wearing ease.
I read a review of this shirt on
Pattern Review and it talk about the cuff being too flappy. I decided to use a different really light weight interfacing for it and decided to only interface half of it since it would be folded in half and I am pleased with the result.
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| Sleeve Before the Seam is Sewn |
I ended up having to re-cut and resew the collar because I messed up. When I sewed the bias tape onto the collar I did not realize it had stretched out on each end until I put it together. I thought I could ease it in when I added the collar stand to it but it looked a mess. In the picture you can see how it curls up on each end.
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| Collar Stretch Out of Shape |
What I realized was I did not stabilize the collar when sewing on the trim which is what caused it to stretch. Since I had extra fabric left over I decided to start over on the collar. This time I stitched the bias tape on the collar side that was interfaced.
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| Upper Collar Right Side |
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| Upper Collar Wrong Side with Interfacing Applied |
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| Collar Perfection |
About a year or so ago a sewing buddy gave me 2 different types of trim. The store must have been going out of business because it is on cardboard and it is about 25 yards or more of each one. One of them is a beautiful deep rich burgundy color and the other is a grape like purple color. Both are a nice quality trim. I use both of them to make a really soft belt. I also used the grape color for the trim in the shirt.
The grape color trim is about 3/8 " wide and the burgundy trim is 1 1/2" wide. Since my buttonhole belt loops were only about 1 1/4" wide, I cut about 1/2" off the burgundy trim so it could easily slide through the belt loops. I placed the grape trim on each side of the burgundy trim and stitched the grape trim onto the burgundy trim. I turned under each end and used a zig zag stitch to stitch each end down.
Initially I thought the burgundy trim wouldn't blend in but it really does. I didn't spend a whole bunch of time on this - I just did it.
Actually I debated doing the buttonhole belt loops because again I wasn't really pleased with my fabric. I am glad I did because it breaks up the busyness of the fabric and that is what really drew me to the shirt on the Lekala site.
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| Trim Used for Belt |
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| Wrong Side of Shirt |
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| Wrong Side of Shirt Showing Collar |
I chose to use 2 different types of buttons because I did not have enough of one type. I am bound and determine to use my stash including buttons. I will confess I did go to the fabric store to look for buttons and could not find what I was looking for.
Of all things I struggled with - the buttonholes. They are not my best work but the buttons and belt hide my flaws - yay.
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| 2 Different Types of Buttons Used |
The finished shirt.
I was being lazy and did not want to comb my hair and find shoes and.......to take pictures of me in my shirt. Besides I can take better pictures with it on the dress form. I am showing it with 2 different skirts and still haven't decided which one I like better.
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| This is the Skirt I Originally had in Mind |
Conclusion
I love this shirt. I love the touches of trim detailing, the slit in the sleeve cuff, and the buttonholes for the belt loops. Although the instructions intimidated me momentarily, this blouse was fun, quick, and easy to sew. I will definitely be making another one of these in a solid color.
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