York Blouse Pattern Hack

Good morning!

I am afraid I am not doing so well with the sewing this year. I did make and complete a red tea cosy at the weekend, but in terms of clothes, I don’t have anything new to show today. I have been working on a new skirt, but due to weight fluctuations, I am having some trouble with the waistband and zip insertion. I currently have too much fabric at the hips, so I am trying to slowly scale it out to avoid distorting the front pleats.

Instead, I am going to do an ‘Outfit of the day’ and show you one of my favourite 2017 makes, the York Blouse pattern hack. The York blouse is available from Seamwork Magazine as a free download here. I previously made the blouse out of a polycotton as one of my early sewing examples, but didn’t get the bias binding or sizing quite right (user error, no fault of the pattern).

I loved the split cuff detail and the tie-back keyhole. I wanted to make a tunic, something I could wear in Autumn or Spring with leggings. I used a lightweight crepe fabric from the Minerva crafts summer sale (Triangles Print Crepe Dress Fabric in Navy Blue). I looked up tutorials for Bias binding necklines, and found Sew Over It’s guide really helpful. For some reason, I thought the raw edges needed sandwiching between and encasing inside the binding! The tutorial has clear step-by-step photos, and helped me identify what was going wrong.

In terms of amending the pattern, I sized up as the bust and underarm were too tight on my first go (plus I wanted a pull-on dress, no zips!). I also made a swayback adjustment and traced down a skirt line using some personal measurement blocks I had drafted on a pattern-making course. With my critical hat on, the side seams are a little clunky, and I could potentially take a few cm out, but I am happy with the sleeve insertion, swayback adjustment, cuffs and my best attempt to date at bias binding. It’s a flattering dress; the shoulders slip down a little bit of the bow isn’t 100% tight, but that’s because it’s got too much ease. If I made a form-fitting version with a zip, that would resolve itself.

So, here it is! I like to wear it with knee boots and leggings.

Nice, easy workwear!