Practical.

When Rochelle announced her Sew for Victory SAL, my mind immediately went to a special pattern I have in my stash. I'm completely in love with the tulip/sweetheart bust line, but I'm not certain it's a style of dress I would actually wear. 

Some of the ladies in the SAL flickr group suggested sewing the dress in a cotton print in order to make it more casual and, in effect, more wearable. It's a wonderful idea; however, I'm not sure it would change things for me. 

Ultimately, I decided to sew the dress AND a more practical garment, because I like to have my cake and eat it. Largely, for me, the appeal of a sew along is the idea of creating within the parameters of a theme and sewing with some frivolity; which is why I decided to go ahead and make the dress.

But, the spirit of this particular sew along is 1940's war time. A period of rationing and make-do and mend. It's much more appropriate to the theme to make a garment that is functional and practical; that's where the blouse comes in.  And, I do think this blouse achieves exactly what I hoped it would. 

Butterick 2094: 1940's, year unknown.
This blouse looks exactly as the envelop drawings would lead the sewer to believe. I sewed View C, adding the cuff detail from View B. The stripe pattern is so narrow, it's dizzying, so I chose to change the direction of the pattern on the cuff to break-up the hypnotizing effect. The fabric is viscose and has a lovely peach-skin feel. It was incredibly easy to work with. The inside is completely finished with French seams; neckline and waistband finished with self-bias tape. The blouse is straight cut with a fair amount of ease through the waist and hips, and I can see pairing it with skirts and untucked under a blazer with skinny jeans.

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