Michelle, ma belle... tres bien ensemble
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Michelle ma belle, sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble,

Tres bien ensemble

Practical.

3/25/2013

14 Comments

 
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. 
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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. 
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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.
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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. 
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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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14 Comments
Emma link
3/25/2013 01:12:58 am

That blouse is really lovely! I've never been a fan of back-buttoned blouses, but this turns it around for me. It's so crisp and the lines are so clean, simple, classic, and dressy without being over the top, all at the same time.

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Nat @ Made in Home link
3/25/2013 01:14:37 am

I love your blouse and the war time theme... Although I would not have known it ws a 40s pattern. Reminds me of the Mathilde blouse of Tilly and the buttons!

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Sue link
3/25/2013 02:20:25 am

I love your blouse but how do you do it up if you are on your own? You must be very bendy!

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Michelle link
3/25/2013 02:46:56 am

:-D Actually, I posed the same question to a friend who had sewn a back buttoning blouse. She advised buttoning the middle two buttons and then pulling it over the head. It's fairly ease to reach the top two and bottom two without a lot of contortion.

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zilredloh link
3/25/2013 03:32:16 am

Ooooh! I love it Michelle! I'm still on the hunt for that perfect 40's blouse pattern, but its seems there isn't just one perfect pattern but many... heh This one is a winner for sure. :)

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Loran link
3/25/2013 03:42:09 am

What a lovely blouse : ) I love the patterns of the 40's and yours has three different views! I also wanted to tell you I DROOL over your knits, I just don't have the patience (yet) to give a sweater a try. I've had fingerless gloves on needles for 2 years now. I think I'll just keep looking at your amazing creations and push myself to finish those silly little things. Thank you for the inpsiration!

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stephanie - mabelmakes.com link
3/25/2013 04:57:01 am

This is lovely and it has such a modern feel to it! Perhaps it's the stripes? Really lovely. Good idea to change the direction of the stripes for the cuff. It makes for an interesting little detail. I found my eye drawn to them :)

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Pumpkin link
3/25/2013 10:35:18 am

Oh the history behind this pattern is so interesting! I absolutely love the buttons along the back, you just don't see that anymore which is a shame. You need to bring it back into style for me!

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Chris
3/25/2013 11:38:08 am

Love it. Very war era looking. Great idea for the cuff detail.

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Sew Exhausted link
3/25/2013 11:59:20 am

Love your blouse... I especially like back buttons and really want to make a blouse with those buttons in the back! I am making a blouse for Sew For Victory also but I need to get busy!!! ~Laurie

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Elisabeth Andree link
3/25/2013 07:42:48 pm

Your blouse is gorgeous and I love the details:) !

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Heidi link
3/27/2013 01:18:05 am

I am so envious of your sewing skills; that dress looks amazing. Aside from a few sun dresses, I haven't sewn much clothing, but this inspires me to tackle some projects and see about getting my poor broken husqvarna fixed.

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Rachel link
3/31/2013 04:58:37 am

It came out beautifully- and the stripes work so well with the tucks! Lovely!

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dixie link
4/5/2013 02:04:11 pm

really cute, i like the higher neckline, makes for a nice spot to show off a cool necklace. love the print+tucks!

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