Orchids In May

Last week I cut out my Melbourne Malanka dress & then honestly, I couldn't be bothered doing anymore. I just had no motivation to embark upon a project with massive hidden construction details. Worse still I need to work out how each of those construction details will actually work, because none of them were included in the pattern instructions.

So I did what all good sewing enthusiasts do & put it aside to work on a completely unrelated & totally frivolous project.

About a month ago I bought the new Sewaholic pattern, the Pendrell blouse, it looked easy enough so I decided to try it out. I also had a lovely crisp, white silk linen in my stash which I thought would be perfect for my new top.

In hindsight, I'm glad I didn't embark upon my Malanka dress that day, I made SO many stupid mistakes. You would not believe how many seams I had to unpick just because I'd sewn the wrong pieces together or not done something correctly the first time because I wasn't paying attention. Ugh.

At the end of a very long afternoon I did end up with a lovely top. I decided to wear it to Greg's Family's Christmas lunch. In case you're thinking that skirt I'm wearing looks familiar, that's because it is. It used to be a halter neck dress which I wore to Geelong Malanka last year. I was never really happy with the halter neck. It just never sat right, I never found a bra that sat nicely underneath it & I'm still not convinced I even look good in a halter neck, so, (on Christmas morning), I decided to remove the halter neck & turn it into a high waisted skirt. Now I'm much happier & I think I'll wear it a lot more.

Pattern Used: Sewaholic Pendrell Blouse
Fabric used: White silk linen (Darn Cheap Fabrics)
What I like: Fit & fabric. The fabric was a pain in the butt to sew with, maybe it's just because I was a bit tired or whatever but it was frustrating, BUT, I love how lovely it is to wear & the finish of the top. It's so soft & crisp at the same time. I was also extremely happy with the fit of the pattern, I have a bit of an hourglass/pear-shaped figure, normally in a commercial pattern I end up sewing a size 10 bust, size 8 waist & size 12 hips. I made a size 8 in this blouse & it fit perfectly. I will also add that for the first time in my life all my measurements fit in a single column on the size chart, (WIN!). This blouse is really quite long (it covers my hips) so it was nice that I didn't have to make any additional adjustments in this area, (normally I just take 10-15cm off the hem).
What I don’t like: One of the ruffles was sewed with the 'right' sides together. All it means is that the direction of the lines in the linen aren't the same as all of the other ruffles. Yes I know, other people won't see it, but I do & I know it's because I was too tired/lazy to fix it.
Would I make another: Definately! I'm already searching through my stash for a suitable fabric.