Esther’s Adrienne Blouse

Esther received the Classic box in September and made the Adrienne blouse by Friday Pattern Company

The moment I opened this month’s box, it was love at first sight with the fabric. This month’s fabric is exactly what has been missing in my stash. I have limited knit fabrics as I have previously lived in fear of knit fabrics. Using the Stretch book by Tilly Walnes, I recently started dipping my toes into making some knit garments and it has been absolutely amazing but still a little scary. The viscose jersey fabric was just so soft and lush with a good amount of stretch. It is exactly the type of fabric I would pick out to make a gorgeous garment.

As soon as I saw the fabric, I had an overload of ideas. I played around with making the Tilly and the Buttons Lotta dress pattern as the pattern can be used for both woven and knit fabrics. Even though I would rather make pretty dresses, doing a mini wardrobe audit made me realise that I need more tops in my wardrobe so I decided to be practical and make a top. As I had the Classic box with 2.5m of fabric, I was hoping I could get out two tops from the fabric.

After making the decision to make a top, I began to consider my options. I thought about the Freya top by Tilly and the Buttons, I also considered the mockneck tee from Deer and Doe’s Dressed book. I ultimately decided to make a top that I was a little afraid to make but I knew that I would absolutely love it in my wardrobe.

I decided to feel the fear and do it anyway, by making a knit top that was high on my wishlist which is the Adrienne blouse from the Friday Pattern Company. It is a wonderful fitted top with statement sleeves. A nice shape with sleeves that take a simple top to another level.

As I wanted to make the most economic use of my fabric, I was very intentional about how I cut my pattern and was able to get this pattern cut out of just over 1m of fabric so I had enough fabric leftover for another top.

I was prepared for making a complicated garment but this pattern pleasantly surprised me, it was so much fun to make. The simple but excellent design meant that my little effort yielded a great result. I made most of the garment on my overlocker and it only took a couple of hours to cut and sew. There are only 3 pattern pieces as the front and back are the same piece. The pattern also gives you the lines for doing a full bust adjustment as well as the instructions. That being said, I did not do the full bust adjustment and I love the fit. The construction method is quick and well thought out in terms of the finishing and sleeves. Even though it is such a unique pattern, I definitely want to make a whole lot more.

I absolutely love the balance of the slim fitted bodice and big sleeves. I felt like this was a perfect pairing of pattern and fabric. With the high of making such a lovely top, I immediately cut out the Tilly and the Button Freya from the leftover fabric.

I love how a wonderful fabric and an easy pattern can make such a great wardrobe investment.