Gemma’s Marnie Top
What a gorgeous fabric to start the year with! Hayley really does know how to pick them, and I was spoiled for choice of what to make.
Ideally given the meterage I would usually think of a dress, or perhaps a jumpsuit, but given the time of year I wanted to make something practical that I could wear now, and knew the perfect pattern to show off that wonderful print – the Tilly and the Buttons Marnie blouse!
This blouse is definitely on heavy rotation with me at the moment. It is a great pattern full of so many different design details, meaning each one you make can be entirely different. It can also be made as a dress, which I did consider, but I know that I would wear the blouse a lot more, and I’m certainly trying to be more considered with my makes lately.
In case you haven’t come across this pattern yet, the Marnie is a floaty smock style blouse that can be truly customised – think shoulder and/or collar ruffles, pin tucks on the bodice and/or sleeves, panelled body and bishop sleeves – there’s a lot going on! You can go as full on or plain as you prefer, for this one I decided to add the shoulder ruffles to keep with the romantic theme of the design, and omitted the pintucks so as not to disrupt that gorgeous print.
I love sewing with cotton lawn, it is so lightweight and goes through the machine so easily. It is perfect for this kind of pattern, as it is floaty enough for the design features yet holds a little structure, so it really gives those shoulder ruffles some definition.
This blouse is a little more involved construction wise due to all the pieces but as always TATB instructions are excellent in showing you how it’s all done, so this pattern is ideal for advanced beginners. Sometimes it is nice to take your time and really focus on certain parts like doing the pin tucks, as when it all comes together it gives a real sense of achievement!
I make a size 8 in TATB patterns, but this particular garment has a lot of ease and is very roomy. The fit is more so across the high bust, so that measurement is crucial. Because of this it makes it a very comfortable blouse to wear, and looks very dressed up style wise!
I know I say this so often, but I think this is a pattern and fabric match made in heaven! It looks absolutely gorgeous and I was right in thinking that this would make an excellent blouse that I will wear over and over again, I just can’t stop looking at it!