Gemma’s Patina Blouse
With this months Classic Box viscose fabric Gemma made a stunning Friday Pattern Company Patina Blouse
Can you believe this is the last make for 2022?? This year certainly seems to have flown by, but I love looking back at past projects and seeing how things have evolved: I certainly feel my makes have been much more focused on creating wardrobe staples that will get a lot of wear rather than one off kind of projects, and this months make sticks with this theme.
The fabric is a gorgeous retro style print, in a very unusual shade – I would have said a lilac/blue mix, but someone else commented it looked more blue! Makes it even more appealing, and I have to say it didn’t take me very long to decide what to make with it, as I was instantly inspired when reading my copy of last months magazine and saw that the lovely Julie (@julie_sews_her_own_clothes on Instagram) had used the Art Gallery Fabric from Septembers Box to make the Friday Pattern Company Patina Blouse. It has quite a similar geometric style print, and I just knew this month’s fabric would make such a good one! I haven’t tried this pattern yet, but as a surprising fan of collars now it is one I have certainly been thinking about, and it has been popping up more and more right now on my Instagram feed, as it looks to be a great pattern choice for festive outfits!
The Patina Blouse is a button up blouse with full sleeves and a choice of 2 collar sizes. The deeper collar seems to be the more popular choice, and I definitely wanted to make this version. I made a size XXL (which I think equals an 18) so that it would be a slightly looser fit, and got to work cutting out the pieces. I will say I was very good this time and did indeed interface my pattern pieces (which I usually don’t bother doing!) but as it is quite a drapey fabric it would need that stability for the collar.
Usually I find Friday Pattern Company patterns quite straightforward to make but this time I did stumble over some of the instructions: I feel this was definitely a ‘trust the process’ rather than complete understanding! I struggled the most with the sleeves, I’m not a fan of sewing plackets and did find it a little confusing. This isn’t the easiest shirt I’ve made, there are quite a few processes (such as the burrito method as well as that collar construction) but perhaps I have just become so used to making the same blouses lately that I’ve forgotten what it is like to push myself and try something new! But as I said, it was a ‘trust the process’ type of experience, and once I had sewn it, it all made much more sense!
And now to the finished blouse – how beautiful is it?! It really is a great pattern, and I’m so glad I gave a new one a try, as it will certainly be added to my wardrobe staple list. That deeper collar really makes it special, and I can see why it is so popular, as you can really play around with different fabric types and patterns: how amazing would a colour block version be?! Might have to add that to my list for next year!