I decided on a raglan-sleeved tie-front blouse from Burda November 2012 for my jester’s silks.  The silk is really luxurious and I wish I had bought more of it.  It’s just gorgeous.  And I don’t think this blouse is the best idea for it, but it’s what it is.  There’s no more, so I’ll have to live with this until I decide to change it up somehow.  We’ll see!

The sleeves are gathered at the neckline instead of being cut to fit smoothly over the shoulders and into the collar.  I’m not sure I like the extra puffing at the base of the neck.  I’ll have to wear it a bit more and think about it.

The blouse has two very deep princess darts.  When doing my FBA, I changed them up a bit so that they were shallower – only about 1.5 inches instead of 4 at the hemline.  And the hidden buttonholes are a nice touch.

The fronts are supposed to be bound by a bias strip and the long tie collar is only attached beginning at the sleeve-front shoulder seams.  I didn’t do this.  Burda suggested trimming off the seam allowance for the front neckline and then binding it with 1/4″ bias.  I trimmed the neckline seam allowance and attached the tie to the neck edge from front edge to front edge.

It doesn’t quite work because I didn’t think through the change.  If you zoom in closely to the picture above, you’ll see that my amendments to the tie application prevent the top CF of the blouse from laying flat when the ties are knotted.  I also cut the tie on the straight grain – I didn’t have enough to cut it on the bias.  This makes it less drapey, but also more stable through the length of it.  The ties pressed beautifully in this silk and hold their shape perfectly on the straight grain.

The pattern is a simple one to put together.  The instructions for the hidden button closure were relatively good, although I mocked it up first, just to ensure accuracy in the actual construction of the silk.  I have to say, though, I really hate Burda’s lack of construction markings where I’m used to having some guidance.  I really noticed it in the plackets and cuffs of the sleeves.  In a Vogue pattern (my teacher over the years) the placement of the underarm seam and notches for evenly distributing the gathers are clearly indicated on the cuff patterns.  Of course, Burda just has the measurements of a rectangular block of fabric for the cuffs without any indication of where exactly the underarm seam should go to ensure straight draping or even gathering of the sleeve.  So I took out the cuffs pattern from Vogue 8747 and used that for mine.  Such small details in the markings on a pattern matter to me!  I like more information than less.  Or maybe less-thinking-on-my-own-required sewing.  Ha!

And yes, I wanted a change!  Spring always makes my feet itch:  it’s time to move houses, cities, countries!  But of course, I can’t just up and do that.  So I asked my hairdresser for something different and she gave me bangs.  After two weeks of them, I’m tired of them and will be growing them out.

I’m amazed at how ridiculously unmotivated I am to finish up my SWAP.  I only have the jacket to do, but I just don’t seem to care to have it in my closet, and the tweed coat seems redundant at this stage of the seasons.  I find myself looking at summer fabrics and patterns instead of cutting and working on the muslin and fitting of the jacket.