Looks Like I Made It: Simply Sewing Magazine Mia Set, Flared Sleeve Blouse

An eye-catching feature is what draws me to a sewing pattern. These stunning sleeves on the cover of issue 32 of Simply Sewing Magazine were enough to melt my heart. The pattern comes with two choices of sleeve, fluted or flared, and can be made into a dress or top. The style is very 60s in design, featuring cute bust darts from the armscye.

Desperate to get started, the fabric was some I had in my stash. It wouldn't have been my first choice. I know I love see-through, but the hole-y quality of this crochet fabric meant that you would be able to see the neckline facing had I followed the instructions. It felt a little like cheating, but instead I just turned in a very narrow hem around the neck to create a neater finish. I'm looking forward to hand picking some fabric from the shops to make another.

The pattern is very easy to follow, just have to pay attention when you're attaching all those sleeve bits together! There is the actual sleeve, two flared cuffs and a little joining insert that staggers the cuffs. The placement of these is perfect, not too far down the arm, giving a nice flare to any elbow movements. They are all stitched up together so you only see one join from sleeve to flare.

The pattern has a seam at the centre back with a gap at the top fastened by a hook and eye. I stitched up to the notch only to find the head hole was massive and absolutely did not need to fiddle about with a hook and eye. Instead I took quite a bit out of the back seam and stitched right to the top. I top stitched the seam allowances, making them quite wide as the open weave makes them kind of a feature.