Butterick B6684, Blouse

The B6684 is a simple vintage-inspired blouse from Butterick with 4 different sleeve options.

Option A almost feels like a cop-out - by far the simplest of the sleve options (er, sleeveless), but also the most wearable. Everyone I Googled who'd tried this pattern seemed to have opted for version A and they also advised grading out at the hips a little.

I took this on board, and cut a size 10 but went right out to a 14 at the hips. The shape otherwise is very straight-up-and-down - I thought the extra fabric in the hip would help accentuate the waistline. 

Fabric was this LOVELY viscose challis kindly supplied by Minerva. It was a dream to handle. The neck tie is cut on the bias which is always a bit scary when cutting from a lightweight fabric that likes to move as you cut it. The viscose challis was very patient though and didn't seem to particularly shift when I cut it. It pressed perfectly making for very sharp bust darts and ensured hemming sleeves and bottom was as painless as possible. 

The heart print was a little larger than I anticipated seeing it online (my fault for not reading the deets fully!). I was a little bit worried it would alook a little bit too cutesy for me but I think the shape of the blouse is so flattering it looks very 'me' once I've got it on. Hopefully this post serves as a good demo to anyone eyeing up this fabric as to how big the print is. I'm sure there are some makers who could absolutely rock the cutesy vibes teaming this fabric with any pattern - I would love to see!

I was really mindful when cutting out the fabric to have a row of hearts down the centre front and centre back of the blouse. I flipped the pattern piece over instead of cutting on the fold in order to make sure the hearts were symmetrical from left to right. So happy with the results of this! Side seams weren't possible to pattern match per se, but I made sure the waistline and hemline intersected the hearts at the same point on front and back, so the rows of hearts were parallel all the way round.

Of note this fabric is also really comfy! It feels really light to wear - perfect for summer! It was also really kind to me on the fray-ometer, only fraying a little on the raw edges where I'd handled it a lot, but even then it was still very controlable. 

I love the instructions for the neckband attachment. The back of the blouse it attached right sides together to a little bit of the necktie which wasn't turned into the inside of the tie. a facing is then applied, sandwiching the tie inside of the neckline - facing flipped inside, (trimmed, snipped and understitched) and then wow! A lovely v-neck and functional bow! I held my breath stitching the v-neck - I wanted it to line up perfectly so tit pointed down towards the centre of the centre-front hearts. I got it bang on! First attempt! I can't help but feel this was a Sewing Bee worthy achievement! 

The arm holes are hemmed with a narrow hem (do this BEFORE overlocking the sideseams). The cut of the blouse then creates a bit of a sleeve illusion as the shoulders are still covered. This gives a 50s vibe which I ❤❤❤❤!

I hemmed the bottom in a similar fashion then it was finished! No fiddly fastenings, a super cute bow, shoulders covered enough to not feel too exposed at work and a perfect v-neck for anyone who gets that close.

This simple blouse was exactly when I needed to boost my sew-jo and create a garment I know I will wear. Excluding cutting, the blouse only took a morning to make (and I don't think I cut any corners!). But even with cutting it's only 3 pattern pieces plus a facing - so such a quick win!
I want more!

x
Location: Hunter House Road, Sheffield
Currently listening to: Speak of The Devil, Chris Isaak