The Adrienne Blouse with Minerva

 I am really coming in today with something well out of my comfort zone - style-wise that is. 

The Adrienne Blouse by Friday Pattern Company

Wanting to change things up a bit and look for a new take on a basic tee - this pattern had niggled away at me a little bit, especially when versions popped up all over the sewing community.

The pattern is described as a knit top with 'statement sleeves'. No kidding. Look at those things. If I catch a trade wind in these bad boys I could be off exploring the Seven Seas.


There's something weird about this top and that is - I don't hate it. Which I thought I might. However I do think I need fruit in my hair to wear it. And the next question is....will I actually wear it? Hmm. Jury still out on that one. 

Construction-wise this top is an absolute easy-peasy level project. I was shocked to see there are only 3 pattern pieces - bodice, sleeve, neckband. The neckband is added to the bodice immediately - then the shoulder of the sleeves elasticated and added in after. And that's about it.

I was kindly gifted the fabric from Minerva in exchange for a blog post on their site which you can read here if you want. 

The fabric is a lovely marl purple soft jersey - it is very lightweight and so lent itself well to the drape of this top. The fabric also comes in tons of colourways which is a bonus. 

As the front and back pieces are the same there is a neckline large scoop. I actually don't mind this and like a bit of a low back on garments.

I'm not sure about how tight it is though. I even graded up at the waist so it wasn't skin tight - but it still kind of...is. Despite being a B-Cup I think this top looks a bit 'booby' perhaps just because of the proportions. Or just perhaps I'm not used to tight clothes anymore! (Early 20's me would be horrified at that - nearly 40's me is telling her to jog on). 

I have no conclusions for you here people. I've not yet donated it and I've not yet worn it either!

Trousers wise - these are absolute beauties made with the Style Arc Parker Ponte Pants pattern with some added bells and whistles. I've written about the basic version here but I may do another post about these as I have more planned!

Toodles-poodles x 

(No idea where that just came from - blame the sleeves for the flamboyance).

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Hidden Signs in Armidale

If you were after navigation advice for Armidale, NSW Australia I appreciate how the title may be a little misleading. 

If you were after a look at the Cloud 9 Rayon fabric made up into a Style Arc dress you are very much in the correct location. 

I absolutely couldn't resist the colour combination of this fabric when Sister Mintaka first listed it. Pinks and blues together on a dark background just do it for me. As did the bizarre print. This is called 'Hidden Signs' from the Mystical Gardens range by Cloud 9 and there are now quite a few online stores stocking this. 

It is a viscose rayon fabric and drapes beautifully but it's so dense it sews up almost like cotton. It is indeed mystical. Such a quality bit of fabric.

There are a lot of hidden signs in the print, but  I also added one of my own. Since I made this as the war started it felt appropriate:

Kylie & The Machone Sweary Sewist 2.0

Pattern wise I had always had the Style Arc Armidale Dress in my head for this. I adore this pattern and have made two versions here and one unblogged version. As with most things, these now don't fit. So I chose to size up and 'future proof' it by adding a belt so it can go in an out, much like my waistline.

This is a 16 the fit is....ok. I may have added in a bit too much ease. It's fine belted which is how I'll wear it to beak up the print a bit!

 I had some heart shape buttons in the stash which I had no idea what to do with, but low and behold the colours went with this dress.

The dress is very straightforward to make, there is no placket, the front just has facings which the buttons are sewn to. It is very fabric hungry (the skirt is 7 pieces) especially if you have a directional print. This took 3m of fabric with very little, if anything usable left over. A plain or non-directional print would certainly be more fabric economical.

Plus it has....

Pockets!

I was a good sewist and let this hang before hemming and pretty pleased I did as one side has grown over an inch. Snipped and hemmed properly it feels good now. I like the midi-dress length however I would be tempted to do a shorter version next time. And I am fairly sure there will be a next time.


 Bring on the sunshine so I can get this worn! 

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The Blouse that was not The One

 Hola todos

Hope everyone is keeping well as much as can be expected in these weird times. I'm going to keep it light still with some ridiculous cat print goodies today.

Full disclosure - I was gifted this fabric from Minerva in exchange for a post on their website which you can read in full here if you fancy. If not - here is the edited highlights.

Apparently a year of being a 'cat mama' has led me down that self-fulfilling path of being the crazy cat lady and I shot straight for this fabric. So kitsch.

I had really wanted to try The Avid Seamstress – The Blouse pattern for a while after seeing some lovely versions online and though this would be a great time to try that out. 

Measurements put me at a Size 6 however I was suspicious from the start as even just looking at the pattern pieces I could tell it was going to be tight - literally.  

I was not wrong. Despite going for a size larger than needed, the reason you are seeing my mannequin MiMi is because it doesn't fit...Me. 

A broad back and biceps were not friends to this pattern and I did feel like the incredible hulk busting out of it when I tried it on. No fault of the pattern - just obviously needs some adjustments for my own shape. That I'm not sure I can be bothered to do as I actually don't think the mandarin collar style suits me either.

The pattern itself is lovely. The packet, photo instructions, sturdy paper and the way it sews all up I would give 10/10. But the sewn pattern for me..... nope. 

My favourite of the features (most of which you can't actually see because of the loud print) are the elasticated sleeves. Love that. I push my sleeves up all the time so I shall definitely be borrowing that for future projects. 

All was not lost however as I had a flash of inspiration and used the Amy Jumpsuit from Closet Core Patterns to create a cami top from the leftovers!

In my opinion this is the world's best keep secret - the facing from that patterns is FANTASTIC for a cami as it has darts and shape (unlike the Ogden which I have recently struggled to make fit in any way that looks half decent.) Let's start an Amy revolution. #teamamy

So another Win/Lose style project this week. Let the experiments continue...

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