Pretty little blouses

I've worked on a couple blouses recently.  The first is the Classic Blouse from Silhouette Patterns.  I haven't totally perfected it yet, actually I made a bunch of different muslins and it wasn't easy to find the correct fit.  I truly did not have a blouse that fit properly to measure off of, as described in the instructions and Peggy's webcasts.  So I kept experimenting.  After all my renditions I basically ended up with a size 3 overall.  I think that is where I will start with future top patterns.

The fabric is a rayon from Vogue fabrics that I bought at the Expo.  It's very light and will be nice to wear in the Springtime.  I see it with a pair of white capris and a cami underneath.

Oh, and back to not having a blouse that fits properly....I went to the thrift shop and tried on a bunch.  I had the same issues with one after the other, they don't fit over my belly, and they show the same weird back shoulder issues as they do in my sewing.  So now I know what to work on.  I did find one that fit, and purchased it (along with a jacket to use in the upcoming jacket sew-along.)

I also completed my first SWAP project (see previous post.)  This is the Vintage blouse from the Ottobre designs autumn/winter 2007 issue, item #1.

I sewed a size 44 and graded to the 45 at the hips. It fits quite nicely.  The fabric was horrible to work with but I've had it in my stash and I do think it's pretty.  It is a polyester chiffon I once bought from Hancocks.  I used silk organza to interface it with.