cotton voile – THE COMPULSIVE SEAMSTRESS

Back in the day when the doctors wrote their prescriptions, I can’t believe the pharmacists actually knew what was written! The squiggles on the fabric remind me very much of those scribbled prescriptions. 😀 I give you my latest Olya Shirt, pattern from Paper Theory. The fabric is a piece of cotton voile from Croft Mill fabrics, as mentioned in my last post. It’s a very good price, and the fabric is the softest, drapiest ever! It’s going to be lovely to wear in the summer…. But I will wear it now, just with a cami underneath and a jumper over the top – especially as I’m determined not to have the heating on unless I’m a shivering wreck!

olya 4

Most of the modifications were mentioned in the Work in Progress post, so this post covers the last minute changes in design direction, and of course, it’s for showing it off, all nice and finished!

collage olya squiggle 3 — All the details

The selvedge has a lovely coloured edge, and I wanted to incorporate it into the top in some way. I used the strips down the edges of the fabric already cut and added them to the collar stand to start, I thought it looked quite nice, giving myself the green light to do more. So I cut a shorter piece and sewed it into inside seam of the buttonstand on the button side, just from the collar to the yoke joining seam. I really like the way it looks! It might be a monochromatic print, but there’s colour in there too! I like this little bit of fluff, it makes my shirt even more personalised, and that’s what sewing is all about, right?

olya 2

Buttons are all from the stash, reused from one of hubby’s shirts that fell apart. I had toyed with adding more of the selvedge to the cuffs. For now they’re plain, but I might add a bit later as there’s plenty left! I have about half a metre of the fabric leftover, I hope I can use it productively in another project, it would be a same to waste it.

Next on the cutting table are two vintage projects for the girls. One is a 70s jacket in chocolate brown fine whale corduroy, and another a pair of 80s pleated trousers in grey wool flannel. I’ll let you guess which project is for which daughter!

Ok, so this post has nothing to do with an actual lining – but it felt right as a name for this next project, and it’s a pretty good song too! (Silver Lining, by Hurts) The fabric is a Liberty print cotton voile with what looks like draped fabric printed in shades of grey on white. I loved it when I saw it in the shop, and loved it even more when I noticed it was only £6.99/m! Naturally I hadn’t a clue what it was to become, so I played it safe and got 2m. I am so glad I did, because when I finally made a pattern I had just about enough. Here’s the sketch again:

Blouse with oversized polo placket

The pintucks were substituted with twin needle tucks as the voile was so soft, the last thing I wanted was wobbly tuck lines! I have made the yoke a double layer, I just think it looks better that way. The remainder of the bust dart was incorporated into gathers, and the bodice front was widened 3cm to allow for some draping and fullness. I also made the back a little wider, basically cutting up the back dart and opening up 3cm there as well. Originally I had added more width at the centre back, but when I did the toile it was too full, and I didn’t like it. The yoke at the back also has twin needle tucks.

But it’s the sleeves that really catch the attention! That big poofy bit was cool to make! I had fun with that. First, I drew a line 5cm above the elbow line, then another 5cm below the halfway point between the elbow and the wrist. That was to be the extent of the poof. To keep that poof, however, you need a stay on the inside. So I traced that bit of the pattern, adding balance points and grainlines, then divided it into 9 sections, adding 2.5cm between each piece. This made a very wide section, perfect for lots of poof! Then I added 8cm at the lower edge for “blousing. Once it was toiled, I realised the blousing was hiding the cuff completely, so I chopped 3cm off, and now it works quite well.

The three sleeve sections, the top, the "poof", and the stay to hold the poof in place!

I really like this blouse, and am definitely going to use the pattern again to make more!

Pictures are a little dark, I got daughter no 2 to take them after the sewing class today, we were way too busy to do it earlier! It is amazing how busy a class with 6 people in it can be! Here’s a peak at the class today:

Working hard today! And yes, that's me on the right at the back.

So it is half term this week, Daughter no 1 will be galivanting with friends, except for Thursday when we head into Birmingham for another University interview and ~~possibly a little fabric shopping at the Fancy silk store~~ then straight home!! Yeah, right!! Daughter no 2 needs to start work on her prom dress, so guess what I’ll be doing.. playing with paper again! Yay! 😀

Tag: cotton voile

Doctor’s Orders

Silver Lining