I’ve had to take a break from everything for a while, but I’m glad to say that I’m back now with my latest make. It’s been really lovely to be back in my sewing room, I’d forgotten just how restorative sewing can be.
This wonderful fabric is called Hothouse Palms and it’s from Minerva’s exclusive crêpe back satin range. It really is such a fantastic fabric to work with, the crêpe on the back of the satin makes it far more stable than a normal satin fabric so it’s much easier to handle through the sewing machine.
I love all the different shades of green and the little pops of purple and aqua really make it eye catching. It’s also a really lovely weight and has plenty of drape. I was very kindly gifted this fabric as part of Minerva’s ambassador programme.
I chose to pair this wonderful fabric with Butterick B6731. It’s a great little blouse pattern with three different sleeve options and I went for option C which has long sleeves. It was the tie detail on the front, that really drew me to this pattern, I felt it was really unusual. I had to resist making option A with the beautiful waterfall sleeves, because I already have several like that and felt I should try something different.
I made my usual full bust and tummy adjustments to the pattern and if I make it again, I will shorten the shoulders slightly. They looked alright on my toile, but made up in my fabric they seem a little long, I would also reduce the width off the cuffs more as these have come out very wide.
I found that I didn’t need the zip up the side of the blouse as I can easily just pull it on over my head.
The blouse is actually really easy to sew despite looking more complicated because of the tie front. I decided (as a lot of other people have) to make my ties double sided as my fabric is white on the reverse and I didn’t want this to show when I tied the blouse front. This is something to bear in mind if your fabric is similar and you want double sided ties as you will need to allow extra fabric in your calculations for this.
I sewed the whole project using a microtex needle and a walking foot, and used my over locker to finish the seams.
I was quite surprised at how voluminous the sleeve heads were, I think the crepe back is definitely providing more structure here, than if I had used something softer like a challis. I’m definitely getting 80’s vibes from this blouse and I do love how flowy the fabric is along the sleeves.
I’m so happy with how it’s turned out and think it’s going to look equally great paired with my black velvet trousers for winter.
Wheelchair Considerations
This blouse is very suitable for my chair. The length is perfect and the neckline isn’t too low or revealing. I can pull it on over my head and it’s really comfortable to wear. I think there may possibly be a danger of the cuffs catching on things but this could easily be eliminated by making them smaller.
Image Description: (there are six images taken from different angles showing Yvonne sat in her wheelchair in her garden. She is wearing white cut off denim trousers and a green V-neck blouse with long sleeves and a tie front detail.)
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