You just know when a project is going to be special, and that was the case with this one from the second I first set eyes on my gorgeous fabric. It’s called Marbled Memory and it’s from Minerva’s new Exclusive Silk Single Georgette range. I love the Berry colour-way, although there are three other beautiful colour options to choose from. (I was very kindly gifted this as part of their Ambassador programme).
The silk fabric is exquisite and feels so luxurious when you hold it. I chose to pair it with Butterick 6685 because I felt the flutter sleeves of option C would show off the lightness of the fabric perfectly. I picked a lining from Minerva’s core range which colour matched well and meant the main part of the top wouldn’t be too translucent. The pattern doesn’t have you line the top but this was easy to do using the main bodice pattern pieces. I just shortened the length of the lining by two inches to ensure it didn’t show from the outside.
To prepare the fabric, I initially overlocked the raw edges and then placed it into a net laundry bag and washed it in my machine using Woolite on a delicates/silk handwashing setting. Thankfully this warm weather we’ve been having meant it was easy to line dry it in the same afternoon.
When it came to the cutting out, my hubby followed the advice in Minerva’s fabric guide and placed tissue paper under the fabric, which is a technique we’ve used before on sheer fabrics. (This helps to stop the very slippy fabric from moving around when you’re cutting out). He then weighted it down very thoroughly with pattern weights before cutting out using a new blade in the rotary cutter.
Normally if I am working with a georgette I would use French seams but because I was lining the bodice and not the sleeves I opted for a standard seam as it was not so translucent and the seams would be out of view it also meant attaching the sleeves would be less fiddly.
Again following the advice in the Fabric Guide I used a new needle in my sewing machine and as I was using a silk georgette opted for a microtex 70 needle. I reduced my stitch length to 1.5mm to reduce the risk of puckering and held onto the top and bottom threads when I started sewing to stop the fabric being sucked into the throat plate. I also used a walking foot as an extra security to stop the fabrics from slipping about too much.
When pressing the fabric I used a low silk setting on the iron and used a pressing cloth to ensure that I didn’t damage the fabric or make it go shiny.
The pattern calls for narrow hems but as I mentioned in my last post I chose to use a rolled hem on my overlocker. Having wooly nylon thread in the upper looper gave a really lovely professional looking hem and the black went so well with my fabric, it just finished it off perfectly. I really struggle with narrow hems these days because of how numb my fingers are (MS), so having an alternative that turned out so well has made me very happy.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed making this blouse, I started out being a little nervous, almost in awe of the beautiful fabric and worried I’d not be able to do it justice, but as the project progressed I relaxed and found that it actually wasn’t hard to work with at all. I love the finished blouse and just need a fitting occasion to wear it out now.
I can highly recommend this gorgeous fabric.
Wheelchair considerations
The neckline of the blouse is perfect for a wheelchair user.
The belt is optional so you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to be restricted around your tummy or you could just tie is loosely.
I love a statement sleeve and don’t have any problems with my electric chair, if you use a manual chair however, you may want to pick a different sleeve option to avoid them catching.
The blouse is a good length and finishes nicely in my lap without wrinkling up underneath me.
(Image description: there are six photos taken from different angles, showing Yvonne sat in her wheelchair in her garden. She is wearing black trousers and a red and black patterned blouse with statement flutter sleeves.)
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