Annual Christmas Outfit - Part 2

The Blouse

I got the blouse done this morning, so I think my daughter will be all set for the first concert of the season tomorrow evening!

The blouse was easy to make, especially since I've made this pattern quite a few times. Here are a few details.

First, the blouse is made of a polyester shantung with a dull side and a shiny side. If you look closely in the photo of the blouse above, you'll notice that the second layer of the lower bodice is the shiny side of the fabric while the rest of the blouse is the matte side. That was done on purpose, just for a little textural contrast.

Second, the sleeve trim detail that was requested by my daughter. This is a band of velvet made of the same velvet as the skirt. I made the bands the same way I make bias strips for applique for my art garments. I stitched long strips of velvet wrong sides together, and pressed the strip with the proper size pressing bar. I then topstitched the velvet strip to the sleeve before stitching the sleeve seam.

Third, the hems of the flounces and sleeves were made by using the rolled hem feature of my serger. I used a sparkly silver thread in the upper looper for a little extra glitter. As a side note, the thread that I used is metallic by Coats & Clark that my regular machines absolutely hates as a top thread. This is a rare thing because my regular machine loves just about any thread from any manufacturer, and will stitch all sorts of metallics with just a regular needle. Except this one, of course. On a whim, I tried it in the serger and it worked!

Last, the flower or bird's nest, you decide. I followed the instructions from Connie and I ended up with the velvet flower. I added a few grey pearls and finished the back with a pin back and a piece of repurposed thin cardboard (it is under the light grey circle for support).


My daughter tried the blouse on this afternoon and loved it. I was surprised, as she was happy with the plans for her outfit, but not thrilled. I've learned over time that if she's not super excited or thrilled with the garment, she won't wear it. She said it turned out a bit differently than she imagined, but that she loved it. Good enough for me!

I'll have some pictures of her next week wearing her new outfit.

Q/A: Joyce asked, "When you lay out your fabric on the floor, do you use a rotary cutter or scissors to cut out the pieces?" I always use scissors to cut out pattern pieces from fabric whether it is on the cutting table or floor. The only except is things like strips for binding or for geometric shapes like squares and rectangles, frequently given in BWOF (Burda World of Fashion) directions for things like pockets, waistbands, etc. I'll use the rotary cutter and mat for those things. I just happen to like using the scissors, so that's what use.

Parting Shot: Decorating. We put up the Christmas decorations today. Usually we do this the day after Thanksgiving, but with the carpet being installed this year we decided to wait until that was done. The children were very excited to put together and decorate the tree.