The 13th Birthday Outfit

Blouse - Part Two

I was able to get the blouse almost finished today.  The sleeve construction was the other place I departed from the instructions.  I decided to insert the sleeves in the flat and then sew the side seams to make using a french seam there easier.  To start, I've attached the bottom bands to the sleeves, as seen below.

The sleeve units were then added to the blouse, leaving me with a long side seam to sew in a french seam.  The wrong side of the blouse is shown below.  As a side note, to finish the sleeve seam, I stitched 1/4" away from the first stitching and then trimmed close to the second stitching.  I've done this before and while not a french seam or bound seam (too bulky for all this cotton), it still looks neat.

Once the side seams were done, I was able to finish up the hem. 

All that's left is to hand stitch the sleeve bands in place, topstitch the sleeve bands and add the buttons.  So far, this has been an easy and cute blouse to make!

Parting Shot:  Mt. Moriah.  My son and I went hiking this week to Mt. Moriah.  It was his first 10 mile hike and he did a great job!