Meet my Hawthorn Blouse!

I always wanted to have a blouse with a peplum, because they look so feminine. But somehow, I never bought one - which might be because I am not wearing trousers and because the skirts I am having don't really go with a peplum blouse. But having seen the Hawthorn pattern I knew time finally arrived :) And here she is, my newest addition to my wardrobe (and only blouse):

Let's talk about the fabric first! Coincidentally (are there any coincidences?), I had a beautiful liberty cotton lawn (copy print) in my stash. When I saw it at Goldhawk road, I had to have it even without having a project in mind. Luckily I bought 1.5 m and I had just enough for the blouse, yeah! For the collar and sleeve band I used some white leftover cotton lawn. The buttons I had in my stash - and as before with the Hawthorn Shirt Dress - they were the only ones I had enough from. I decided against a lining as I wanted to make a floaty, airy summer blouse. This time I also resisted to buy any matching lace for the hem.

Pattern alterations: Although I love my Hawthorne Shirt Dress, I knew that there was still some room for improvements. The main issues with it were: back and sleeves are to tight! The tight back was easy to change. I just added 3/8" in the shoulder area - which makes a big difference in comfort! As for the sleeves, it took me a while to address that problem. But thanks to my boyfriend (hey, I am the one who attended the fitting class!), I found a way. I just did a broad shoulder adjustment! Obviously, I didn't check the sew-along first to see if there were any recommendations, no I just added 1" at front and back armholes (at the shoulder semas) and used my french curve to shape the armhole. I also elongated the sleeve cap about 5/8" and - following the "Sew the perfect fit" Craftsy class by Lynda Maynard - did a cut on Gusset alteration to make the sleeves more comfy under the arms.

Neatly overlocked waist seam.

For a few weeks now, I am deeply in love with Peter Pan collars. But I hadn't found the time to make one  (and that although I have pinned loads of tutorial on Pinterest). So, the opportunity arose, to make one for the Hawthorn blouse. To change the collar, I only used my french curve. Aligning and moving it around until the collar had a shape that I liked :) When I stitched the collar pieces together, I used a 1/4" seam allowance only. So this time the collar fit perfectly and because I used the 1/4" only, it was even a bit bigger and more to my liking.

My modified Peter Pan collar and button detail.

I love that the collar is so round and smooth.

I prefer my clothes to be a bit longer and therefore cut the peplum a size 18 lengthwise. I also moved the waistline down 1" as it is a bit high on my Hawthorn Dress. Puh, looking at that long paragraph I actually made a lot of alterations!

Pattern instructions: I was flying when stitching this together! As I had a lot of practise having sewn the Shirt Dress, it really was super easy. Who needs instructions? 

Full back view.

What I like (or love): I love that I made a summary blouse. When wearing it I feel like on holidays :) The fabric is so thin and floaty. Also the pastel colours go so nice with the white collar and sleeve band (and my hair, hihi). My sleeves look/feel much better and I can stretch my arms without being afraid to break any seams :)

Summer time and the living is easy...

What I don't like: That I don't have a skirt that goes with the blouse! For the photos I was wearing trousers, but I rarely wear them in real live. I can imagine a simple A-line skirt would go nicely with it. I had a look at Megan Nielsens Kelly Skirt pattern and also at Colettes Beignet skirt. What do you think? Do you know any pattern that I could use?

Have I worn it? Yes. I wore it to work on Monday, even with a pair of trousers, wuhu. And it felt great!

Will I make it again? Definitively yes! I am already looking out for a light denim fabric to make the dress with long sleeves and plackets! I could also imagine to make another blouse, but than there are so many other patterns that I would love to sew. So much to sew, but so little time!