Pattern Description:
©1976; The top-stitched blouse with front button closing has notched collar. V. 1 has long set-in sleeves gathered to buttoned cuffs. V. 2 features short set-in sleeves with cuffs. V. 3 is sleeveless. V. 2 & 3 triangular scarf can be worn around head or under collar. This pattern came out when I was in the fifth grade.
I was looking for another pattern for a basic, no-frills, collared button down blouse. This pattern captured my attention while browsing on etsy. I did not en counter any challenges while sewing. There is nothing to dislike about this pattern.
Pattern Sizing:
Misses' size 14, bust 36"
Version 2 in a Dana Buchman cotton voile, fabric mart:
First version: 100% cotton woven , "yarn dyed shirting Cheyenne black", from fabric.com. Because it is not a tightly woven fabric, it has a tendency to fray and unravel.
Instructions
They were easy to follow and are organized into "units" for each portion of the blouse (i.e. front facing and collar construction, sleeve/placket/cuff construction). The steps are nicely written supplemented with helpful diagrams. In particular, I like Simplicity's version here of creating and attaching the sleeve placket. Although this came out 38 years ago, I have had to second-guess directions from patterns of several pattern brands that came out much later.
Alterations/Modifications
*My typical petite 1" adjustment at the waist and narrowing of the upper back by taking 3/8" from the center back seam.
*Removed 1/2" from the neck edge of the collar to avoid the collar from "protruding" out and looking "so 1970's".
* Used French seams due to unraveling nature of fabric
*Omitted the sleeve cuff facing
* I stitched the correct or visible side of the cuff to the wrong or non-visible side of the sleeve and finished the ends of the cuff in a 1/4" (instead of 3/8") seam, right sides together, before turning them inside out. Then I turned the entire edge of the cuff to the outside (keeping the cuff folded in half lengthwise with the edges turned in, covering the seam allowance of the sleeve and cuff) and top-stitched. So, my sleeve cuff is half as wide as what was originally drafted or shown on the pattern envelope. I used a similar method to construct the cuffs of a Simplicity 1779 blouse with a tie-bow front.
*For my second version, I doubled the width of the sleeve cuff pattern, so that when folded in half lengthwise, I would obtain the "wider" cuff as illustrated on the pattern envelope.
*For my second version, I added vertical darts at the front, below the bust points.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I already sewed two, but sometime in the near future, yes, although it took me nearly 10 hours to complete each shirt (fitting, fiddling, stitching). I definitely recommend it which can still be found on ebay, etsy, and on-line vintage pattern stores. Otherwise, there are nice basic shirt patterns such as Butterick's 6085 and Vogue's "Basic Design" shirts.
Conclusion:
Another nice classic pattern
I gathered the confidence to wear this to work a few days later.
