I Made a Blouse!

I made a blouse. No, seriously, I did.

Those who have read my books will be amazed. After all, I whined profusely about set-in-sleeves and other three dimensional sewing projects and vowed never to sew anything but flat stuff ever again.

I suppose it was my new-found love of zippered pouches that made me wonder if I actually COULD sew anything but flat stuff ever again. (And as you can see, I had to take a break from my frenzied knitting because I developed a knitting injury--more about that tomorrow.) So I bought this pattern that looked like it might possibly have enough room for my DD chest and made this up out of some $2/yard fabric from Wal Mart.


I'm still evaluating my experience. There were pros and cons. I'll list them here:
Con: I wear a size 8 in clothing. This does not mean I could buy a size 8 pattern. These pattern people seriously believe that I am somewhere between a size 12 and a size 14! Honestly, Pattern People, take a basic course in psychology or read a women's magazine sometime. Women do NOT want to buy a pattern if they have to buy a bigger number than the size they try desperately to stay within range of. To add insult to injury, my bust measurement puts me in the circus freak zone of the pattern charts. I hate that.


Con: Even with managing to sew/ navigate around the Himalayas that are my chest, this blouse still doesn't fit me right. It gaps around my neck and in the back. And even with gathering, it's a wee bit tight in my bust, and it needs a bit more length and width to flow easily (hide) my hips and slightly protruding abdomen (god, this is depressing...)


Con: Could you please, Pattern People, remind me...no...warn me how important those little matchy-uppy dots are before I decide that I'm so experienced a sewer that I don't need any of your stinkin' made-for-wimpy-non-quilters matchy dots? My entire blouse skews slightly to my left.


Pro: I MADE A BLOUSE!! And as badly as it fits, I've been wearing it almost every day. Even though it's too gappy, tight, short, and made out of crummy waste fabric that looks like recycled clown pants...I MADE A BLOUSE!!! Happy, happy, happy.


I'm 49 years old and I still can't figure me out.