Final Check list on #0191

Be sure and check out my other posts on this blouse.  Started out simple but....  Then it went down hill.  You can always check out http://Maxwellscountry.blogspot.com for more adventures with this top.
VPLL Checklist

1.  Pattern Name Blouse - E0191
2. Sewer’s Skill Level: Advance, Intermediate, Beginner - Still a beginner but getting better every garment
3. Pattern Rating: 1-Not a Fan, 2 – So-So, 3 – Good/Average, 4-Better than Average, 5-I LOVED IT! and why? 1 - this pattern was hard to make up and nothing seemed to fit together no matter what I did.
4. What skill level would someone need to sew this pattern and why? - Advanced as this pattern would require a lot of adjustments to actually fit an adult woman.
5. Were the instructions easy to follow? If not, what needs to be changed?  It wasn't the instructions that made this blouse hard it was the pattern that just didn't fit together correctly no matter what I did.
6. How was the fit/sizing?  Did it correspond to what you thought?  fit and sizing were the main problem.  The shoulders were too tight and it was so short it ended up being a halter top, not very 1912.....
7. Did you make any pattern alterations? If so, what alterations did you make? Where they fit or design alterations?  I did all kinds of fit alterations, made the top longer, did a FBA, added a gusset under the arms to allow movement and put a band on the bottom.  The 2nd time I made it up I did all those changes plus it changed the way it was laid out to allow the back center to be on the straight of grain.  As for design changes I tried to keep the essence of the blouse the same as the pattern but the 2nd time I made it I did not line it as the lining did not match up with the blouse.  This actually made it fit better along with all the other changes I did to the pattern.
8. Other notes:  This was really a rough project, I didn't enjoy anything about making this garment at all

1912 Blouse

I finally got it figured out.  Had to take it all apart and re-cut the body of the blouse.  I did some major changes on the fit of the blouse, made it much longer, added a band on the bottom, and changed the way it was cut.  The blouse back center seam wasn't on grain the way it was originally laid out, at least I didn't think it was but, after changing it to the grain line, it fits so much better.   The sleeves fit smoothly now and don't bind like they did.  The seam where it attaches to the blouse body is so strange, you don't match the side seam with the sleeve seam, the sleeve seam is to the front.  It is even cute done in the pink dot cotton and will be perfect to wear with jeans or even a skirt for church.  I am looking at skirt patterns from this project to make to go with it.  Still haven't made up my mind which one I want or if I want to make a wrap instead.  Of course if I make a skirt then I can always just wear a lacy shawl that I already have.  Another think to consider.  My group still hasn't been given a pattern to work on but I know they never thought that so many people would sign up for this project.  There are about 400 participants.  I am sure that at least 1/2 will drop out after the first pattern. They are really tough but are a good stretch for my sewing skills.  Will post the pictures sometime this weekend!

Blouse troubles

My 0910 blouse for the 1912 Project is making me nuts!!!!  I just can't seem to get it to fit any where close to right across the shoulders.  I may just have to take it all apart AGAIN and resew it or try and lay a regular pattern that fits over it and see if I can figure out what the problem is.  I did order a corset, it is not exactly the correct type of this period but I have to have something to hold up my bosom. The 1912 corsets were under bust types and if you are busty that just won't work or at least I can't figure out how to make them work.  The one I got is bad enough, it is very low cut, more like a shelf bra.  I can understand why they ladies wore corset covers and all the other undergarments they wore.   I am going to have to look up on line to figure out what order they go on.  I don't know who I am going to get to cinch me into this silly corset, that alone should be funny.  I told Max we need to have a canopy bed so I could hang on to it like Scarlett O'Hara did when Mammy cinched h

Options

er up.  I will give a report on this big adventure when I get enough nerve up to give it a try.   Well, I'll write some more later when I get this blouse figured out.

Figured it out!

I just finally figured out that that is not a band on the bottom of the blouse, it is the skirt band.  I think the basque piece is what threw me off but got it figured out now.  Found some old fabric that I can use to make up my muslin.  Not a muslin but it will work!  This is going to be an interesting blouse.  Maybe interesting isn't the right word, different?  If I don't get some sleep tonight I am going to put it away until I'm not so tired or I am going to mess it up so bad that there won't be anyway to fix it.  Don't know what the problem is, just wide awake at 3 AM!  Now I am sleepy, wonder why........  Off to go do some work on my little brother's quilt.  One of these days I am going to quit calling him my little brother, after all he is over 6' tall and 200 pounds and is 50 years old! 

My stupid computer has a stuck key, "X" and of course I use it all the time since it is in my last name. Just one more of those silly things that makes me growl!

Strange problem

Well, got the blouse cut out of some old cotton fabric that I had and I got started making it up.  Sounds good so far, right?  Well, that is where the good part ends.  For some reason, the blouse is more like a halter top.  It is super short.  I figured out that what I thought was the band at the bottom was just the skirt band which just makes it worse instead of better.  I guess I am going to have to hope that someone else has this same trouble and can explain how to fix it or at least what they are doing about it.  (Side note: My stupid "X" key is still sticking on my laptop.  Didn't realize how much I used it until it didn't work.)  I guess that only one of the reasons to make up a muslin before you make up the garment in nice fabric.  I would have been really OPed if I had cut it out of the pretty silk and then found out that it is short.  The instructions don't really explain anything about the bottom of this blouse.  Well, guess I will go back and re-read it again and see if something jumps out at me or see if someone on Facebook has made it up and had the same problem.  I knew that I would have to do an adjustment on the bust measurement and that wasn't hard since I have to do that on all my tops, hurray for Nancy Zieman's fitting book, if you haven't used it and you have very many alterations to do with commercial patterns you will be glad you bought it.  I may have to get a new one as mine is getting a little raggedy.  Of course mine is one of the first ones.

Latest on the 1912 Project

Here I go with the 2nd garment in the 1912 Project.  This one is a ladies blouse, #0191.  This drawing at the right is what it supposed to look like, but probably not what mine will look like!  I nearly went crazy just working on the pattern layout, the front and back is all one piece but the lining is like a regular blouse, very odd.  In some ways it was easier than the first pattern I printed out, the Princess slip, at least I knew how to lay all the paper pieces out.  Since the front and back is one giant piece I thought I had done something wrong when I was taping it together but it is just the way the blouse is made.  I'll try and show you what it looks like as I go along.  I have to do a lot of adjustments as I am probably not going to wear a corset and even if I did, can't see me cinching down to a 25" waist and wearing it for any length of time!  The blouse is really beautiful and will be nice to wear with a simple skirt or even jeans.  I love the way it has a band on the bottom of it and 3/4 length sleeves are back in fashion.  I am thinking of not making the bottom band look like a belt as it does in the drawing, instead just leave it plain.  I don't think it would matter since I am really trying to make it more modern, so I can wear it now and not exactly like a 1912 version.  I have a piece of yummy green silk that I have had a long time but never made into anything, couldn't find the right thing for such a luxurious piece of fabric so I just kept it for "something" well, I think that "something" has come along.  Now I just have to figure out what to use as a trim.  I also have a piece of gray linen but that might be a bit stiff and not drape very well but it would make a nice skirt to go with this top.  Next time I will be working on the muslin of this top and try and get all the adjustments done to correct the size of this top.