Colette Jasmine Blouse

Hello there! I have a new finished item, finally.

I seem to have developed a terrible habit of starting a project with huge enthusiasm, getting to the last few steps and then abandoning it for several weeks. This is not good for productivity. Habit must be broken!

But, here, finally, is a finished project! It's Jasmine by Colette Patterns. I realise that everything I've made to date is by Colette patterns, and I purchased another 5 or so when they had the online release sale. I have also acquired three By Hand London patterns though, so I will be branching out soon, honest!! I'm very keen for the Anna dress after seeing so many lovely versions of them on the interweb!

I had QUITE a few fitting issues with the muslin, and I recently purchased this fantastic book on fitting which really helped to stop me getting too mad. I'm still not perfectly happy with the fit, but this is my first blouse, and my first item with set-in sleeves, and the fabric was cheap so I'm happy to settle :)

I used a cheap mystery fabric from Birmingham rag market that cost about £2.50 a meter. As usual when I buy these cheap fabrics I got home, laid it out and found a handful of faults in the weave - bunched up thread, even holes! The blouse is cut on the bias (another first for me!) so I used the best part of 3 meters all in all, which is crazy for a separate! Lucky it was cheap, eh?

In the daylight of the market the colour looked nice, but when I got home I realised it had the potential to make me look naked from a distance, which led me to the contrast collar. For this, I managed to squeeze the pattern onto the leftovers from the lining of my polka dot Zinnia skirt. Very economical (read: cheapskate!) But hey, who cares if it's lining fabric, it's soft, drapey and a similar weight to the main fabric. It's all good here!

I've literally jumped straight from sewing machine to camera to blog, so I haven't test worn it yet. I'm not sure yet if I'll make more versions of this until I've worn it a few times. I'm not crazy about it right now, but I am definitely in need of more tops. I have a plan for a red Violet soon though, so we'll see how that goes!