Refashioning #8: Blouse Upgrade
If you guessed that my clothes-shopping bills are incredibly small, then congratulations: you are CORRECT, my friend. If you guessed it’s because I only clothes-shop from the clearance section anymore, then you are on a roll, friend -
You just won the solid-gold Cupie-Doll!
My budget for clothing and accessories is incredibly small compared to the national average, largely because I am dedicated to mending and repairing whenever possible.
There are some pieces in my wardrobe I got years ago, and just can’t bare to part with because they feel comfortable and look good on me… you ask any other girly out there: when you find that pair of jeans, that blouse, or that banging-skirt, you do NOT let it go. EVER.
In hindsight, the fit of this blouse was fine. It does what it’s supposed to do on paper.
But I’ve had tops like these before, and they never made me feel comfortable in my own skin - let alone beautiful.
But, when I do feel the need to spend some discretionary income, I do end up finding my way into the clearance section of the department store… and usually for the end-of-the-season(s) blow-out sales - where 70% discounts means finer materials, paid in peanuts for me.
Sometimes, my finds are absolutely perfect as they are - as was the case with one of my most recent bottoms: perfect fit, perfect materials, perfect fluidity. I love them and know that I will never get that lucky again (or at least for the next 10 years).
A $20 Vera Wang is certainly a discount
And sometimes I pick up a piece that I only chose for the colors - as is the case for this green and yellow, summer blouse.
Green is easily one of my favorite colors, and it was paired so well with this shade of yellow, that I was immediately transported to hot summer evenings of my old Kentucky home: drinking, dancing, laughing with friends as stars blink to life under the warm blanket of the milky-way, all wrapped up in the afterglow of a country music festival…
(I like to write in my spare time, in case you couldn’t tell)
As much as I loved the colors of this blouse, I wasn’t too happy with the fit. At first I thought it was a simple “slimming” job (taking it in) in order to make it a little more form-fitting.
But then I realized I wouldn’t be too happy with the end result; the way this blouse was cut didn’t allow for as much slimming as I had hoped for.
So, I decided to just take it apart and return to basics…
It required a lot of seam-ripping - a lot of trimming - and in the end there was only just enough of the print to use for new sleeves and accents.
But I also had some deep green material ready and waiting in my stash, so I decided I could make it work for me:
I was fortunate enough to dig out some elastic thread I still had in my stash before this project, so I oiled up the old BERNINA (“Carol”) and spooled a few bobbins of elastic, and just jumped back into shirring.
I haven’t had the chance to shirr a top or a dress in a long time, so this ended up being a real nice treat - I’d forgotten just how much I love the end result (even if the actual gathering is a bit of a chore!)
Ultimately, however, I decided that instead of making new sleeves from the original floral material, I’d go a little easier on myself and got the route of a sleeveless summer top instead.
For one thing, I didn’t take exact measurements (like I should have) for the design I originally wanted, so I ended up eye-balling the cut the bodice once all the gathering was done.
No measurements, usually means wasted fabric, especially where sleeves are concerned (at least in my experience).
For another thing, even at the shaping was done on the bodice, I realized it was still going to be too short for my liking; while I’ve been leaning more towards crop-waist tops in the last few years, I still don’t feel comfortable in anything that exposes my navel (part of that is my upbringing, but the larger part is just my personal taste).
Now, for the halter strap, that was kind of a pickle to puzzle-out: ideally, I’d prefer to cut them on the bias so that they have some stretch and will lay a little more smoothly against the body (especially if the material is woven from a medium weight cotton).
But I was running out of material, and knew if I did cut the strap on the bias I wouldn’t have enough to even attach a fastener, much less make it long enough to tie.
Additionally, there was the matter of securing the raw edges of the back - and any sewist worth their lick of salt will tell you it’s a BAD idea to try and stabilize stretchy material, with stretch bias tape (it never ends well!)
Notice how the straps are twisted as they’re tied up; bias-cut strips normally prevent this because it creates flexibility in woven materials.
Ultimately, I just decided to got the “home-made” route and make the bias tape and ties from straight cuts of the remaining green fabric.
Unfortunately, they won’t lay as nicely as I would prefer - but I decided it’s not that big of a deal to me, since I only plan to it around my mother’s pool deck this summer. Preferably when it’s sunny and hot, and I can tan away the “sandal-feet!”
Takeaways:
So, if I were to do this for a client…
Nah, just kidding!
There’s no way I would agree to do this kind of job for money - not unless the client was absolutely sure they wanted it.
For one thing, it would be cheaper and less time-consuming to just shop for the cuts that fit you best - even on clearance.
The only reason I even purchased the original blouse was because I really liked the colors and pattern. If I were going to go back and do it all over again, I probably wouldn’t even had made this purchase. Sometimes the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.
This refashioning saw me having to step back and punt several times when it became clear that my original plans weren’t coming to fruition. Grant it, a lot of that could’ve easily been avoided with more diligent measuring, instead of just eye-balling the project.
I harp a lot of measurements and numbers in my studio, and there’s a reason for that: the math never lies.
And it can save you a lot of wasted effort and money, just because of how much it informs your future planning.
Now, hypothetically, if a client was adamant that they wanted this project done, and we went forward and completed it, I would make them the offer of donating their fee to one of my three favorite charities instead.
I know I’m telling on myself a bit, but I’ve never felt right taking money I didn’t feel I earned. At the same time though, I know a lot of people feel they have to pay something for work they couldn’t do on their own; it really is a matter of pride for some, and that’s totally understandable.
Sometimes the juice isn’t worth the squeeze on some projects, but, at least in this case, it was a great refresher-course on some of the most important steps in sewing and clothing construction.
