Chained, Tied and Checkered

Some blouses with neck ties:
Lepore's Classical Charmeuse at Nordy's for $325:



French Connection's 'Celebrate' Tie blouse from Nordy's for $118



DKNY Jeans' Printed Chiffon Blouse with Tie


Style and Co's charmeuse from Macy's for originally $49

and those ruffled sleeves
O Oscar's silk pleated ruffle top for originally $109!

Combine some of those elements to get:
HP's 1002 Metro Tie Me Down Blouse!






Finally, my two hot patterns arrived just short of two weeks (11 days after I placed my order)! I worked on it shortly after receiving it in the mail! It was worth the wait!

Pattern Description:
Blouses with front tie, shirred shoulders, shirred center back and sleeve variations.

Pattern Sizing: Multi-sized. I used a "14"

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?Yes, but in a boldly printed fabric! I thought I would take one more pic by Heather's pink holiday tree before we put it away.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes and the accompanying illustrations were helpful. A first time sewist might need an additional illustration to see how to place the tie on the neckline. Overall, I like the new user-friendly format!

What did you particularly notice about the pattern?
* I liked the overall style with the ruched shoulders which give the blouse a nice drape and the gathered bell sleeves.

* The blouse was very easy to construct (no buttonholes!) and took me only a few hours!

* The blouse consisted of the front, back, tie, sleeve and the front and back facing pieces. I started getting somewhat cross eyed from looking at the grooves on the pattern pieces as I was cutting each to a size "14"!

* As mentioned by previous reviewers, the notches are so lightly printed that I also overlooked them as I was cutting the fabric!

* I found the top to be somewhat loose fitting than what was described and pictured on the envelope. This could be attibuted to the drape of the fabric I was using.

Fabric Used:
Chain link printed knit from GF

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
Since I do not have elastic thread available for the shirring at the shoulders and the center back, I stretched sewed 1/4" elastic on the wrong side of the fabric. I skipped the third row of ruching at each shoulder to not further add more bulk.

Instead of starting 2" from the sleeve hem with the first row of ruching, I gathered one instead of three rows 6" from the sleeve hem due to personal preference.

I discovered that the entire neckline facing (v-neck facing attached to the back facing) was a bit large as I was pinning it to the neckline. To adjust the neckline facing, I cut out an excess of a little over an inch from the combined shoulder seams and restitched the seams.


Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I plan to make another one or two in another month or so, but using elastic thread. I might go down a size and/or include front darts for more shaping, I definitely recommend it and agree with the rating "Advanced Beginner" specified on the envelope.

Conclusion
I like this blouse's distinctive details: the gathered/shirred shoulders and sleeves and the tie below the neck and that can be worn over a skirt, pants, or jeans.

This is the second HP pattern that I worked with and have discovered that HP patterns seem to run a lilittle larger. Either that or the outfit was not drafted as it appears on the pattern envelope. Anyway, after making the first version, you could easily customize to fit.






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I think I finished this just before the New Year!






This is absolutely a very easy dress to sew! I made this after my "Cars" gathered front knit top.

Features:
* One size, 14
* Slight aline style
* Bust darts
* Front center seam
* Omitted the zipper and replaced with a back seam due to the knit.
* Long vertical darts at the back.
* Facings for the neckline (front, back) and armholes
* Hand sewed the hem.
* Retro chic, but so "in" right now!

Another nice top that I would like to copy!
BCBG Silk Charmeuse from Macys' originally $178
Built by Wendy Bodice + Simplicity's Very easy kimono sleeves ?