Friday, September 25, 2015

2015 Pattern Review Sewing Bee Round 1: Fitted Blouse

Sewing Bee 2015 - Round 1


It's that time of year! The 2nd annual Pattern Review Sewing Bee has begun and I made it through the second round. 

Here's a recap of the first challenge:

Round 1 -- Sew a fitted blouse.  Requirements as follows:

*The blouse must use shaping through the use of darts, or dart equivalents such as princess seams, gathers, tucks, or pleats, to follow the contours of the body through the bust and waist. Review MUST STATE how shaping was achieved.

*Closure required (buttons and buttonholes, loop buttons, zippers, hook and eye, tie, frogs, etc.) 

*Because the blouse is fitted, it CANNOT be a pullover or wrap style.

*Collar optional

*Fabric - Woven or Stretch Woven only. Knits are NOT allowed. Can be a print or a solid - any color.

*Set - In Sleeves required - Either short or long. Raglan/Dolman/Cut on sleeves NOT allowed. Sleeveless entries are NOT allowed.

 We had seven days to complete the project. Out of 116 participants, 50 moved on to the next round.


This was my entry:



I used McCalls 6035. I have never sewn a fitted blouse before so I was a bit nervous about achieving the perfect fit. I went through several muslin fittings before sewing my fashion fabric. As it turned out, it wasn't that intimidating. Armed with a camera on tripod and a remote control, I was able to get a good view of both front and back and determine what tweaks were needed for fitting. 



With the sheer number of participants, I had to find a way to make sure my blouse was creative enough to make me advance to the next round. So in addition to the design elements, I chose a nontraditional fabric combination. 


More views of the finished blouse:


You can see a gallery of all the  entries including the winner at Pattern Review.














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