Horse, Horse, Tiger, Tiger

 

Have you ever discovered a phrase in another language that you just love? This is one of those phrases - I learnt this when in China a few years ago doing some charity work. Some of the charity staff told me this phrase, 'mǎmǎhūhū'. It is translated as horse, horse, tiger, tiger and generally means a bit so-so - I'm feeling a bit horse, horse about this and also a bit tiger, tiger. It's far more decriptive than so-so.

Anyway this phrase sums up this make in more than one way. I love it and dislike it almost in equal measure. to the point where it will get worn and i'll enjoy it and it looks good, but there are a couple of issues that let the whole thing down.

Firstly let me just say how much I love the TIGER print viscose challis from Minerva. I was gifted the fabric in return for a review which you can find here.

I knew what I wanted to make with this, It's the Victoria Blouse from Fibre Mood. I'm a sucker for a high neck blouse and I love the styling. I was going to make this from an eyelet cotton that I had in my stash, but there wasn't enough of it. So when I saw this fabric I knew it was a perfect match.

 

The PDF come with layers so you can print just your size - so I looked at the measurement chart and cut a size 40. It's loose fitting, so I might have got away with the 38, but I have quite broad shoulders so I went with the 40 and it's fine. Do be aware that you need to add seam allowances to this pattern. The instructions have you use different seam allowance widths at different places - I just went with a straight 1cm all over.

 

The instructions are generally ok, but there a couple of parts that are not that clear and could be confusing for a beginner sewist. However, if you make tops regularly this is not a difficult make. I did decide to make a couple of alterations to the fastenings. The pattern calls for a hook and eye fastening at the neck and press studs at the wrist. I decided to use small round buttons and rouleux loops to fasten these instead.

As the fabric is a quite light I decided to double the yoke. Mainly to keep the insides neat, but also to provide a bit more stability. I found that this fabric was quite easy to work with and wasn't too shifty to cut and sew.

The blouse sewed up really well and all the pattern makings matched beautifully. I really loved the finish of the blouse and the styling. However there were a couple of things that I feel let the pattern design down. Fiirstly is a small issue of the back slit opening. It's just too long. I will be making this much shorter next time.

 

The main issue was the sleeves. The blouse is loose fitting and really would benefit from shirt style sleeves, with a flatter sleeve head. The one drafted has quite a steep sleeve head and this works really well for a fitted bodice, but isn't so comfy for a loose blouse. It makes the top feel tight across the back and top of the arm which it actually isn't. I think I can live with the blouse as it is, but I've altered them for my next version.

Here is what I did:

Draw a horizontal line perpendicular to the grainline at the bottom of the sleeve head and a vertical line from the top of the sleeve head to hem, parallel to the grainline. 

Cut from the hem to the top of the sleeve head, leaving a hinge of paper. Cut along the horizontal line and leave a hinge at the sides. I also cut a couple more lines from the centre point to the sleeve head curve. 

 

Then swing the sleeve open to widen and flatten the sleeve head. I then closed the hem back up. 

 

I stuck the pattern onto another pieces of paper and then retraced the new sleeve pattern. 

 

The sleeve now has a flatter sleeve head and wider bicep, which should allow more movement on this loose fitting blouse.