Thrift Eye DIY: the boxy blouse
Wow, it has been about half a year since I last embarked on challenging myself to sew more and begin wearing clothes I made myself! As last seen here with my DIY raglan tee.
I had gone to visit my parents a few months back and raided my mom’s fabric closet to look for a linen fabric, but ended up with this orangey polyester instead (no linen was found). I thought to myself, I can make this something! I just didn’t know what that something could be in a) this fabric and b) that I could make at my skill level. Because I had lapsed, it was almost like starting over!
I had wanted a linen because of it’s stiff but flowy structure for a blouse, but this polyester could more or less fit that bill too. I found a simple pattern explanation online (you’re basically sewing rectangles together) - this tutorial was one of the most useful, but I used several others (whose links I have now lost) because of the fabric I was using wasn’t what they used. How hard can sewing rectangles be? I was surprised. I learned lots of things along the way! I thought I wanted a top, then I thought I could make a dress. But I ended up over-estimating the width and lost a lot of the fabric, so if I had measured correctly, I could have indeed had enough fabric to make the dress . Which shows me to not just ball-park measurements to actually measure! Next time I will be using another item to guide the size and allowance, or find a flat pattern I can trace like last time. And surprisingly, the neck was a pain in the neck! I did it and redid it 4 times! I learned too late how a bias strip is supposed to be cut – too late because I no longer had extra fabric left to cut it from. But I saw this grey bias strip at my sewing supply store and actually really liked the idea of the contrast. Working through two evenings and voila! I was going to wear this to work dammit! And I did!
Item From Made in… BUYtop me USA -
Zara pants thrifted Morocco -
vintage heels consignment store in Las Vegas Spain -
Bill Blass watch Ebay.com Japan -
L’oreal Infallible Charismatic Coral Target.com - HERE
The look I put together was a pleasantly unexpected combination. Burnt sienna doesn’t always pair well with other colors, but the green pants just seemed to work. The texture in the trousers was an extra nice touch I think. The fact that I had shoes to match (I bought them from a consignment store in Las Vegas in 2006!) was the cherry on the top!
And now…what to sew?! I think I really need to go for that dress!
