Signs of life

..and not just from me!

On a casual glance out of the window, a small green something caught my eye today. It seems that life is stirring again out there in the damp and drizzle of the British winter.

Daffodils!!

There is hope a-stirring that Spring will soon be sprung, and that I'll be able to leave the house without battling the elements every time we run out of milk. At the same time, it has made me horribly aware that I have blogged about precisely one item from my Autumn sewing plans, despite it being almost the end of winter. Blast.

So, since it's the one I'd been planning longest, here is one from the list: the 1957 draped blouse.

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Photo courtesy of ClickClickBang Photography

Back in November I attended the Alternative Women's Institute annual charity tea party with my sister Kally (who blogs over at Millinery and Musings), a wonderful local event awash with hot beverages and more cakes than a hundred-odd vintage attired ladies could even eat. I wore it with my newly perfected pencil skirt pattern made up in a basic black cotton twill, and the snood I crocheted. My sister's outfit is also handmade, the skirt and hat made by herself, and the sweater was knitted by our mum.

For the blouse, I used a plain red cotton jersey from the stash for this first attempt at it. Due to the complexity of the pattern (and the awful translation from the French intrsuctions) I wanted to use a forgiving fabric to minimise any fit issues that may have arisen. A good move on my part. The sleeves will need some extra width adding in as they are a little tight on my toddler-carrying biceps, and it will also need lengthening in the upper torso. At present, the seam intended to sit below the bust sits about an inch below nipple-height, which isn't too much of an issue in the jersey, but needs amending for future versions. I also need to remember to use a finer fabric. The amount of gathering adds a lot of bulk and this fabric was too heavy for it really, particularly at the centre front where I ended up having to pleat instead of gather in order to get the right height at the sweetheart neckline.

I promise I will try to neglect my blog less in the near future!