Yup. I can’t be certain, of course, but I think this just might, possibly, be the world’s cutest blouse pattern, EVER.
I love every single detail of every single view. And (unlike some patterns of a certain era) it really is three different views, not one view in different fabrics. And it’s totally my size. I love the collarless view with the serious little bow. I love the wide neckline with the stand-up collar. I love the ruffly, deliciously silly little white view (although I think those sleeves should maybe be puffed. Or would that be overkill?)
And yet, I fear this one will remain relegated to fantasy for longer, rather than shorter. Why? Because that nagging, insidious part of my brain that likes to keep my sewing practical is reminding me that, despite the adorable illustration and cute collar details, this is really a basic, boxy little blouse. The only shaping comes from those teensy bust darts.
It’s a blouse that, in fact, is made for tucking in.
I don’t tuck.
Seriously, I enjoy my body, I don’t obsess over my weight, I have about as healthy a body image as it’s possible to have as a woman in the western world. And few things send me into the pits of body-loathing despair quite like a tucked-in blouse. Actually, anything cinched in at the waist. It’s something about the shortness of my waist, or the fact that there’s no discernible taper from my underbust to my waist, so anything blousing out around there just makes everything look wider than it is. I know loads of people who love the look, who look drop-dead gorgeous in it. I just can’t do it on myself.
Although, that cummerbund look is cute. And possibly a really wide cummerbund could make tucking doable (OK, in honesty it needn’t be really wide. My bra line is only about three inches above my waist at the best of times). Especially if the cummerbund were shaped to extend below the waist… but then you’re venturing into territory where the cummerbund becomes, not a fancy belt, but the mainstay of the outfit, and that’s a bit of a different look altogether.
But you can rest assured, tucked or un, this blouse will certainly keep its place in my fantasies…
(And yes, there has been a little bit of progress on the Hallowe’en costume front and other sewing, but it’s been in haphazard and piecemeal little increments that make it really hard to talk about. And I bought a new seam ripper, but I lost it already.)
Tanit-Isis Sews 
Seam rippers are slippery little things. I have two, pretty sure I haven’t seen the white one in two years and it’s the one with the bigger handle.
It is a lovely blouse, but on a practical level, I wouldn’t make it either. Something about it makes me think of Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina.
That darned practicality…
Dear Gussie, woman! You can add vertical darts, or a set of small tucks, to both the front and the back of this adorable garment to bring in the waistline. Take a bit of elastic and use it to make some pseudo-smocking at your most-flattering pretend waist indent spot(s). Sew some ties and enclose them in the side seams, or in fish-eye darts at the back, and cinch it in even further. Slice the blouse in half at a probable waist place, and insert a midriff band (pleat, tuck, gather, or dart to fit the band and resultant peplum). Don’t forswear the delights of making and wearing your version of this blouse just because the original pattern piece doesn’t include them! You are a better sewist than that. I have confidence in you.
You have some great ideas here 😀 I guess it’s a matter of how much effort I want to put in. I could also just morph the collar and pintucks on to a blouse I know I like, like the JJ. 🙂
See! I knew you were resourceful. I actually knew someone named “Gussie.” She was the youngest of 13 children. When she was 2 years old, she crawled onto the middle of the railroad tracks behind her house, and played happily there as a train rolled right over her. Ever afterwards, if her siblings chanced to meet (they were all a lot older and lived all over the country by this time), they asked each other, “Where were you when Gussie was run over by the train?” She was indeed a dear Gussie.
Make it longer, maybe slits on sides, wear over fitted pants. It would look great.
Check out the “sassy librarian blouse” on Craftsy. I thought this pattern looked familiar and then I realized that’s where I’ve seen it before… looks like it could be an exact copy of this pattern. At least you would get an idea of what it looks like on a real person.
Yeah, I’ve seen that one. 🙂 I didn’t notice it having the wider neck, but maybe I wasn’t paying attention… because it’s totally not my kind of style. See what I mean? I’m afraid that this one made up would be like that. Cute… for other people. /sigh.
I think you might just be right. That is one divine blouse pattern!
Yeah, it is, isn’t it? 🙂
It is adorable – perhaps make it for someone and admire it on them! I’m ok with seam rippers but the chalk pencil fairy keeps stealing my fabric markers!!!
Yeah, marking tools are almost as bad… but I have more of them kicking around. Obviously I need to leave out little fairy offerings of bent pins and thimbles?
Oh they never want anything useless do they – picky little creatures!
So only the best, straight silk pins, then. ;P
This blouse pattern has too many adorable variations for you to relegate it to fantasy, it needs to be made reality! 🙂 I’d bet you could add some darts and that would make it wearable untucked, just be sure to make it long enough and you’ll probably need to straighten the bottom.
More good ideas. 🙂 I’ll keep thinking on it, anyway.
You are right, this is too cute!! I like lin’s idea to make it you-able…..but if like me you have a hoard of beauties put by for “later” you could always frame the pattern envelope 😉
Tempting… hehe. Yeah, there have been some really good suggestions to rescue/mod it. 🙂
Seam rippers apparently have the ability to time shift. I have, at this point in time, 10 of them, I might only have 1 tomorrow.
Do you think part of the cuteness of this blouse may be due to the illustrations? The model’s waist is the same width as the head. I don’t know about you, but I have never met anyone with those dimensions. Just sayin.
But because you have ten, tomorrow you’ll have at least one, right? So the probability of the number of seam rippers actually in our dimension being at least one goes up.
In theory. Is the probability of seam rippers normally distributed?
I think this would help on the seam ripper front: instead of crappy plastic with a lid that stays on because of some simple friction, the ripper and lid are metal, with a proper clutch (like a good pen) to keep the lid on. Then there’s a cord or chain attached to the lid so you can wear it around your neck, like Joan and her pen on Mad Men.
Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure this doesn’t exist.
I like your seam ripper—although I suspect if it did exist, they stopped making them c. 1964.
Maybe you’ve stumbled on a market niche?