The Gin and Tonic Jasmine

Oh my god, this top! I love Colette patterns, especially the Jasmine blouse, but wow this project gave me grief! I’m calling it the Gin and Tonic blouse, because it thats what the colours remind me of, and because I desperately needed a G&T at several points during its construction…

I think a big part of my problem was choosing the wrong fabric, cotton seersucker is maybe a bit too stiff for this bias cut blouse. I made this top mainly for Art Deco weekend, which is why I chose this fabric, but if i ever dare go near this pattern again I’ll choose a much softer fabric which will hang and drape nicely. I made the collar out of a scrap of cream silk that i had left over from a skirt I made for Art Deco weekend last year, which I plan to wear with this blouse this year. It should be a nice cool outfit to wear in the scorching Napier sun at least!

Things that I like about this top are the colours (even if the fabric choice was a mistake) and the chevrons that form where the stripes meet down the front and back. I’ve never made a bias cut garment before, so I’m pretty proud of how I got the stripes to match up so neatly! I just drew a line on the pattern which matched up with the top of a stripe on the fabric, which was easy and seems to have worked well!

I also like the notched sleeve cuffs. The instructions in the pattern looked quite intimidating, showing how to sew them together with the facings, but they were actually really simple once I had the pieces cut out in front of me.

The main thing I don’t like about this top is the fit. It’s just too big, and I don’t know how I managed to mess it up so badly! It should fit perfectly according to the measurements on the pattern. The darts are too low, and its too big across the back of my shoulders (the same old problem). I pulled it apart and tried to fix the back, but its still not right. I was so fixated on the back that I didn’t notice the darts until it was pretty much finished, and I couldn’t stand the idea of unpicking it again. I’m consoling myself with the thought that it’s for a costume, its not something I’ll be wearing every day, so it’ll do. I also had trouble with getting the collar and neck facing to sit, but once I pulled it apart and ripped the interfacing out it all smoothed out. The fabric is stable enough without the interfacing!