It's no secret that I have a bit of a thing for pussy bow blouses. I've made three from a Simplicity pattern (here, here andhere) and one from a vintage pattern. I love them all and they never disappoint. They do all sport quite large, floppy bows though (with the exception of this one which was toned down for the beach), so I was keen to add one with a long, thin tie to my repertoire.
Enter the Sew Over It Pussy Bow Blouse pattern - I can't believe this pattern has escaped my clutches for so long! It has all the features I've been looking for: long, thin ties, long sleeves and easy to wear tucked in or out, hoorah! The first thing I did was to follow the advice of Karen from Did You Make That in this post and measure the sleeve length carefully. The sleeves are designed to pool around the wrist and gather in with a buttoned cuff. The trick is not to have the sleeves too long or you run the risk of looking like a Disney Prince. Being slightly challenged in the arm length department, I obediently measured my arm against the sleeve and shortened it by two inches.
There are no closures on this pattern, so construction of the basic blouse shape was a breeze. It did take me a bit more time to get the two sides of the ties lined up perfectly at the centre front. The sleeves were also quite time consuming as they involved making cuffs and rouleau loops for the button closures.
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Size wise I cut a size 10 for the blouse and size 8 sleeves to make them a little more streamlined. Apart from shortening the sleeves I made no other changes to the pattern. I like the fit - it's fitted enough to wear either loose or tucked in with slim trousers or jeans.
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It also looks good with a skirt if you fancy going for a Miss Moneypenny look.
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| Of the two I think I prefer it tucked in |
Fabric-wise, the pattern recommends a lightweight fabric with lots of drape, and the one I used - Bamba Viscose in red from Fabric Godmother - was perfectly suited to the job. The viscose (or rayon) has a nice drape without being too slippery. I found it easy to pin and cut out and it sewed up beautifully.
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The nice thing about this pattern is that it's relatively easy to make, yet the finished blouse looks very accomplished. Maybe it's the bow?! There's nothing complicated about sewing bows or neck ties - they're just tubes of fabric sewn to the neck seam - but for some reason they always give the impression of being super fancy! My non-sewing friends always compliment me when I'm wearing a bow blouse. A fully lined coat barely registers on their radar, but a bow at the neck? Very impressive! So if you like impressing your friends and strutting around like Dog Toby, this could be the pattern for you! My mum's coming to visit next weekend, so I'll see if the blouse passes the Dog Toby test (explanation found in this post)…
Have a good day! x
