As is usual for me, I changed my mind several times before I finally got started, both on fabric and pattern choice.
I finally settled for a pattern that has been in my stash for a while but that I had not yet made, McCall's 6649, and a plaid fabric that's been in a my stash a long time. I think it is rayon challis, both from the feel and from a burn test, but I can't be sure. At any rate, it didn't have a wrong side, and it flowed nicely, so I knew it would work well on the pattern. It is a TOTAL coincidence that envelope shows it maid up in plaid as well.....
Although the pattern is self described as a semi-fitted blouse, it has bust darts, front darts, and back darts, as well as shaping through the side seams. It was pretty easy to make it a truly fitted blouse!
It has a very nice back yoke, and I cute that on the crossgrain, to try and get a cool effect. I like it :) Also, the back fits perfectly!! I'm pretty impressed with the fit of this pattern, despite it calling itself semi-fitted.
I have heard a lot about this idea of mixing hard and soft from Project Runway and other places so I wanted to play with that idea. The fabric and design of this blouse is obviously very soft and flowing, so I made the cuffs contrasting in black. The original cuffs on this pattern are extremely large and ugly. These are exactly half the size of the pattern cuffs, and I much prefer these daintier sized ones. Also, I tried to pick a fairly neutral button for this blouse. I'm prone to making the buttons the stars on a blouse, but this fabric is already so busy, I though it just needed a simple button.
