Monday 23 March 2015

Sewaholic Oakridge Blouse

Look! I made something that's not blue! Yes, there's some blue in there, but I think we can agree that it's not the dominant colour. And all those lovely colours combine with Sewaholic's Oakridge pattern to make pretty much the perfect blouse for spring.


This is view C of the Oakridge. Views A and B have a bow neck and while in principle I'd like to try them, because generally I'm all for a good bow, for some reason bow neck blouses just never feel quite right on me. I loved the simple collarless version of the Oakridge as soon as it was released though so I knew I'd be sewing one before too long.

The pattern is really well designed and the instructions are clear and easy to follow so I enjoyed sewing my Oakridge. As with my Granville shirt, the only thing I found a little bit fiddly was the sleeve placket. Thankfully one of my lovely friends got me The Dressmaking Technique Bible for my birthday at the end of last year, and I consulted that to make sure that what I'd understood from the instructions was actually what I was meant to be doing - thankfully it was so it was all good.

I used French seams throughout so my blouse is nice and neat inside. I do like a good French seam - they do take a bit longer to do than normal seams and zigzag stitching (I don't have an overlocker so that's my usual method of seam finishing) but I think the extra effort does definitely pay off.

(I'll probably always wear the blouse tucked into skirts, but thought I'd leave it untucked here to show the full length)
My measurements all fall right in the middle of a 12 and a 14 for Sewaholic patterns. My Granville is a 14 and I like how that fits, but for my Oakridge I thought I could get away with a slightly smaller size so I made a 12. Also on the basis of my experience with the Granville, I shortened the sleeves on my Oakridge by an inch. I made a toile to check that I was right about the size and sleeve length and everything was fine so I went ahead, and I like how the finished blouse fits.


The fabric is 'Phoebe' Liberty lawn (funnily enough Lauren of GBSB and Guthrie & Ghani fame made an Oakridge in this exact same fabric!), which I got from Kat's Fabrics on ebay. I've seen quite a few bloggers recently who've bought Liberty lawn there - and with good reason! The fabric is factory seconds so is much cheaper, but just as lovely, as 'proper' Liberty. The fabric is listed as having no visible fault but unfortunately mine did have one area where the print was a bit blurry which you can see here...


Obviously this is a very small fault, it was very easy to cut round, and to be honest lots of people probably wouldn't notice it but it was one of those things where once I'd seen it, I knew it would bother me if I didn't make sure I avoided it. It definitely won't stop me from buying Liberty lawn from the same seller again, but I just thought I'd mention that it might be worth having a good look at your fabric if you buy from there to check that there are no faults before you start cutting.


The buttons I chose were some lovely bright pink ones that I found in a local wool shop. I was originally planning to find buttons to pick out the bluey-green of the flower stems in the print, but that didn't work out quite as I planned, and when I saw these buttons in the shop they just seemed to make the print sing and enhance its natural prettiness. Decision made!


So there we go, a pretty successful first version of the Oakridge blouse! It's already been worn a few times and has been perfect for the sunnier spring days we've been having recently. What are you sewing for spring?

19 comments:

  1. Wool shops always have the coolest button selections! I love yours...they remind me of gumdrops! And Liberty Lawn!! So pretty! I think if I made the Oakridge { a lovely Vancouver neighbourhood}, I'd do this bow-less version too. As much as I like the look of fabric bows, I drive myself completely crazy trying to tie them to my satisfaction! CRAZY!

    Have a great week Ruth!

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    1. Wool shops do indeed have the best buttons - I'm lucky to have a couple not too far away from me that are particularly good. Tying bows how I like them is exactly what seems to always not work for me on bow neck blouses - glad I'm not the only one who has that problem! Have a lovely week too!

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  2. I love how this looks without the bow, so chic, and lets the fabric really show off. Aren't French seams great? They are definitely my favourite sewing technique

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    1. Yes, I really love the simple shape of the collarless version too. French seams are great - I'm going to try to make the effort to use them more often I think.

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  3. This looks so pretty, you can definitely get away with more pink in your wardrobe :) The pink buttons finish the blouse off perfectly. I hadn't really considered the Oakbridge pattern as I'm not fussed with pussy bow blouses but I love this collarless version.

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    1. Thank you! Yes, I should definitely try to wear more pink alongside all the blue. It's definitely worth considering the pattern just for this view - it's a really lovely shape!

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  4. Your blouse looks great! It really goes with that skirt too. I'm not a fan of bow blouses myself, so it was nice to see the version without the bow.

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    1. Thank you! That skirt is great too - so glad I made it because it goes with everything!

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  5. This is the perfect spring blouse. Perfect shape and beautiful colours. Those buttons are smashing too. Your makes are so lovely I am in awe.

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  6. It really is perfect for spring. I hadn't thought about that neckline but I really like it on you.

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    1. Thank you! I really loved this neckline as soon as I saw it so I'm glad that I like it as much in reality as I did in theory!

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  7. Your blouse looks gorgeous and that neckline works great to show of your necklace! I hadn't heard about the fabric shop, so thanks for the tip.

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    1. Thank you! One of the reasons I liked the blouse was because the neckline would be good for showing off pretty necklaces! That shop is definitely worth checking out if you like Liberty.

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  8. Thanks for the tip about Kat's Fabrics! I haven't made any clothes yet - all kinds of other things but not clothes (littlebluebirdblogs.wordpress.com). I've just subscribed to Love Sewing though, and think I'll be giving the Ruby dress a try soon. That's how I found your blog .. I googled images of the Ruby! Hello! *waves*

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    1. Hello! Nice to "meet" you! I'll have to pop over to your blog when I have a bit more time later. Good luck with starting to make clothes - I'm sure that once you've given it a try you'll be hooked!

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  9. What a beautiful fabric choice! The blouse looks really great on you! Well done :)

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