Sewaholic Belcarra Blouse: Take 2

I mentioned in my post about my first Sewaholic Belcarra blouse that my second blouse was already cut out, and as it's a nice, easy pattern to sew up, it didn't take long for it to get from being cut out to a finished blouse and slotting perfectly into my summer wardrobe. Here it is...

This time I didn't have to worry about reusing oddly shaped bits of material, so I stuck to the pattern straight out of the envelope. Like last time, I cut a straight size 12, and I'm happy with the fit. The neckline seems to have turned out a little wider than in my first version (maybe I was a bit too enthusiastic in my cutting or something!), and I do sometimes end up with a bra strap peeping out at the shoulder when I'm wearing it, which I don't with my first version, but it's not much of a problem.

I chose to sew view B as I thought that being as I was using a plain fabric the cute tucks along the shoulders would stand out well and add a bit of interest, and avoid the risk of a plain top being a boring. 

The tucks were the only bit of the construction that I hadn't already tested out on my first version but, like the rest of the blouse, they're simple to sew - you just need to take a bit of time and care to make sure that they're all nice and even. 

The fabric that I used this time is a pretty pink cotton lawn from Croft Mill. I was a little bit worried when it arrived that it would be too sheer and that it would need underlining, or that I'd need to wear an extra layer under it, but it's actually turned out just fine for this top. I think you'd need a lining of some kind for a more fitted top or a skirt though.

There are a whole load of different materials that I've got my eye on to buy at the moment, but I was good with this one and stuck to a plain material for a change instead of being seduced by all the fun prints that I usually go for. Like a lot of the online sewing community, I've realised that while all the pretty patterned materials are great (and don't worry, I'll definitely still be using them), I do also need some plain separates here and there to make sure that I'm not wearing a complete mess of different prints. This fits that bill well, as it goes nicely with a couple of my skirts - and as an added bonus is a perfect match for the flowers on the necklace I'm wearing here which I treated myself to recently!

I'm keeping my eye out for a nice fabric to make a slightly smarter Belcarra with as I think it's the kind of style that could easily be dressed up with nice accessories if you made it in the right fabric, but having been sensible with this project, I might allow myself to make another pretty patterned dress or two now! What's everyone else working on this week?

Sewaholic Belcarra - refashioning a dress into a blouse

Has everyone seen the new Sewaholic Belcarra blouse? I was instantly drawn to the pattern when it was released; not only is it meant to go with the Gabriola skirt, which I love, but it's also a very similar shape to an old favourite RTW top of mine. I snapped it up as soon as it was released, and here's my first version....

This is essentially view A of the blouse, with the one difference that you may have noticed that I split the front and back sections in two to use two different materials. This was entirely down to an old dress that I'd bought second hand and then never worn, and which I'd decided needed to be refashioned into something else. I stupidly forgot to take a photo of it before I hacked it to pieces, but it was a pretty short, strapless, white cotton eyelet lace empire line dress - there aren't many days a year when it's hot enough here in the UK to wear something like that and to be honest, it didn't do much for me! I think I only bought it because the material was so pretty....

This is a close-up of the material - something like that really shouldn't be left unloved in a wardrobe should it? Then the Belcarra came along, and I thought it would be a perfect match given that the pattern doesn't have any darts or anything to break up the material. The only problem? It turned out the skirt of the dress was a good few inches shorter than the Belcarra pattern pieces (this possibly gives you an idea of quite how short the dress was!). I considered shortening the Belcarra, but when I measured my RTW top it was exactly the same length as the finished measurements for the Belcarra, and I knew I didn't want it shorter. By now though, I had my heart set on using this material, so I came up with the idea of making the arms and top of the front/back pieces from some plain white cotton and using the eyelet material for the rest of the front and back. Problem solved!

I made a quick muslin and measured where I wanted the join between the two materials to be (in my case 17 inches up from the bottom), marked a line across the front and back sections at that point (the red line on the front section shown on the right above), then used that to cut two new pieces for both the front and back with an extra 5/8" added to each piece for the seam allowance - hopefully you can see where my two new front pieces cross over on the photo above.

Once I'd cut out all my pieces, I underlined the eyelet material using the lining of the original dress (a very lightweight cotton), basting the two materials together within the seam allowance and then treating them as one piece of material. I then joined the top and bottom sections of the front together, and did the same for the back, and from then on I followed the original instructions for view A (the plainest version; view B has tucks on the sleeves, and view C has different cuffs and a patch pocket).

Don't worry, I don't make a habit of hanging my clothes in random trees (especially not after the odd looks I got from a passerby when I was taking this photo! The things we do in the name of blogging!), but it seemed like a good way of making the pattern stand out more - getting detail to show up properly in the photos when I was wearing the top wasn't easy!

So, onto the Belcarra itself! This is a really great, simple pattern and doesn't eat up too much fabric. As I mentioned above, it doesn't have any darts which means it's a super speedy project if you've got a bit of experience - I had mine finished in an evening, including the time messing about with cutting my different sections. Obviously it would also be great for beginners, or for trying out new materials. I haven't sewed using silk yet so maybe I'll have to try that and make myself a more fancy Belcarra.

The fact that there's no darts does mean that you need a light weight material with a nice drape to avoid it looking too boxy. My white cotton I used for the sleeves/yoke is leaning more towards medium weight, but the eyelet is still pretty light weight even when underlined so I think I just about get away with it!

I cut a straight size 12 and didn't need to make any alterations to the fit - after all I am definitely pear-shaped so pretty much Sewaholic's target audience! It's quite a relaxed style though, so I think in general it's not going to cause as many fitting issues as more structured or closely fitting garments.

It's really comfy and easy to wear, but I think it looks a bit more dressed up and put together than an ordinary t-shirt. It also looks great either tucked into a skirt or untucked with trousers - I'm wearing mine here with my denim Hollyburn skirt and the only pair of trousers I own that can be worn outside of the house (I pretty much don't wear trousers, but it's nice to know I now have a new top for the odd occasions when I do!).

All in all, another successful creation as far as I'm concerned. Like the other Sewaholic patterns I've used, this came together really easily and the instructions were great. Version 2 is already cut out and waiting to be sewn up, and I'll definitely wear this top much more that I would have worn it as a dress! What does everyone else think of the Belcarra? And has anyone else had any refashioning successes lately?