With Jasmine in the Air...

Sorry I've been MIA again! I had a few health issues, namely my lower back. What ever I did to it meant that I was in excruciating pain for over a week and spent the better part of four days planted on the couch on my back.  It seems to have mostly healed now though thank goodness and I'm back to being able to sew.  You don't realise how much you use your back until you can't use it anymore!

I finished the Colette Patterns Jasmine blouse a few weeks ago - and incidently these photos are also from a few weeks ago too, it's not quite warm enough for bare legs and arms any more...

I made view 1 sans sleeves which I’ve been doing with most of my sewing lately.  I made a bias binding for the arm holes instead and really like the way it turned out - no sleeves has the benefit of using less fabric if you are trying to stash bust like me and don’t quite have enough (and cutting on the bias means you have to be a bit creative with your pattern laying if you only have a small amount). I made this Jasmine from a light cotton I had thrifted a few years ago back in NZ.

I did have a few small issues with the pattern, namely gaping at the front and back.  The front was easy enough to fix, but for some reason, no matter how much I shaved off the back, it still gapes a little (maybe this is just my bad computer slouching back?).  I’ve found the gaping to be less noticeable when the collar is sewn on.  I also ended up shaving off about 1cm from around the neckline - after seeing a few finished garments on other people’s blogs, it looked as though the blouse didn’t quite have the lovely wide neckline it looks like it does on the pattern front. But I think it actually turned out really nicely on mine.

I also cut a good 1inch off both sides of the blouse after cutting it to my size.  It was too big in the waist (and could still possibly be a little big) so I recommend cutting a size smaller in the waist if you want a more fitted look. I would also recommend making the ties longer if you do want to tie them in a bow, but I don't mind mine in just a small tie with the ends hanging down (looks good under a cardigan!).

Overall, I think this is a great pattern for beginners and especially for those wanting to learn about sewing on the bias. 

I also made the circle skirt from a thrifted blue-cottony type fabric from my stash, it's fully lined and I've worn it at least once per week since I finished it. I think if I had to pick a pattern that was 'me', circle skirts would be it. I can bash them out quickly and they are so comfy to wear and go with so much I already have in my wardrobe!  Next up is a light grey wool circle skirt.

Have a lovely weekend everyone,

Jen