Introducing Olive- A Lovely New Blouse From Lolita Patterns

Tags

Lolita, Lolita patterns, Olive, Olive Blouse Pattern, sew exhausted, sewing, sewing with chiffon

 

Last week Amity released a new pattern in to the growing Lolita Patterns line and I am stoked! I was asked to test it, was late in replying, but had it whipped up in just a few days! And here she is… Olive. Amity’s description is perfect so I decided not to even try to reword it!

“Olive is a beautiful blouse that plays with fabric texture to create a striking look. View A features a beautiful draping sheer fabric combined with a stable solid that produces a unique look. The sheer cowl overlay and soft flounces draw attention to the gorgeous blend of fabric textures. The waistband combined with the pleated peplum adds shaping to the garment. View B eliminates the sheer fabric to provide a fantastic all-around basic blouse perfect for pairing with suits, skirts, and pants.”

I would like to start off by saying my pictures are not great. I have been SO busy- as you probably have figured out- that I have not blogged at all in like a MONTH. (Maybe more…) Between work (several 60 hour weeks) and sewing for Easter, and life… and then my 10 day vacation to Oregon I have been a bit out of touch. But I have missed you all in Sewing Land! And thankfully I have Instagram so if I follow you I still feel connected. 🙂 (My instagram is lauriesue83 if you are interested!)

Now that I have that out of the way… lets talk about Olive. 😀 (Ya- she is a bit loose in some areas in these pics!)

 

I used a “teal” crepe de chine and a matching sheer chiffon. These pics turned out a little bluer then it really is. Take this in your mind and add some more green to it!  (On a side note- my first car was teal. I bought it myself. And I LOVED it! I am not even sure if this is called teal anymore… but I call it teal!)

I started with the size 16 pattern despite most of my measurements being in the 14 category. Next time I will use the 0-14. My biggest body issue is my thighs and hips. Sigh. I am a PEAR… and not a subtle pear. So, I used the hip measurement and went with the 16. I definitely had to take the bust and waist area down. I also noticed when I tried it on today to take my pathetic pictures it was bigger under the arms in the bust area AND waist. Sigh. Why can’t I lose weight in the biggest problem area first!

I chose to make View A with a few changes. I used one ruffle on each arm instead of 2. Now that I see Amity’s gorgeous plum one I want TWO ruffles. AND the flower. Lack of time had me skipping the flower. The nice thing is I can totally make time next time to add those special touches. And I will. I have a black one planned.  A solid black stylish dress blouse should be in every girls wardrobe!

Special touches are one of the things I love about Lolita patterns. Seriously people! So many patterns are just rehashed and it is difficult to find anything special. And even more difficult to find pretty, fashionable UNIQUE work clothes patterns. Well, let me tell you, Amity’s line of patterns has you covered! Fashionable and stylish and different then the run of the mill stuff we see all the time. You can tell she puts a lot of love and time in to her designs. It is in the DETAILS! From the ruffled sleeve to the draped neckline and pleats… a beautiful blouse!

It is in the details!

On the sewing front, Olive went together quite easily. You need to pay attention while cutting (especially since many of the pieces you only need one) and use those labels! The labels will be a LIFESAVER when you go to put it all together. I admit I was afraid when I embarked on this project. Sheer fabric? Pleats? Drapiness? But it REALLY went together well and I was pretty darn excited. And the most exciting part of this whole process was the fact I was able to finish my sheer fabrics without my serger!

My serger has been paining me for a while. I actually had it in the shop for a few weeks. $150 bucks later and the darn thing still is not working like it used to. 😦 Much sadness. Maybe it is too old. I don’t know. I just know I was tempted to skip all things sheer on this blouse but went for it anyway. And just LOOK at what my sewing machine did. She stepped up to the plate and edged my ruffles beautifully. Yahoo! I seriously just thumped my chest and high fived myself! (I have put together a post on how I did this with my machine and will publish it on Friday…)

Back to construction- There is an invisible side zipper. I did a pretty good job although it IS slightly off where the wasitband is. And speaking of the waistband… I lined mine. Originally the pattern did not have you do that but I wanted to so it would look neater and have a little more stability. (My waistband NEEDS stability to keep that waist of mine in!) I think Amity mentioned she was adding that to the pattern because most of the testers added a lining.

My invisible zip

 

Just like I did with my Olive… Go out and add Olive to your collection if you haven’t already. There is a Sew Along going on right now! And while you are at it you can pick up Spearmint, Sugar Plum, and Gunmetal. Amity is offering a 15% discount this month- just use sewing15indie in the coupon box! Trust me you will not regret it! I have them all… I think I need to have myself a little “Lolita” month and sew them all up! 😀

Laurie xox

PS. Want to see more Olives? Here are some LOVELY ones that joined Lolita Patterns on a Blog Tour! Go see! Go see!

Leila A really neat printed blouse!

Carolyn – OOO- Such a pretty white version!

Maria A v-neck!!

Ping – A gorgeous shade of royal. A simple but pretty version

Hannah – RED! And she added black lace to the peplum… divine!

Katrina – A fantastic print combination!

T – Polka Dots! I love polka dots!