Sewaholic // Belcarra blouse 2.0

Back in February, I blogged my first Sewaholic Belcarra blouse, which I’d made 6 months prior to that, back when I was still very much learning a lot of the techniques involved. The end result was still a lovely blouse but I knew it was a pattern I wanted to tackle again, once I’d improved. And on Saturday, I finished off a Belcarra in a lovely viscose, which for some reasons reminds me of those little fruit salad sweets you could get in 10p mixes from the corner shop. I picked up the fabric from Ribes & Casals during a recent trip to Barcelona, Spain.

Let’s get stuck into the details.

Sewaholic — Belcarra  |  CAD $11.98 PDF Pattern

Fabric

‘Fruit salad’ polyester viscose from Ribes & Casals (Barcelona, Spain). ~£3.50 per metre. It is very soft but isn’t sheer (yay! no vest top needed) and also seems to be crease-resistant.

Sizing and cutting

• Size: 4
• View: C (pocket) with A/B cuffs.
• Adjustment(s): For my original version, I’d cut a size 8 and was too lazy to re-print and assemble more PDF pattern pieces, so I just cut a size 4 from the original pieces. For the sleeves, I did a little re-drafting where I thought the size 4 would be based on the other sizes.
• Fabric: The fabric design is irregular enough that I didn’t bother trying to pattern-match. The pocket really doesn’t stand out as I cut it in the same orientation as the other pieces. Perhaps I should’ve cut this on the bias or at right angles (90 degrees) to make it a feature.

Pattern instructions

As before, the pattern instructions were very good and easy to follow. Where I’d previously gotten confused about attaching the cuff (especially with French seams), I had a much better understanding this time and all went quite smoothly. No unpicking required here which I was very surprised by!

Fitting and alterations

• Length: I cut a size 4 overall with the exception of the length  where I cut the length of size 8.
• Hem: rather than the 3.8cm hem given in the instructions, I folded over 1cm and another 1cm.

Finishing

• Seams: French seams throughout
• Bias binding: I used pre-made bias binding in white. I actually managed to attach the bias binding to the wrong side, and only realised after trimming the seam! Sticking with this would’ve resulted in a visible white band around the neckline – a look I really don’t like – but I had enough bias binding left to salvage it. It does mean that area is a bit of a mess on the inside (see image below, don’t judge my awful topstitching!)
• Hem: Topstitched

Verdict

As before, this was a pattern I very much enjoyed sewing. The only slight issue is how wide the neck is, to the extent that you can see my bra straps unless I hide them (image below). This might be my poor pattern re-drafting (taking the size 8 PDF pattern pieces to size 4) for the sleeves, and front and back pieces. I probably shouldn’t be so lazy next time! Thanks to Rebecca for alerting me to the Sewaholic tutorial on how to narrow the Belcarra neckline. It might also be that I stretched the neckline or because the size 4 is still a little too big for me in places as sadly, Sewaholic patterns are not drafted for my body shape. There is excess fabric at my lower back (again due to the shape Sewaholic patterns are drafted for) but most of the time I shall wear it tucked in at the waist as in the first photo so it’s not a problem.

Working on…

There isn’t anything on my cutting table at the moment but I am going to a wedding on Saturday so it wouldn’t be too surprising if I chose to make something last minute. Although I really should just wear what I already have.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I purchased all items mentioned myself. All views expressed are my own.