I promised Hayley I would post this blouse, which became known as the 'six year blouse' as that is how long it took to complete. The photo of me wearing it is awful so it has to be this one on the mannequin.
The story: In about 2013 I wanted to get back into sewing clothes and this was the pattern I chose, Butterick B5218, having not made anything other than home furnishings for about 15 years. The fabric was from Clothspot, now closed down, and I think it's a viscose.
I duly pinned the pattern to the fabric and cut out the pieces. Then the instructions referred to the front placket and I suddenly had a bit of a panic. I had no tools for marking the lines and my menopausal brain would not compute. So I wrapped it up and put it in a drawer, still pinned to the fabric.
Towards the end of 2014 we moved to Cyprus, and this just got packed up and shipped with all our stuff. A sewing friend came to see us and asked about the blouse, made some useful suggestions and I said I would give it a go. I didn't! I decided I needed something simple to get me back into the swing, so I made some pull-on shorts and trousers, and also bought an overlocker from Lidl and made some stretch tops. Back in the swing! Blouse still not touched.
In 2019 we moved back to the UK and the blouse came all the way back again. Later that year I decided to tackle it once I'd got my sewing room set up. Turns out it wasn't as difficult as it first appeared!
I give you 'The Six Year Blouse'
