DKNY Blouse - Vogue 1438

When Vogue patterns discontinued DKNY and Donna Karan they suddenly made me want them somehow!  Fortunately they are fairly easy to find on eBay and not too expensive.  I'm not sure what attracted me to V1438, it certainly wasn't the hideous pale yellow and sleeveless jacket, but I've learnt always to look at the technical drawings and not the cover art.

I've had this space themed viscose crepe hanging around for a few months (I don't tend to have many random fabric purchases, I'm definitely more of a pattern collector than fabric stasher) and so I decided to pair them up.

I was a bit wary about sizing and ease but decided to cut a 10 (the way the sizes are nested means that I could cut an 8 in the future if necessary) and due to the loose fit I didn't grade out or do any pattern alterations.  I have started always making a 1/2" narrow shoulder adjustment but I was feeling lazy so skipped this.

The fabric is wonderfully fluid but also presses (and creases) well so wasn't as tricky to work with as I expected.

Unfortunately I came down with a cold half way through this project and I blame this for the collar disaster.  I'm not sure what I did but it is completely lop-sided and the collar band didn't fit into the neck at all.  In hindsight (such a wonderful thing) I don't know why I didn't just stop when I realised something wasn't quite right, I should have waited until I was feeling a bit better and then I probably would have figured it out.  My best guess is that I didn't clip the neck edge enough?

Fortunately I didn't want to wear the blouse buttoned at the neck (I haven't even bothered with a button or buttonhole) and unbuttoned you really can't tell!

The pattern called for sew-in interfacing but I used fusible and it worked fine.  There are some nice details on this blouse like the hidden buttons, the cuffs and the back hem overlaps the front so if you were so inclined you could tuck the front in and easily leave the back loose.

I wore the blouse to work this week and it was a big hit with both staff and students so I'm definitely calling it a success despite its flaws.  I'm keen to make another one in a more sensible, plain, fabric as I am happy withe the fit and really enjoyed wearing it.