Alexa Chung Blouse - Vogue 9029

A few weeks ago I was reading a magazine* when a blouse caught my eye.

Source: Red Magazine UK November 2018

I think I was just curious as to how a white cotton shirt could be worth £245 to start with but after a bit of internet research I decided that I really wanted to make a copy.

Source: Net-a-porter.com

I rarely go from having an idea to making a garment so quickly - usually because fabric isn't always easy to to track down - but this has been relatively fast.  White cotton poplin was easy to track down via eBay.  I also needed a blouse pattern with shoulder princess seams, I don't have many blouse patterns in my collection** and none fitted the bill but a quick browse on the Vogue patterns site turned up 9029, a Vogue easy options pattern.

I made quite a few alterations to the pattern starting with view B in a size 10 but omitting the collar...

1. Front
• Reduce shoulder by 1/8"
• Increase waist 1/4"
• Cut at waist (1" below lengthen/shorten line)
2. Side Front
• Reduce shoulder by 1/8"
• Straighten side seam (adding 1" to waist)
• Smooth princess seam (a cheat SBA)
• Cut at waist
3. Side Back
• Reduce shoulder by 1/8"
• Straighten side seam (adding 1" to waist)
• Cut at waist
4. Back
• Reduce shoulder by 1/8"
• Increase waist 1/4"
• Cut at waist

I also added the ties by cutting 1" wide strips and turning them (which was easier said than done - I purchased a loop turner which saved the whole project) and made pieces for the lower front (approx 11" long by 13" wide with rounded corner) and lower back (14" long and 12" wide, then cut on the fold to double width, corners rounded).

I followed the order of construction as per the pattern instructions but attached my gathered lower front pieces before attaching the button band.  The ties were inserted into the princess seams.

I also used bias binding to finish the armholes and the join between the upper and lower front and back.

I don't know why but when I did the french seams to start with I only took 1/4" twice (making 1/2" rather than 5/8") which undid my narrowing of the shoulders.  The sleeves are a little long, I think this is because the shoulders are too wide but I'm going to investigate that further in my next project.

I'm really pleased with the end result, its going to be perfect for my work Christmas party, but the weather this weekend has been dismal so I've not got any photos of me in the finished article

And in other bonus news - this afternoon we put up our tree and whilst looking for the decorations in the loft I rediscovered a pair of shoes I've not worn in over ten years!  They will be just the thing for the party - its like buying a new pair but without having to hand over any money!

* I don't buy magazines as I'm too tight with my money but my local library has electronic subscriptions (if you live in the UK you should check this out - I've not met anyone yet that knows about this other than me!)

** Also this morning whilst ironing my Butterick 6333 shirt dress I realised that I had a pattern with princess shoulder seams all along, although the sleeves from the Vogue pattern were perfect so that saved me a whole load of hassle!