Summer Eyelet

When this pattern was released I was mostly interested in the design, not because it is a peasant blouse (there are plenty of those around), but because this particular pattern includes an underarm gusset.  My main issue with most of these blouses is that there is a lot of extra fabric and I thought that the addition of a gusset would make the garment a bit more streamlined.  That was not really the case, and there were other things that frustrated the process of sewing this project.  But that's okay.  Not every project is destined to be a favorite.

Well, the first thing that I got wrong about the pattern was misreading the illustration.  I thought that View B, the plain white version, was ruffled around the neckline and armholes with self-fabric.  This was my fault, and I should have taken a better look at the required yardage/notions or I would have noticed the additional trim needed for that particular version.

I knew that it would be almost impossible to find a matching white lace to match the eyelet, so I just added extra length to the neck edge to create the look of a ruffle by placing the elastic about an inch inside of the finished edge instead of using the raw edge itself as the elastic casing.  But again, the issue of using a bright white casing was going to present a problem.  In the end, I used the unembroidered selvedge edge as my casing.  Yes, it was straight of grain instead of bias, but it worked just fine.

I simply finished the raw edge as suggested by the pattern instructions.

And since I had given myself some extra length around the neckline, I was able to place the elastic casing/binding just below that finished edge.

Once the elastic is fed through the casing, the "ruffle" is created.

But that wasn't my main gripe with the pattern.  Instead, the gusset pieces were incorrectly notched and it took me way too long to figure out what I was doing wrong.  I got frustrated, put the whole project aside for about a year, and when I finally came back to it, I realized the issue was the pattern, not me.

Also, because of the gusset construction, I didn't want to add length to the sleeves, so I couldn't replicate what I had done with the neckline.  I just added a strip of eyelet to the edge, finished that bit with seam binding, and stitched it into place with two parallel lines of stitching to create a casing for the sleeve elastic.

It may not be the most well thought out solution, but it certainly worked.

And while I am not a huge fan of elastic finishes, I figured it was worth the aggravation to try out this pattern.

I was hoping that I would love the result and be able to make multiple versions in different fabrications.  In the end, however, I don't believe I will be using this particular pattern again.  The result is very oversized and that gusset does not do much to control the extra volume.  It's not terrible, and it is certainly wearable . . . it's just not what I hoped it would be.

And that's okay.  Not every project is going to be a favorite.  I am just happy I stuck with it and finished the darn thing!