Pussy Bow Blouse

A review of Sew Over It Pussy Bow Blouse

Reviewed by thepetitepassions on 9th March, 2016

There are two versions that you can select – Version 1 has a keyhole opening and Version 2 has a V neck style. I chose version 2 for my blouse.
Fabric
The fabric I used was the one used to show the pattern on the stall. It’s a navy blue chiffon with white splodges at £12 per metre (from Sew Over It’s fabric shop). It is sheer with a lovely silky feel, and refuses to crease.
But….
It frays like you wouldn’t believe. Even cutting with sharp rotary cutters caused fraying, and it took longer to make than anticipated because I was constantly trimming frayed edges. Also the fact it doesn’t crease will be really useful, but it doesn’t help in construction. I ended up using Wonder Tape to get the bottom hems stable enough to sew straight! I was happy though that I got to use a pair of buttons that I had bought and not needed for a different project.

Pattern and Instructions
The pattern pieces are presented in fairly standard tissue with lots of size gradings, and are found in the back of the pattern wallet. There weren’t a lot of markings to transfer in the end but it was very time consuming due to my fabric choice.
One thing is that it isn’t overly obvious at the start that you need to cut an additional strip of bias for the cuff loops. I understand it’s a small piece (10cm x 4cm) but it’s something you’d want to factor in before you threw away fabric scraps after cutting. I also know that many people probably read carefully through instructions before they start – obviously I wasn’t that thorough….

This is an ‘Intermediate’ level pattern, and the instructions are in their own booklet. Each step is clearly described and there are some illustrations to help too. I supplemented these with the Sew Over It Pussy Bow Blouse Sewalong on the blog. Though the steps in the sewalong deviate from the instruction booklet it does have colour photos that illustrate how each stage should look, and gives a comforting reassurance for less experienced sewists. Using the two together I managed to get a fairly good idea of what I needed to do. Some steps are a little complicated, and take a while to understand (mainly centred around constructing and attaching the necktie).

I did encounter some construction difficulties due to my fabric choice…I needed to use French seams and neither the booklet nor the sewalong covered this. I managed for the main but attaching the necktie was really tricky, and to be honest I think I did a shoddy job. Hopefully nobody will look too closely….

Alterations
I used a size 10, based on my measurements, and didn’t alter any of the sizings. I was concerned that the sleeves might be too tight or long but everything fits just fine. If I make this again I may lower the front V slightly but that’s it. (5ft UK size 10 if you are wondering).
I love how my finished project looks. I wear this a lot for work but will be taking it out for lunch as well! The slight gather where the sleeves are set into the shoulders adds a feminine twist, and the high collar of the necktie means this looks good with hair tied up too.

I would love to try this in a fabric that doesn’t require French seams, as this really made the whole process so much more difficult, and I think I would do a better job. My fabric choice has a lovely finished look but was not easy to work with at all.
This is definitely an intermediate level pattern, and I would recommend it to an experienced friend.