Completed Project: 1960s Plaid Mod Blouse

I actually finished this blouse several days ago, but put off taking photos until yesterday. Taking photos is one of my least favorite things to do. My camera is an older one, and if I try to take photos without a flash, the resulting photos always turn out blurry (thus two mildly blurry photos below). The finished garments always look much lovelier in person, so my photos never do them justice. Sigh!

Here is the mod blouse that I made from the pattern and fabric shown at the end of this post. This is an almost perfect blouse! I successfully lined up all of the plaids at the front and the sides. I did, however, manage to mess up the cuffs at the very last minute. Instead of affixing the button to the under lap extension and the buttonhole to the overlap, I switched them. I didn't realize the error until after I had made and cut the buttonhole. So the cuffs are backwards (and are sticking out and look like men's dress shirt cuffs). However, unless you are a sewer, I think it's pretty unnoticeable. It has rather boxy fit and will look much better tucked into a fitted skirt or a pair of trousers (both of which I have yet to make!).

Photo taken with a flash to show the details of the fabric, which has a lovely color combination. There are sparkly gold lines that are a part of the plaid that you can't see in the other photos. A flash is good for something, I suppose!

Showing off one of the backwards cuffs with a contrasting button that I made from bits of the leftover plaid fabric.

The one addition that I had to make. Since the fabric is pretty lightweight, the top corner kept popping out from under the collar. I had to sew on a snap to keep it in place and it's invisible under the collar.

It only took me 4 hours from start to finish to make this blouse. The fabric is a lightweight cotton plaid cotton that I purchased from Jo-Ann's for $3.00 (labeled as a juvenile novelty fabric!) and the collar and cuffs are made from mustard yellow quilter's cotton. Total cost, including buttons: just under $6.00.

And here is a wrinkled muslin that I made of the Burda Style Marilyn trousers! Amazingly, the only alteration I need to make is to let out the waistband by 1"! Everything else fits perfectly...I was pretty shocked! For anyone who wants to make these, the construction is super-easy. Although it's a muslin and I quickly machine sewed what I would usually finish by hand (like the waistband and the hem), they only took 2 hours to make.

I'm in love with the pleats! These have a very low vote on Burda Style right now - only 2 out of 5 stars. I don't understand why since they are a classic trouser design. The tapered legs, which are the trendiest thing about them, could be easily adjusted for a fuller fit. I have a curvier figure and the high waist and pleats work for me. In other words, they don't make me look huge which is what I believe a lot of others think these trousers will ultimately do.