Five Points Blouse

Good morning! Today I’m here with a quick post about my Five Points Blouse. The pattern was designed by my friend Jennifer (@peppermintcreek on IG) who joined me in celebrating the Coat Making Party in January of 2018. She asked me to sew up this pattern which is featured in the Feb/March issue of Sew News Magazine (Follow this link NOW to download the templates for free until March 31st). Alright, let’s get down to the nitty gritty.

Initial Adjustments

Once the pattern was released, Jennifer noted to me that there were a few pattern corrections that were missed before printing/publishing. Namely, the finished pattern measurements listed were about 1″ larger than the actual finished measurements. With this noted, I decided to size up and sew the medium.

The second issue Jennifer pointed out was the arm band/cuff being a bit too small. For the size medium, I ended up cutting a piece 3″x19″ to use as the cuff.

The third issue needed no adjustments, just some attention on my part. The notches on the front and back pieces were incorrectly marked. The double notched side of the yoke should attach to the back of the top and the single notched side to the front despite the double notches on the front.

Fourth, and final issue was one I noticed when cutting the top. In the cutting instructions, it directs you to cut a bias strip that is .5″x34″ for the neckline binding. This would be way too thin to work properly. Instead, I cut my bias binding 1.25″ x 34″ and used the method outlined in this Made by Rae blog post to attach my neckline binding. The only deviation I made from that blog post was to understitch the binding before topstitching it down.

Finally, as a matter of personal preference, I left off the front zipper. I had a zipper picked out for the project but, didn’t love it paired with my fabric once it arrived.

Construction

I found the construction to be straightforward and fairly quick. Overall I spent somewhere around 2 hours making this top including pattern assembly and cutting. Honestly, it probably would’ve come together even quicker if I hadn’t stopped several times to try it on. The pattern uses 1/4″ seam allowances which doesn’t allow much room for alteration. Since it’s a boxy style, this isn’t really an issue.

The only modification I made during construction was slightly tapering the seam where the front bodice meets the yoke. To do this, I used a 1/2″ seam allowance at the neckline and tapered it back to a 1/4″ seam allowance at the sleeve opening. This brought the neckline up just a bit higher since it was previously a bit low for my preference.

Fabric

This fabric is a cotton/rayon blend I purchased from Blackbird Fabrics. It’s currently sold out at Blackbird but, I was able to find some of the same fabric available here at Stonemountain Fabric. It doesn’t have a ton of drape, just enough to keep this top from looking too boxy. My favorite part about it is the way it crinkled when washed, giving it a cloud-like feel and appearance. Thanks to the light, breezy nature of this fabric, I can see it becoming a staple during the scorching summer months. I’m imagining this top will primarily be worn tucked into a pair of linen pants or shorts. Guess I had better sew some of those soon.

Conclusions

Despite a few changes made to the pattern, I actually enjoyed sewing up this top. I opted to write a blog post outlining these changes because knowing the alterations beforehand was a factor in making this sewing process mishap free. It’s always easier to go into a project knowing beforehand if there are any necessary adjustments. In making this top a second time, the only change I would make would be narrowing the neckline a bit. It works fine as is but, does lend itself to the occasional bra strap peeking out. Overall, I’m happy with this top and do see it being worn regularly once it warms up a bit.