Completed: Silk Scout!

I finished it. And I LOVE it! Why did it take me so long to buy this pattern?

I bought the pattern and ordered fabric online, intending to make a different version, but then remembered about this fabric in my stash. 

Strange light in the garden that evening - last days of summer!

I originally bought 1.5m of this silk, from John Lewis, intending to make a Colette Violet blouse, however after I brought it home, I realised it had a sort of scallop pattern in amongst the ditsy floral print. I love the scallop, and I decided I didn't want to break it up with a button placket - or have to pattern match it, as I didn't have enough fabric for that, so it joined my stash. For a while it was going to be a short sleeved Mathilde, til I realised I probably didn't really have enough and that the pintucks would still break it up. Then, I bought the Scout pattern, and had the brainwave! 

This pattern is perfect for the fabric. No darts, no seams other than side seams. There is nothing to break up the fabric. It would be great for a large scale print. Plus it's a simple straightforward pattern for a troublesome fabric.

On the whole the fabric wasn't actually too bad, and it certainly wouldn't put me off silk in future, but it was more tricky than I have experienced previously. The fabric did seem to become harder to handle after I pre-washed it, which makes it lovely and drapey to wear but tricky to sew. The main issues were that it moved when I cut it, pins fell out all the time and it was really hard to press.

You can best see the print here

The fact that it moved during cutting out was probably the most frustrating piece about the whole thing and almost certainly the cause of most of my issues. The hemming issue I had originally is better now, but not perfect, and the neckline doesn't sit quite straight. I think both these issues are caused by the fabric slipping while cutting and therefore one side is not cut perfectly on grain. It's not massively off, but it probably shows why these things are important.

I french seamed the side seams and used my overlock stitch on the armholes, which is fairly standard for me these days. The bias binding is machined down as are the sleeve and bottom hem. Although this is fancy silk, it's a casual shape and I felt that machine stitching added to that casual feel. That's my excuse.

This was after a day's wear, hence the creases.

I cut the size 4, which matched my bust and hip measurements perfectly When I made the muslin, I had some excess fabric at the shoulder/upper bust area, just next to the sleeve. I also felt it was a bit loose below the bust, so I took out about 0.5cm all the way down from the shoulder to the hem. This felt fine on the muslin, but on the finished garment it feels a little tight now across the upper back and at the bottom front of the armhole. I'm not sure if the armhole issue is related to the adjustment or whether this is a separate issue. At first it annoyed  me, but having worn the blouse for a whole day, I found it actually didn't bother me that much. For my next version, I may try just taking the excess from the shoulder and leaving the rest. Anyone have any other suggestions?

I love this blouse already. It does feel a little summery, but it will work well under a cardigan, so I will probably get quite a bit of wear out of this.

I have grand plans for this little pattern. I already have 2 pattern hack ideas, one based on the original RTW inspiration:

Chinti & Parker Voile tee - no longer for sale

and the other based on another pattern. That might be a bit awful considering it's another Indie pattern company, but I'm not sure I can justify the purchase of both, if I can do it myself. IF I can do it myself, that is.

Sinbad & Sailor Dove Tee

I do realise both of these are quite summery, considering we're into autumn, it was 10°C today and I have 2 other things to make before I even get started on these. They might end up not happening til next summer now, but that's OK.

So, there we go. Next up, my niece's dress and Fall for Cotton!