Mathilde for Spring …

I can’t cope with this cold weather any longer, I have stiffened up like a starched tablecloth and am the colour of a washed out tea towel. Does the sun not realise that it should be out by now?

Not to worry, I have made a new Spring blouse and it’s a bit of an antidote to all this doom and gloom. I’m sure you  are all aware by now that Tilly has produced the lovely Mathilde pattern and last week I caught up with everyone else and made my own.

I was very excited about making this. Downloading, printing and putting together was really straightforward and I love the online support available by Tilly. I have had a few minor issues but this is totally down to my choice of fabric, I wish I had used cotton and not another unidentifiable ebay purchase. It looks fresh and appealing yet the truth is it’s (once again) a sod to press (tucks!) and gives the electric charge of a 1970s set of nylon sheets!

I had the luxury of a whole day last Sunday to make this blouse and just tidied things up and popped on the buttons yesterday, so it’s a great weekend project. The tucks were simple to do, but my ‘will of it’s own’ fabric ensured that I spent a lot of time getting them in place. I’d always intended to use the bias tape as a feature that would show off the yoke and tucks on the floral backdrop and it certainly helped to stabilise  them.

Ooh look at all that fraying, thank goodness for my overlocker!

I used French seams on the side seams and sleeves and my overlocker for the armsyce, yoke and facings, so it all looks neat on the inside. Everything came into place nicely and I really enjoyed putting it all together (best not to mention the inside-out sleeves incident!). Radio 4 and a small supply of violet creams made the experience even better.

Ignoring my exceptionally bendy wrists, I wasn’t too sure about the idea of such voluminous sleeves, but I like them very much now.

By adding the bias tape to the tucks, the hem became a bit bulky but this was improved when I overlocked the edge and turned up just once (plus a dose of heavy handed pressing). The buttons look wonky but (honestly) they’re perfectly straight, it’s just a shame I only had six, so the bottom one is odd!

For my next Mathilde I will make a couple of changes to suit my shape a little better. The neckline is a smidgen high for me, so that will come down slightly and the yoke seems a little small across my front creating a bit of a pull when I move, so perhaps I should have cut a size larger. Short sleeves for the summer and a little more on the length too maybe, but that’s the beauty of Tilly’s pattern, it’s adaptable but still very Mathilde.

I have also decided that my next fabric purchase will be cotton, good old fashioned, lovely to sew cotton that will go where I tell it to go and not give me fly away hair and the power to zap loved ones with shocking hugs!

As I type this, the sun has come out, but it’s snowing …

Happy Easter everyone!