After sewing a tunic top by hand, I decided to make this pretty blouse with pintucks and gathered sleeves. I don’t have a machine so I sewed the blouse by hand using the free Tilda PDF pattern from Maison Fauve (you can find the pattern here). The UK version of the website is here. (Please note the pattern is intended for use with a sewing machine).
Materials
100% cotton with fusible interfacing at the neckline & cuffs
Pattern available here
This is the second garment I’ve made (and the first I’ve made that required interfacing at the neckline and cuffs). I found the written instructions clear (they are in French and English) and there’s an accompanying video tutorial (it’s in French). I found the video helpful for areas where I needed clarification (e.g. the correct positioning of the sleeves for sewing into the armhole). I also watched this tutorial from an independent seamstress, which is in English.
I would have preferred a lighter weight fusible interfacing for the neckline (maybe this would defeat the purpose of adding structure and support?) but the one I used was the only type the fabric shop had in stock. I will have to do some more research about interfacing and the possibilities of making your own.
Details
I made some minor adaptions to the pattern for the stitches I used to sew the seams and I finished the blouse with a blind hem stitch as I wanted the hem to be nearly invisible, which differs from the instructions in the pattern. Apart from that, I followed the instructions as written in the instruction booklet/shown in the video tutorial.
I learned a tremendous amount from sewing this blouse and identified specific areas that I need to work on to improve the quality of my hand sewn garments.