I Can Almost Taste It

I am so close to having a good blouse pattern. I finished this one and field tested it on a trip to town yesterday morning:

This started out as Simplicity 9469, with a few adjustments. The fabric is a rayon/linen blend from Hobby Lobby. On a previous muslin, I added bust darts and decided I liked the fit better without them. I am still puzzling over that one. Is it possible that bust darts may not be the solution for me that they are for many women because of my high hip curve? I can get the bodice shaped nicely with bust darts, but it’s almost as if there isn’t enough vertical space between my bust and my hips to widen out the top sufficiently to skim past my hips. If I can widen it enough, I end up looking like I’m wearing a maternity top. (A Scout Tee disaster comes to mind . . . ) I think it’s much more flattering (on me) to have a blouse that isn’t so fitted around the bust and flows gently all the way down.

I’m mostly happy with this. I will make a couple of small adjustments before I make another one, though. This blouse wants to ride back a bit. I did some research on that problem and I think it has two causes:

  1. The neckline opening is too large. This is a common problem with V-neck tops—too wide, too deep—and one reason why I don’t often wear them. I find that most V-neck tops slide back and forth around my shoulders, even though my shoulders are broader than average. The V-neck on the Emerald Dress fit well, so I’ll compare the two patterns and see what I think.

  2. I looked at Sarah Veblen’s fitting book and I think I still need some kind of broad back/prominent shoulder blade adjustment.

I’ll incorporate those adjustments into the next iteration and see what I think. I am aiming for a basic blouse pattern that can be hacked with different neckline treatments—like a flounce—and varying sleeve styles.

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I soaked a large pot of white beans overnight and I’ll can those up this afternoon. It appears we will get some rain after all, starting tomorrow. I think tomorrow might be a good day to tear apart a room or two and do some spring cleaning.

I’m driving the BMW locally and saving the Jeep for longer trips, at least until next winter. I’m sure the Jeep will do better in the snow as its ground clearance is much better. I am reluctant to give up the BMW’s 40 mpg, and if it should break down, I’ll be close to home. I’ll have to get the summer tires put on it before the end of May, but I’ll wait until the rush has passed.