Here’s the quick version of this blog post: go buy the Adrienne Blouse from Friday Pattern Company. It’s bloody brilliant.

I’ve always been rather sceptical off puffy-sleeved clothing. They bring to mind the puffy shirt episode of Seinfield…

And the pattern itself, well it’s so simple that my first thought was ‘how come it’s taken so long for an indie designer to do this’.

But, despite my initial caution, I am now a firm convert. I am now addicted to Adrienne Blouses and want one in every colour. Perhaps I was a happy pirate wench in a past life…

Oh and sorry in advance for the photo dump! I love this novel shape so much, I just couldn’t decide which photos were best!

My Adrienne Blouse

My Adrienne Blouse is a size large, although I graded out very slightly beyond the large line at the waist. I also lengthened the bodice by one inch, as it didn’t want it to be quite as cropped as designed.

The Adrienne Blouse really is, simply, pleasure to sew. I love the way the neckline binding looks. I love the way it looks equally good on the shoulder and off it.

I used the elastic that I had on hand for the souliers, which happened to be swimwear elastic. I often have problems with bra straps sliding off my sloped shoulders. After a bit of trial and error, I ended up shortening my shoulder elastic by 3 centimetres to get it to stay nice and snuggly.

Modal Meter Meter

This modal double knit jersey from Meter Meter is just perfect for this project. It has the snugness and hold necessary for where it is fitted around the body, but still with the delightful drape for the dramatic sleeve.

Oh and it feels the way that glossy melted chocolate ready to be poured on top of a cake looks.

It’s pricey, but I will definitely be using more of this jersey in the future. I’m fantasising about more Adrienne blouses, maybe a Ruska knot dress from Breaking the Pattern and an awesome Sallie Jumpsuit…

Word of warning, test your iron on a scrap piece of fabric first though. I did actually slightly burn the fabric (no worries, just put it at the back, I won’t see it there…). So it really needed ironing only on a very low heat setting.

It’s also great to find a jersey that handles being hemmed so well, no waviness in sight!

Wardrobe expander

Being coverted to a shape that I’ve never really looked at before (i.e. feature arms) has been interesting. I’ve had a lot of fun trying it on with all sorts of other things and playing around in ‘I’m a little teapot’ poses.

It’s making me look at possible wardrobe combinations in new ways, so it feels like it has already expanded my wardrobe way more than just by one garment.

Cuz, let’s face it, if you can’t jump outside your sewing comfort zone sometimes, there’s not really a whole lot of point to it all, right?