Blouse is always something special...

"She wore the pale blue summer blouse which he had brought her home as a present one Saturday.
When he brought the blouse home Annie kissed him and said it was very pretty and stylish; but when she heard the price she threw the blouse on the table and said it was a regular swindle to charge ten and elevenpence for it. At first she wanted to take it back but when she tried it on she was delighted with it, especially with the make of the sleeves, and kissed him and said he was very good to think of her."
                                                                                  A Little Cloud (The Dubliners) 
                                                                                          James Joyce

It doesn't have to be tied on the waist,
it is just big for the mannequin.

I finished this luxurious blouse recently, and it took me about 36 hours of work. In one of the articles about tutu skirts (Tutu Skirts. Part II) I wrote that real-ballet Chopin kind skirt takes about 35 hours from a skilled master. As regards this blouse it took me so much time mostly because of the tricky fabric.





















Yes, this is a 100% silk, and I can tell you it is a unique garment as I am not going to give it a second version. So the luckier my customer is who ordered this blouse.

This blouse was made of thin snow-white linen...

I have made a number of blouses before, and each of them was  very special.  Blouses convey femininity and grace of the lady who wears them. They are very practical at the same time, an important part of your basic wardrobe, and extremely personal.

...and decorated with cotton and beading lace.

A made-to-measure blouse can be seen from one mile distance as nothing else reiterates your shoulders and chest so exactly. Being basic and practical they express your personality, add some splendour to your look and even make you stand a bit straighter.

Made-for-you blouse reiterates your shape
with grace and delicacy...

...and expresses your personality.

Looking inside...

I know very well that silk likes hand stitching, but when I started to stitch the hemline I saw that my every single hand stitch leaves a short lead, taking out the thread from the fabric. I had the thinnest and very sharp beading needle, and fine special thread from Mettler, and still the slightest stitches were too rough for the fragile fabric. So I finished the hem with machine stitching. Usually hand finish looks better, but not in this case! Machine line helped to press the layers of silk together, it becomes a little bit stiffer after that. Honestly speaking adding a bit of stiffness is not bad for so soft material, it helps to form the hemline better.  

Before that I attempted to decorate the cuffs and collar with machine line. It works well to stiffen these parts, add them more structure and men's-shirt-look. But I realised how ugly it would be when the edges of the collar are pressed together with the stitches. It would lose its luxe and bisquitness. It worked against the fabric's best features. What is good for cotton shirts, might be not that good for delicate fibres.

The clue to sewing that kind of fabrics is patience. It is a very slow process, because almost every operation you have to think, try, think again, and so on. It is really easy to spoil the garment if you are in a hurry.

Do you know how to wear and take care of your silk blouses properly? We'll talk bout it in the next post.