Amanda vs Pendrell Blouse

Spring is sprung Canberra way! And you know what that means? Busting out my short sleeve patterns like a boss. Enter the Pendrell blouse teamed with some cute as a button multicoloured dotted swiss. Can we say spring win?

I must admit this pattern has been in my stash for quite a while because I was a little afraid of the sleeves. I mean, look at them sitting there on my shoulders all pleated and fancy looking... Turns out all they required was some Veronica Mars episodes on DVD, clear pleat lines and an iron. See how cute they are?

And they even look adorable from the back...

And just because I can, here is a shot husband took of me scowling at some jerk faces speeding down the road past the drive way where I take my photos... I have a feeling disapproving teacher face will never leave me...

So let's talk about what I liked about this pattern:

• The princess seams. I have never made anything with these before and they are ridiculously cute. This top feels polished even though it is a sweet cotton number.
• The sleeves. Seriously. How freaking rad are they? I must admit I was a bit daunted by the amount of fabric each sleeve required. But it was so worth it- I love the look. This lends itself to a nice solid colour in a drapey fabric for a cute as a button work top. Also, these sleeves demand an epic photo montage...

What I changed/will change for next time:

• I graded the hips down two sizes and the waist down one size to achieve the fit I like. This was super simple and worked really well.
• I took a 1.5 inches off the bottom hem to get it to fall to just on my hip bone.
• I'm going to use a drape-ier fabric next time. This blouse obviously lends itself to lovely flowy fabric but I wanted something a bit more casual this time.

Overall I'm really happy with this blouse- the multi coloured spots means I can team this up with a number of colours so it should get a fairly high rotation in the ol' wardrobe. It's definitely a pattern I will be making again for both work and fun wear.

And to finish off, here is what I think is one of the most hilarious photos I have ever been in. Husband thinks this failed jumping shot looks like I am being beamed up by aliens thanks to well placed rays of sunlight. I have decided to concur- I totes bet a fashion forward master race is trying to beam me and my crazy love of prints up to guide them into how to make dresses that feature tiny houses on the fabric...