Amanda Vs Airelle Blouse

We're going on a bear (shirt) hunt.
We're going to sew some awesome!
I'm not scared!
I've got gin!

That's right. The gorgeous Airelle Blouse pattern by Deer & Doe mixed with a soft forest print cotton. Only on Bimble & Pimble could you find this much crazy in one top. I live to give...

Gentle readers, before we get into the finer details of BEAR SHIRT please come with me on an epic journey of awesomeness (there's cheese involved- how's that for incentive?) When I first moved to Canberra a few years back I really struggled to find friends in this town. As it is the governmental hub of Australia the population is rather transitory and people just seemed to keep to themselves. By my second year I decided to try some new hobbies to meet people. I took introduction to ballet classes (hilarious!), joined a book club (good wine!) and finally took up Introduction to French classes two nights a week (hot mess!).  My dear, sweet tutor Amandine, bless her, realised that the only way she could get me to learn French was to include cheese as a subject in every new sentence structure and vocab I learned. Fun times for her, I'm sure!

Now, after a year of twice weekly French lessons all I can remember to say is: J'adore du fromage! (which is most likely wrong but hey, I did note I sucked at this). Now what has this got to do with sewing, I hear you ask? Well, Deer and Doe patterns are currently only available in French. And being an impatient brat of a sewist I ordered them thinking how hard could it be? I think we can all see where this is going... Cheese was not mentioned anywhere in the instructions and as such there may or may not have been some minor hiccups... But not the back. That turned out a treat so let's have a picture of that. Yay!

Note to self: brush hair before photos. Or not. I'm going to call this look "keeping it real". That's the way, Amanda- sell your laziness! Okay, time to focus...

What I loved about this pattern:

• The gorgeous details. The cute as a button collar, tiny gathers, the yoke. I'm really starting to appreciate fine finishes like this. I'm thinking you could totes have fun with playing around with stripes or different fabric to highlight these elements.
• How gorgeous the pattern book is. Sure, I couldn't understand a word but the illustrations gave me a jolly good idea of what I was meant to be doing. Even if I ignored them sometimes. Oh, Manda!
• The sweet sleeves. I'm normally against any puffy sleeves but these are really cute. My trim was actually an inch shorter then the piece required but a bit extra gathering and everything worked a treat.

What I would change next time:

• Adjust the fit around the wait a bit more if I want a shirt to not wear under a skirt. These free flowing styles don't work for me unless they are tucked into something. So deeper darts it is!
• Not interfacing the collar. Jeepers. I'm not sure why I did this? I got super confused and just whacked in some interfacing. Epic mistake. That thing is all bulky and sassy and sticks up weird.
• Bias biding the collar edging instead of using the shell fabric as a facing. I think this would reduce some of the bulk and give a more polished finish.

So what have I learnt from all of this? That's I'm impatient and shouldn't buy French patterns until the English translation is available. Pity I bought two more at the same time. BWAH HA HA! I'm so impatient. The good news is I work with a sassy lady who is just about to finish her studies in French at university and who is going to trade translating these gorgeous patterns for some sewing. I call that a win. Jump for joy!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go hunting for some pic-a-nic baskets. Engage bear mode. Rawwwrr!