Economy Design 1950s blouse pattern

Sewing another vintage blouse pattern…

So last year I decided to have a complete wardrobe review (if that’s the right word for it)

I had become aware that although I had too much in my wardrobe I wasn’t really wearing a lot of it because I didn’t have things to pair with a lot of the items in it.

I am a sucker for buying things on the spur of the moment. Often with vintage if I love something and it fits I tend to buy it and not think about what I’ll wear with it.

Consequently I end up with a wardrobe full of lovely things but with nothing to go with them.

So, as i said I had a really good sort out. I was ruthless. I sold a lot and with the rest I worked out what I needed to make it wearable. What I discovered was that mostly I needed plain tops and blouses so this last year I have made amongst other things, 6 new blouses in plain colours that will make more of my separates wearable. Hooray!!

This is one of the blouses I have made.

I picked the pattern up on Etsy recently for £6.49 including shipping! What a bargain. It was from ‘TownLane‘ if anyone wants to take a look at their shop. 

The description  ‘A quickly made blouse. View A has fly-away cuffs and a plain neckline. View B has a collar and buttons down the front’ I love the ‘fly-away cuffs’ part! 
I did actually make View A first and struggled with those cuffs. I think my fabric was far too drapey and they just keep on drooping. Maybe next time I’ll interface those pieces first to give them a bit more stiffness.

It was a relatively straightforward make, only 4 steps to the pattern (although these vintage patterns do seem to cram a lot into each step I find) I struggled a bit with the collar but then I always seem to struggle with collars.
Why are these so many different ways to sew a collar? I’m sure someone more advanced than myself would probably use their own technique each time but I don’t feel confident enough not to follow the pattern instructions to the letter.

I finished it off with 4 plain black glass buttons, again from the button lady at Spitalfields market.

Collar close-up shown below. It’s not too bad I know, and perfectly wearable but I’m such a perfectionist and I don’t like the fact that you can see the stitching where it joins the blouse.

This has filled a big gap in my wardrobe and I now have so many more outfit options thanks to a simple black blouse.